6. DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

In 1808, Dalton published ‘A New System of Chemical Philosophy’ in which he proposed the following:

1. Matter consists of indivisible atoms.

2. All the atoms of a given element have identical properties including identical mass. Atoms of different elements differ in mass.

3. Compounds are formed when atoms of different elements combine in a fixed ratio.

4. Chemical reactions involve reorganisation of atoms. These are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.