Van 'ondeelbaar' naar 'deelbaar' atoom. De lotgevallen van de hypothese van William Prout (1815)

Abstract

SUMMARY: The hypothesis of Prout (1815) states that all atoms are compounds of hydrogen atoms and thus that atomic weights of all chemical elements must be expressible as whole numbers. The hypothesis was confronted by some experimental evidence, a.o. by the Belgian chemist J.S. Stas. Yet, by the end of the nineteenth century, most scientists believed in some form of Prout's hypothesis. Further investigations led to the discovery of isotopes, and to an understanding of the structure of the nucleus.