![]() They used Aristotle’s idea about matter and began to create experiments and activities with them. The alchemists began examining the atomic theory about two centuries after the death of Aristotle. ![]() That one change in perspective, around 450 BC, may have changed the course of human history for centuries. When Aristotle began forming his own theories about atoms, he didn’t want to be excluded, so he criticized Leucippus and his ideas about atoms. The only problem was at the time, a focus on science was an implied belief system of atheism. The goal was simple: to remove fear from science. Most importantly, Leucippus suggested that these particles were moving and creating matter not through the will of gods or supernatural beings, but through natural laws. Not only could the space separate the particles, but it would allow them to move to different locations as well. Leucippus suggested that these particles would exist in a space that seemed to be empty. The particles are in motion continuously.These small, unseen particles could come in different shapes and sizes.Material things are made from particles that are very small and indivisible.That matter could be eternal, as no material thing can come from nothing.He was a Greek philosopher who introduced core ideas to science. The first atomic theories were introduced around the 6th century BC by Leucippus. ![]() Early Efforts at the Alchemists Atomic Theory It is within these actions that alchemists have made contributions to the atomic theory. The actions of transmutation are still practiced today. John Lienhard writes for the University of Houston that, “alchemy originated when Aristotle took up an older idea that all matter combined the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water.” The history of alchemy can be traced to the Hellenistic period of Egypt, though it gained in prominence during the Greek and Roman periods of civilization. Alchemists would work to create cures for disease, universal solvents, and other elixirs as well. One common example would be to change lead into gold. In most instances, alchemy seeks to transmute base metals into noble metals. These traditions have a scientific foundation, though it would be more accurate to say that alchemists are practicing proto-science. The Bohr atomic model later replaced the Rutherford model.Alchemy is a philosophical tradition that’s practiced throughout the world today, with roots in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Rutherford linked this motion to the orbit of planets around the sun. The angle of deflection from the particles also showed that there was most likely a strong positively charged nucleus in the middle of the atom with negatively charged particles circling around it. This made the most sense, since it explained why so few particles were hitting the gold foil. As a result, Rutherford created a theory that stated that most of an atom was empty space. Only about one in 8,000 was deflected away into the surrounding detecting screen. Through this experiment, Rutherford determined that the vast majority of the particles he fired at the gold foil passed right through it. The detecting screen had zinc sulfide in it to allow Rutherford to detect the presence of particles after they passed through the filtering gold foil. ![]() Ernest Rutherford’s gold foil experiment involved a particle emitter, a round detecting screen with a slit in it and a slip of gold foil in the middle.
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