JJ Thomson

Joseph John Thomson was born in Cheetham Hill, a suburb of Manchester on December 18, 1856. He enrolled at Owens College, Manchester, in 1870, and in 1876 entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a minor scholar. He became a Fellow of Trinity College in 1880, when he was Second Wrangler and Second Smith's Prizeman, and he remained a member of the College for the rest of his life, becoming Lecturer in 1883 and Master in 1918. He was Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge, where he succeeded Lord Rayleigh, from 1884 to 1918 and Honorary Professor of Physics, Cambridge and Royal Institution, London.



Here's a video on Thomson:




J. J. Thomson's raisin bread model (plum pudding model)

J. J. Thomson considered that the structure of an atom is something like a raisin bread, so that his atomic model is sometimes called the raisin bread model. He assumed that the basic body of an atom is a spherical object containing N electrons confined in homogeneous jellylike but relatively massive positive charge distribution whose total charge cancelsthat of the N electrons. The schematic drawing of this model is shown in the following figure. Thomson's model is sometimes dubbed a plum pudding model.




Here's a video on Thomson's model of atoms:



Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BovmsKUOYE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW_zfKOU9uM&feature=related
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1906/thomson-bio.html
http://www.kutl.kyushu-u.ac.jp/seminar/MicroWorld1_E/Part2_E/P24_E/Thomson_model_E.html

Antoine Lavoisier

                 Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (26 August 1743 – 8 May 1794) He is also known to be “the father of modern chemistry.” He was a nobleman famous in the histories of Chemistry and Biology; he also stated the first version of the Law of Conservation of Mass, named oxygen and hydrogen, abolished the phlogiston theory and also helped construct the metric system.

                He also wrote the first extensive list of elements and helped to reform chemical nomenclature.  An investor and administrator of the "Ferme Générale" (a private tax collection company); He was also the chairman of the board of the Discount Bank. He was accused by Jean-Paul Marat of selling watered-down tobacco and of other crimes and of guillotined (behead).

1789 - The principle of conservation of mass was first outlined clearly by Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794)

               It has been claimed that Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765) had expressed similar ideas during 1748—and proved them by experiments—but this has been challenged.^[6] Others who anticipated the work of Lavoisier include Joseph Black (1728–1799), Henry Cavendish (1731–1810), and Jean Rey (1583–1645).

 

           Antoine is born of a wealthy family from Paris. He was able to inherit a large fortune when he was 5 years old because of his mother’s death. 

          He Studied in the College of Mazarin from 1754 to 1761. He studied Chemistry, Botany, Astronomy and Mathematics. 

         His love for Chemistry was influenced by Étienne Condillac who was a French scholar.

1748 -  The Law of Conservation of Mass was first stated at a physical theory by Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov

 1764- His first chemical publication appeared. He worked with Jean-Étienne Guettard;

 1767- Lavoisier worked on a geological survey of Alsace-Lorraine. When he was 25, he was elected as a member of French Academy of Sciences. 

 1771- at the age of 28, Lavoisier married the 13-year-old Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, the daughter of a co-owner of the Ferme. Over time, she proved to be a scientific colleague to her husband. She translated documents from English for him, including Richard Kirwan's Essay on Phlogiston and Joseph Priestley's research. She created many sketches and carved engravings of the laboratory instruments used by Lavoisier and his colleagues. She edited and published Lavoisier’s memoirs (whether any English translations of those memoirs have survived is unknown as of today) and hosted parties at which eminent scientists discussed ideas and problems related to chemistry. 

1789 - This theory (the Law of Conservation of Mass) was later reiterated and confirmed by French scientist Antoine Lavoisier . Lavoisier verified his theory in practice by carrying out a number of carefully measured experiments in which he reacted tin and lead with oxygen.

