
31: What's Inside
10/03/22 • 26 min
Ernest Rutherford discovered the basic structure of the atom. Then Max von Laue suggested diffracting x rays through crystalline layers and showed that atoms have a particular arrangement in crystals. Henry Moseley found a relationship between scattered x rays off elements and the positive charge in their nucleus, thus explaining the Periodic Table. Then Max Plank upended science with his "quantum theory". Niels Bohr used quantum theory to posit electron levels in atoms.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
Ernest Rutherford discovered the basic structure of the atom. Then Max von Laue suggested diffracting x rays through crystalline layers and showed that atoms have a particular arrangement in crystals. Henry Moseley found a relationship between scattered x rays off elements and the positive charge in their nucleus, thus explaining the Periodic Table. Then Max Plank upended science with his "quantum theory". Niels Bohr used quantum theory to posit electron levels in atoms.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
Previous Episode

30: X ray Vision
Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen made an earth-shattering discovery for chemistry and atoms in 1895: He discovered x rays. Then, soon after, Henri Becquerel took the idea of x rays a step further and made another, equally earth-shattering discovery for chemistry and atoms: radioactivity. The Curies figured out which known elements were radioactive. Rutherford categorized radioactive rays into alpha, beta, and gamma. We explore what these rays are. We end up with the discovery of the neutron.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
Next Episode

32: Shell Game
Charles Barkla realized how electrons arrange themselves in shells around atoms. Gilbert Lewis noted how electrons can pair up and form bonds, without (much) regard for willingness to give up or accept other electrons to complete shells. We discuss polarity of molecules. Irving Langmuir promoted and expanded Lewis's ideas, adding that atoms like to form octets. Finally, we discuss various models of acidity and basicity.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
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