Laws of John Dalton: The Most Celebrated Works of a Chemist

John Dalton was born on 6th September 1966 in Cumberland, England, in what was termed in those times a quacker family which had limited means of income. His father was a weaver by profession. He then received his early education from John Fletcher, who was responsible for running a private school in a nearby village. From the age of ten only, he began to earn his living, being in the service of a wealthy local statesman. Dalton had started to show his interest in studying law and medicine at the age of twenty-three, but he was eventually expelled from attending an English University because of repeated dissent. The man who gave the world the concept of atomic theory, which was named after him eventually – John Dalton’s atomic theory and the atomic model, popularly named John Dalton atomic theory had to lead a challenging life from an early age.

John Dalton Atomic Theory

The Fundamental concepts of atoms and chemical structures were first developed by John Dalton, who coined the findings under one law named the law of multiple proportions by doing extensive research and elaborating upon the past findings of Antoine Lavoisier and Joseph Proust. Dalton had studied Prout’s findings-which stated that masses were either 88.1 % tin and 11.9 % oxygen or 78. 7 % tin and 21.3% oxygen.  Dalton found out that 100g of tin combines either with 13.5 or 27g of oxygen, with 13.5 and 27 forming a ratio .i.e 1:2. He identified and explained the common pattern of chemistry.

He also found that water absorbed carbon dioxide far better than it absorbed nitrogen. Dalton characterised that this was due to a difference in the mass and complexity of the gas particles. He also put forward views on the relative weights of atoms of a few elements. The brief idea of atoms came into Dalton’s mind as a purely generic concept, and he decided to study the properties of the atmosphere and the gases. He also published a paper and penned down his observations in it at the very end. The paper was published as ‘on the absorption of gases by water and other liquids’.

The atomic theory was one of the many Laws of John Dalton that he put forward as a dedicated physicist and chemist. So now, let’s summarise the points or facts related to Dalton’s atomic theory.

• Elements that are present are made up of extremely minute and small particles called atoms
• Atoms of a particular element can be considered to be identical in their size, mass, and all other properties, other atoms of different elements do differ in size and mass, and all other properties
• Atoms can never be divided into different parts, nor can they be created or destroyed
• Atoms are combined, segregated, and rearranged as per the nature of the chemical reaction.

John Dalton Atomic Model

The John Dalton atomic model answered almost all of the chemistry at that particular time. His atomic model was subdivided into seven postulates, which are as follows:

• First Postulate: The first theory measured that all matter comprises the elementary particles known as  ‘atoms’ and can’t be divided, segregated, or destroyed.
• Second Postulate: It states that atoms of one element are identical in nature and weight, but atoms of different elements have their characteristics and weight.
• Third Postulate: It states that the atoms cannot segregate, regardless of being combined due to any chemical reaction. The combination of a different set of atoms will lead to the creation of more complex compounds or particular substances.
• Fourth Postulate: It says that atoms combined from different elements can form different compounds. Example-Hydrogen Peroxide(H2O2) comprises two hydrogens and two oxygen atoms, while water molecule comprises one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms (H2O) which states that hydrogen and oxygen are both present in the compounds but in different proportions.
• Fifth Postulate: It states that atoms can combine in more than two amounts to form a range of different chemical compounds
• Sixth Postulate: It states that atoms cannot be created or destroyed during a chemical reaction
• Seventh Postulate: It states that atoms, while forming different chemical compounds, do so in a simple numerical ratio, never a fractional ratio.

John Dalton died on 27th July 1844 in Manchester, England but left behind a legacy in the field of physics and chemistry under the laws of John Dalton for others to follow.

Conclusion

In this blog, we learned about the early life of John Dalton and his contribution to providing the world with his Atomic Model Theory. Yet still, some doubts may remain, and to resolve them, here is an FAQ section that will clear all concepts and questions regarding John Dalton.