Sources:

* http://www.ehow.com/about_4568411_law-conservation-mass.html

* http://www.google.com.ph/imglanding?q=atomic%20model%20of%20anton%20lavoisier&imgurl=https://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/file/view/antoine.jpg/45246693/antoine.jpg&imgrefurl=https://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/Fall.2008.MMA.Cushman.Hutchinson.Timel ne&usg=__TUfs8_GTeMcvYMsp4tTLoodJc1I=&h=461&w=1013&sz=111&hl=en&itbs=1&tbnid=SXXyh8l7TAM_iM:&tbnh=68&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Datomic%2Bmodel%2Bof%2Banton%2Blavoisier%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DG%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&client=firefox-a&sa=G&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&start=3#tbnid=SXXyh8l7TAM_iM&start=7

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_mass#Historical_development_and_importance

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier

*  http://www.google.com.ph/imglanding?q=anton%20lavoisier&imgurl=http://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/file/view/HSantoin.jpg/44989145/HSantoin.jpg&imgrefurl=http://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/A.%2BGrimner%2Band%2BJ.%2BCondlin%2BTime%2BLine%2BProject&us =__8SSUcclY_Wzjn_WyIkdN5O12nB0=&h=344&w=280&sz=12&hl=en&itbs=1&tbnid=5XdKmC72X7DfqM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Danton%2Blavoisier%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&start=5#tbnid=5XdKmC72X7DfqM&start=9 

Members:

Marian Serrano - Web Page Designer

Maryose Sancio - Editor

Criselda Roxas - Photo Journalist

Gabrielle Santos - Historian

Rae Roldan - Chemist

John Dalton

John Dalton
  

ALL ABOUT JOHN DALTON
➝ He is The Father of Modern Atomic Theory.
Born: 6 September 1766
Birthplace: Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England
Died: 27 July 1844
Best Known As: The weather pioneer who advocated atomic theory



BRIEF BACKGROUND
John Dalton was born in England in 1766. He was brought up as a Quaker and at 12 years of age was running the school. He kept a journal of meteorological observations for 57 years and is an acknowledged pioneer of that science. He was honoured for his work on an atomic theory for the elements, was elected to various learned academies, and throughout remained a humble man and a dedicated teacher.


ACHIEVEMENTS
• He revived the atomic theory, which he formulated in the first volume of his New System of Chemical Philosophy (2 vol., 1808-27).
• He had already applied the concept to a table of atomic weights (1803), in a paper (1805) on the absorption of gases, and in developing his famous law of partial pressures, known also as Dalton's law.
• His interest in weather conditions led him to keep daily records from 1787 and to write Meteorological Observations and Essays (1793).
• Dalton, himself afflicted with color blindness, investigated (c.1794) the condition, known also as Daltonism.
• From 1793 he taught mathematics and physical sciences at New College, Manchester.
• He was a member of the Royal Society (from 1822) and in 1825 received its medal for his work on the atomic theory.


THE ATOMIC THEORY
Dalton's theory was based on the premise that the atoms of different elements could be distinguished by differences in their weights. He stated his theory in a lecture to the Royal Institution in 1803. The theory proposed a number of basic ideas:

• All matter is composed of atoms
• Atoms cannot be made or destroyed
• All atoms of the same element are identical
• Different elements have different types of atoms
• Chemical reactions occur when atoms are rearranged
• Compounds are formed from atoms of the constituent elements.

Using his theory, Dalton rationalised the various laws of chemical combination which were in existence at that time. However, he made a mistake in assuming that the simplest compound of two elements must be binary, formed from atoms of each element in a 1:1 ratio, and his system of atomic weights was not very accurate - he gave oxygen an atomic weight of seven instead of eight.
Despite these errors, Dalton's theory provided a logical explanation of concepts, and led the way into new fields of experimentation.



* Billiard Ball Model (1803) - John Dalton viewed the atom as a small solid sphere. He really got the "ball" rolling for modern chemistry!


EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING HIS ERA
1803
January - March
* January 5 – William Symington demonstrates his Charlotte Dundas, the "first practical steamboat". : steamboat Charlotte Dundas.
* January 30 – Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans; they end up completing the Louisiana Purchase.
* February 21 – Edward Despard and 6 others are hanged and beheaded for plotting to assassinate King George III and to destroy the Bank of England.
* February 24 – Marbury v. Madison: The Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
* February 25 – A major redistribution of territorial sovereignty within the Holy Roman Empire is enacted via an act known as the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss.
* March 1 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state, retroactive from August 7, 1953.
* March 9 – Aargau becomes a Swiss canton.

April – June
* April 30 – Louisiana Purchase is made by the United States from France.
* May – The First Consul of France Citizen Bonaparte begins making preparations to invade England.
* May 18 – The United Kingdom resumes war on France after France refuses to withdraw from Dutch territory.
* May 19 – Master Malati, a Coptic Christian leader, is beheaded by a Muslim mob in Cairo, Egypt.

