From Atomos to Atom: The History of the Concept Atom

Description

English translation of "Van atomos naar atoom" (1949) by Andreas Gerardus Maria van Melsen, translated by Henry J. Koren. Republished 2004. Contents Introduction Part One - The Concept Atom Before the Origin of the Physical Atomic Theory Chapter 1 - The Philosophy of Greece 1 Introduction 2 The Importance of Grecian Philosophy 3 The First Grecian Philosophers 4 Democritus 5 The Theories of Anaxagoras and Empedocles 6 Plato 7 Aristotle 8 Grecian Philosophy After Aristotle Chapter 2 - The Middle Ages and the Renaissance 1 General Outline 2 Aristotle's Doctrine of Minima in his Commentators 3 Scaliger 4 Atomism 5 The Development of Practical Chemistry Chapter 3 - The Seventeenth Century 1 The Special Importance of this Century 2 Sennert 3 Basso and van Goorle 4 Gassendi 5 Descartes 6 Robert Boyle 7 The Mechanics of the Seventeenth Century 8 Review of the Seventeenth Century Part Two - The Concept of Atom in Physical Science Chapter 4 - The Origin of the Physical Atomic Theory 1 The Development Before Dalton 2 Dalton's Atomic Theory 3 First Development After Dalton 5 Organic Chemistry 6 The Kinetic Theory of Gases 7 The Electromagnetic Light Theory 8 The Electronic Theory 9 The Development of the Periodic Table 10 The Philosophic Background of the Atomic Theory Around 1900 Chapter 5 - The Atomic Theory in the Twentieth Century 1 The Atomic Model of Rutherford and Bohr 2 The Dualistic Character of Matter 3 Nuclear Physics 4 The Philosophic Background of the Contemporaneous Atomic Theory Chapter 6 - Science of Nature, Philosophy, and Philosophy of Nature 1 Introduction 2 The Right of Philosophy to Exist as a Science in its Own Right 3 The Importance of Ancient Philosophic Systems as Regards Natural Science and General Philosophy 4 The Right to Existence of Natural Philosophy 5 The Value of Greek Philosophy of Nature 6 The Philosophic Background of the Science of Nature 7 Recapitulation Chapter Seven - Epilogue Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects