Quantum Mechanical Model Essay

m, from the Greek word atomos meaning “indivisible”, proves its name right. It can no longer be subdivided into smaller pieces by conventional means and is the smallest particle that retains the identity of a chemical element. Countless theories were offered by philosophers and scientists alike before they came up with an acceptable representation of the atomic structure used as of today. Certainly, the process of figuring it all out was nothing but a challenging task. Scientists however, persevered and conducted various experiments over the years to fill up the holes of uncertainty.
On 348 BC, Aristotle introduced the idea that all matter was made up of only four elements – fire, water, earth and air. Since there were no scientific experiments performed to prove or disprove his idea, people believed in it for as long as two millennia. It was not until 1803 when John Dalton, an English schoolteacher, discarded Aristotle’s belief. Dalton came up with the idea while studying gases and discovered that elements combine with another at fixed ratios, even with multiples of these ratios at other times. In an effort to shed light on his findings, the atomic theory was born. Even though the concept of atoms were not entirely new during this time for early Greek philosophers –

But continued researches and studies through the years gave rise to the model we use presently: the Quantum Mechanical model. The approach was developed by both de Broglie and Schrodinger with the help of a few others including Heisenberg. Although the previous model was indeed a lot of help, the current atomic structure was in no way derived from the Bohr model. Apparently, electrons do not move in circular orbits around the nucleus but are considered as waves. The Quantum Mechanical model explained a number of uncertainties there are about the previous models and for this it still is the model accepted as of