July – September
* July 4 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
* July 5 – The convention of Artlenburg leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
* July 23 – Robert Emmet's uprising in Ireland begins.
* July 26 – The wagonway between Wandsworth and Croydon is opened, being the first public railway line of the world.
* August 3 – The British begin the Second Anglo-Maratha War against Sindhia of Gwalior.
* September 3 – William Wordsworth wrote "Upon Westminster Bridge"
* September 20 – Irish rebel Robert Emmet is executed.
* September 23 – Battle of Assaye (India): British-led troops defeat Maratha forces.

October – December
* October 20 – The Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, doubling the size of the United States.
* November 18- Battle of Vertières: The Haitian army led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines defeats the army of Napoleon.
* November 30 – At the Cabildo building in New Orleans, Spanish representatives Governor Manuel de Salcedo and the Marqués de Casa Calvo, officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to French representative Prefect Pierre Clément de Laussat (just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase).
____________________________________________________________
Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1427745.htm
http://www.csmate.colostate.edu/cltw/cohortpages/viney_off/atomhistory.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/john-dalton
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1427745.htm
http://answers.encyclopedia.com/question/were-john-dalton-main-accomplishments-84750.html

Quantum Mechanical Model

GETTING TO KNOW ERWIN SCHRODINGER..

 Erwin Schrödinger was born on August 12, 1887, in Vienna, the only child of Rudolf Schrödinger, who was married to a daughter of Alexander Bauer, his Professor of Chemistry at the Technical College of Vienna.  He was a highly gifted man with a broad education. After having finished his chemistry studies, he devoted himself for years to Italian painting. After this he took up botany, which resulted in a series of papers on plant phylogeny.

Schrödinger's wide interests dated from his school years at the Gymnasium, where he not only had a liking for the scientific disciplines, but also appreciated the severe logic of ancient grammar and the beauty of German poetry.

From 1906 to 1910 he was a student at the University of Vienna, during which time he came under the strong influence of Fritz Hasenöhrl, who was Boltzmann's successor. It was in these years that Schrödinger acquired a mastery of eigenvalue problems in the physics of continuous media, thus laying the foundation for his future great work. He assistant to Franz Exner, he, together with his friend K. W. F. Kohlrausch, conducted practical work for students. It came as a result of his dissatisfaction with the quantum condition in Bohr's orbit theory and his belief that atomic spectra should really be determined by some kind of eigenvalue problem. For this work he shared with Dirac the Nobel Prize for 1933.

In 1936 he was offered a position at University of Graz, which he accepted only after much deliberation and because his longing for his native country outweighed his caution. With the annexation of Austria in 1938, Soon afterwards he managed to escape to Italy, from where he proceeded to Oxford and then to University of Ghent. After a short stay he moved to the newly created Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin, where he became Director of the School for Theoretical Physics. He remained in Dublin until his retirement in 1955.

After his retirement he returned to an honored position in Vienna. He died on the 4th of January, 1961, after a long illness, survived by his faithful companion, Annemarie Bertel, whom he married in 1920

What is a quantum model?

The quantum model is a probability area an electron may be located in.  In 1923 Louis de Broglie suggested that an electron moves with a wavelength that completes a circle, which would explain the different energy levels as Bohr’s model did but would also explain the wave diffraction pattern obtained by C.J. Davisson and L.H. Germer.  In 1925 Erwin Schrödinger developed his wave equation which explained the motion of the electron by taking into effect the forces surrounding the electron.

Where did this model come from?
Bohr’s development of Rutherford’s planetary model had begun the process of introducing quantum theory to the structure of the atom (see developing a model of the atom: radioactive atoms). Bohr introduced the idea of stationary states in which the atom was stable. Transitions between these states explained the existence of spectral lines.

In the case of hydrogen, he was able to derive energy levels: transitions between his predicted energy levels matched the lines in the hydrogen spectrum. However, his model could not predict energy levels for any other atoms (though those of the hydrogen-like alkali metals could be approximated).
 
It took the work of Heisenberg and Schrödinger to separately come up with ways of describing more fully the quantized energy levels of atoms. Heisenberg used matrices and Schrödinger developed a wave equation. It is solutions of Schrödinger‘s equation that provide pictures of electrons’ probability densities around the nucleus of an atom.

