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History of subatomic physics
The idea that matter consists of smaller particles and that there exists a limited number of sorts of primary, smallest particles in nature has existed in natural philosophy at least since the 6th century BC. Such ideas gained physical credibility beginning in the 19th century, but the concept of "elementary particle" underwent some changes in its meaning: notably, modern physics no longer deems elementary particles indestructible. Even elementary particles can decay or collide destructively; they can cease to exist and create (other) particles in result.
Increasingly small particles have been discovered and researched: they include molecules, which are constructed of atoms, that in turn consist of subatomic particles, namely atomic nuclei and electrons. Many more types of subatomic particles have been found. Most such particles (but not electrons) were eventually found to be composed of even smaller particles such as quarks. Particle physics studies these smallest particles; nuclear physics studies atomic nuclei and their (immediate) constituents: protons and neutrons.
The idea that all matter is composed of elementary particles dates to as far as the 6th century BCE. The Jains in ancient India were the earliest to advocate the particular nature of material objects between 9th and 5th century BCE. According to Jain leaders like Parshvanatha and Mahavira, the ajiva (non living part of universe) consists of matter or pudgala, of definite or indefinite shape which is made up tiny uncountable and invisible particles called permanu. Permanu occupies space-point and each permanu has definite colour, smell, taste and texture. Infinite varieties of permanu unite and form pudgala. The philosophical doctrine of atomism and the nature of elementary particles were also studied by ancient Greek philosophers such as Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicurus; ancient Indian philosophers such as Kanada, Dignāga, and Dharmakirti; Muslim scientists such as Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, and Mohammad al-Ghazali; and in early modern Europe by physicists such as Pierre Gassendi, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton. The particle theory of light was also proposed by Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Gassendi, and Newton.
Those early ideas were founded through abstract, philosophical reasoning rather than experimentation and empirical observation and represented only one line of thought among many. In contrast, certain ideas of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (see Monadology) contradict to almost everything known in modern physics.
In the 19th century, John Dalton, through his work on stoichiometry, concluded that each chemical element was composed of a single, unique type of particle. Dalton and his contemporaries believed those were the fundamental particles of nature and thus named them atoms, after the Greek word atomos, meaning "indivisible" or "uncut". However, near the end of 19th century, physicists discovered that Dalton's atoms are not, in fact, the fundamental particles of nature, but conglomerates of even smaller particles.
Throughout the 1800s scientists explored many phenomena of electricity and magnetism, culminating in an accurate theory by James Clerk Maxwell. This theory was a continuous field model developed around the ideas of luminiferous aether. When no experiment could produce evidence of such an ether, and in view of the growing evidence supporting the atomic model, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz developed a theory of electromagnetism based on "ions" that reproduced Maxwell's model.
The electron was discovered between 1879 and 1897 in works of William Crookes, Arthur Schuster, J. J. Thomson, and other physicists; its charge was carefully measured by Robert Andrews Millikan and Harvey Fletcher in their oil drop experiment of 1909. Physicists theorized that negatively charged electrons are constituent part of "atoms", along with some (yet unknown) positively charged substance, and it was later confirmed. Electron became the first elementary, truly fundamental particle discovered.
Studies of the "radioactivity", that soon revealed the phenomenon of radioactive decay, provided another argument against considering chemical elements as fundamental nature's elements. Despite these discoveries, the term atom stuck to Dalton's (chemical) atoms and now denotes the smallest particle of a chemical element, not something really indivisible.
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History of subatomic physics
The idea that matter consists of smaller particles and that there exists a limited number of sorts of primary, smallest particles in nature has existed in natural philosophy at least since the 6th century BC. Such ideas gained physical credibility beginning in the 19th century, but the concept of "elementary particle" underwent some changes in its meaning: notably, modern physics no longer deems elementary particles indestructible. Even elementary particles can decay or collide destructively; they can cease to exist and create (other) particles in result.
Increasingly small particles have been discovered and researched: they include molecules, which are constructed of atoms, that in turn consist of subatomic particles, namely atomic nuclei and electrons. Many more types of subatomic particles have been found. Most such particles (but not electrons) were eventually found to be composed of even smaller particles such as quarks. Particle physics studies these smallest particles; nuclear physics studies atomic nuclei and their (immediate) constituents: protons and neutrons.
The idea that all matter is composed of elementary particles dates to as far as the 6th century BCE. The Jains in ancient India were the earliest to advocate the particular nature of material objects between 9th and 5th century BCE. According to Jain leaders like Parshvanatha and Mahavira, the ajiva (non living part of universe) consists of matter or pudgala, of definite or indefinite shape which is made up tiny uncountable and invisible particles called permanu. Permanu occupies space-point and each permanu has definite colour, smell, taste and texture. Infinite varieties of permanu unite and form pudgala. The philosophical doctrine of atomism and the nature of elementary particles were also studied by ancient Greek philosophers such as Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicurus; ancient Indian philosophers such as Kanada, Dignāga, and Dharmakirti; Muslim scientists such as Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, and Mohammad al-Ghazali; and in early modern Europe by physicists such as Pierre Gassendi, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton. The particle theory of light was also proposed by Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Gassendi, and Newton.
Those early ideas were founded through abstract, philosophical reasoning rather than experimentation and empirical observation and represented only one line of thought among many. In contrast, certain ideas of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (see Monadology) contradict to almost everything known in modern physics.
In the 19th century, John Dalton, through his work on stoichiometry, concluded that each chemical element was composed of a single, unique type of particle. Dalton and his contemporaries believed those were the fundamental particles of nature and thus named them atoms, after the Greek word atomos, meaning "indivisible" or "uncut". However, near the end of 19th century, physicists discovered that Dalton's atoms are not, in fact, the fundamental particles of nature, but conglomerates of even smaller particles.
Throughout the 1800s scientists explored many phenomena of electricity and magnetism, culminating in an accurate theory by James Clerk Maxwell. This theory was a continuous field model developed around the ideas of luminiferous aether. When no experiment could produce evidence of such an ether, and in view of the growing evidence supporting the atomic model, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz developed a theory of electromagnetism based on "ions" that reproduced Maxwell's model.
The electron was discovered between 1879 and 1897 in works of William Crookes, Arthur Schuster, J. J. Thomson, and other physicists; its charge was carefully measured by Robert Andrews Millikan and Harvey Fletcher in their oil drop experiment of 1909. Physicists theorized that negatively charged electrons are constituent part of "atoms", along with some (yet unknown) positively charged substance, and it was later confirmed. Electron became the first elementary, truly fundamental particle discovered.
Studies of the "radioactivity", that soon revealed the phenomenon of radioactive decay, provided another argument against considering chemical elements as fundamental nature's elements. Despite these discoveries, the term atom stuck to Dalton's (chemical) atoms and now denotes the smallest particle of a chemical element, not something really indivisible.