Atomic Structure, 2nd Edition

What is matter made of? Scientists have been trying to answer this question for thousands of years. The concept of the atom—the tiniest fragment of a substance that still retains the characteristics of that substance—goes back to the Greek philosopher Leucippus, who lived in about 450 b.c. In the mid-1600s, Robert Boyle provided experimental evidence that atoms did, indeed, exist. And in 1897, Bri...