All matter is composed of atoms, the smallest individual units of elements. Each atom is made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Together, these three particles account for the mass and the charge of an atom.The History of Atomic TheoryThe first person to propose that everything on Earth is made up of tiny particles was the Greek philosopher Democritus, around 450 B.C. He used the term atomos, Greek for “indivisible,” from which the modern term “atom” is derived.

Dalton was only partially correct about the particles that make up matter. All matter is composed of atoms, and atoms are composed of three smaller subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. These three particles account for the mass and the charge of an atom.

In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...

Werner Heisenberg considered the limits of how accurately one can measure properties of an electron or other microscopic particles. He determined that there is a fundamental limit to how accurately one can measure both a particle’s position and its momentum simultaneously. The more accurate the measurement of the momentum of a particle is known, the less accurate the position at that time is known and vice versa. This is what is now called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. He mathematically...

The Greek philosopher Democritus proposed that everything on Earth is made up of tiny particles called atomos, Greek for "indivisible," from which the modern term "atom" is derived. In the 19th century, John Dalton proposed the atomic theory that is still largely correct today. He put forth five postulates to explain how atoms made up the world around us. (1) All matter is composed of infinitely small particles or atoms. (2) All atoms of a given element are identical to one another and (3) are...

In a beam of charged particles created by a heated cathode, the particles move at different speeds. However, many applications need a beam with uniform particle speeds. An arrangement known as a velocity selector uses electric and magnetic fields to pick particles with a particular speed from the beam.
A particle with charge q, speed v, and mass m enters an area from the top, where the magnetic and electric fields are perpendicular both to the particle's motion and to one another. The magnetic...