Introduction:
The history
of the atom dates back to the time of Democritus taking a circuitous
route to
the present day. Scientific discoveries in both physics and chemistry
have
furthered our knowledge of the atom and its true capabilities. Reading
the chronicles
documenting the progress in man’s understanding of the atom reveals
much about
human ingenuity. These volumes are testimony to the sacrifice and
devotion
keynoting scientific discoveries. One breakthrough seemingly followed
the next
with lightening speed allowing for minimal if any time to evaluate the
significance of each finding. Ironically many great discoveries were
made
because of the dogged persistence of scientific investigation yet other
findings seem to spring from “fortunate accidents” or freaks of
providential
timing. There are numerous examples where a turn of events dictated the
way our
knowledge of the atom unfolded. This project will focus on how the
discovery of
X-Rays and X-Ray Spectroscopy lead to our understanding of elements and
their
fundamental property the atom.
Purpose:
The purpose of this
project is to explain how the development of the periodic table through
X-Ray Spectroscopy was achieved through the following aspects:
1) Showing the
history of the periodic table before the development of x-ray
spectroscopy
2) Show how the discovery of x-rays led to the quantatitive
applications used in x-ray spectroscopy
3) Show how Henry Moseley used x-ray spectroscopy to further develop
the periodic table.
4) Discuss how a spectrometer is used to identify unknown substances
based upon characteristic x-ray spectra
5) Explain the concepts behind x-ray spectroscopy and the principles
used in x-ray diffraction and x-ray fluorscents
6) Show how x-ray spectroscopy is now applied in our world.