MORE ABOUT THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL MODEL OF AN ATOM.

1930’s:

Erwin Schrödinger's most important contribution to the current Atomic Model was his development of the mathematical description that described the paths electrons would most likely follow in their orbits around the nucleus.  The formulas that Schrödinger developed in 1926 would be later called the basis of quantum mechanics, and awarded him a Nobel Prize. Eventually, Schrödinger determined that instead of Bohr's suggested orbits, there were actually orbitals. Instead of the idea of the electrons following a pre-determined path, the electrons would be moving around in an area. These ideas, including the quantum mechanical formulas, were presented in his "Wave Mechanical Formula." This model eventually became the new Modern Atomic Theory. 

Here is a quantum mechanical picture of a Hydrogen atom. The nucleus is not shown, but is located at the center of the picture. 

Some things to notice: 

You can see where the electron is most likely to be: near the nucleus.  

            You can't tell exactly where the electron is, just where it is most likely to be. 

The individual dots are not electrons. They are meant to be used in the context of how dense or heavy an area of dots appears. 

The more crowded (or heavier packed) the dots are in a particular region, the better chance you have of finding the electron there. 

Wave Mechanical Model: Power Boat Analogy

When a power boat is cruising on a lake, the wave which it produces has its greatest amplitude right at the boat, and the amplitude decreases as the distance from the boat increases. Thus you could locate the most probable location of the boat by analyzing the amplitude and energy of its associated water wave.

This is analogous to the wave mechanical model which visualizes the atom as a positive nucleus surrounded by vibrating electron waves. The Schrödinger Wave Equation describes the amplitude and other characteristics of the waves which are associated with the moving electrons, and thus it also is able to describe the energy and location of the orbiting electrons.

 

Here's a video about the features of a Quantum Mechanical Model of an Atom

Sources: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68friBTvHSw

http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/crystal/resources

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/684121/chemical-bonding/43383/The-quantum-mechanical-model

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1933/schrodinger-bio.html

Joseph Louis Proust (September 26, 1754 – July 5, 1826)

• He was born on September 26, 1754 in Angers, France. He studied chemistry in his father’s shop and later came to Paris where he gained the appointment of apothecary in chief to the Salpetriere.

• He also taught chemistry with Pilâtre de Rozier, a famous astronaut.

• He became chief apothecary at the Saltpêtrière Hospital.

HIS CONTRIBUTIONS/WORKS

•  Proust’s largest accomplishment was disproving Berthollet (Thomsen-Berthelot principle is a hypothesis which states that all chemical changes are accompanied by the production of heat and that processes which occur will be ones in which the most heat is produce

• He  played a major role as chemical annalist, establishing the steadiness of the composition of chemical compounds. This contributed the prestige of Berthellot, who admitted that the composition of different substances depended on the concentration of reagents used in the reactions.

• He based his work on the study of copper carbonate reactions performed in the laboratory.

• He analytically studied the two tin oxides and the two iron sulfides, Proust studied copper carbonate.

 

LAW OF CONSTANT COMPOSITION

•  States that the composition of a substance is always the same, regardless of how the substance was made or where the substance is found.

MODELS

 Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Proust
http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/st2.5/scenes-e/biog/b0059.html
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Joseph_Louis_Proust
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomsen-Berthelot_principle

http://www.answers.com/topic/joseph-proust

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Proust

http://cstl-csm.semo.edu/mcgowan/ch181/atomhist.htm
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/science10/unitb/lawcomp.html
http://atomfreek.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/joseph-proust-1754-1826/

Neils Bohr

NEILS BOHR 1885-1962

       Neils Henrik David Bohr (October 7, 1885- November 18, 1962) was a Danish Physicist who made essential contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.

       Bohr was borned in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1885. His father, Christian Bohr, was a professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen. His mother, Ellen Adler Bohr, came from a wealthy Jewish family. His brother, Harald Bohr, a mathematican and an Olympic footballer.

        Bohr and his wife, Margrethe Norluhd Bohr, had six sons. The oldest died because of a tragic boating accident and another died from childhood meningitis. His other sons went on to lead on successful lives. Aage Bohr was like his father who became a very succesful physicist and he also won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975.


Bohr's Model

        Neils Bohr developed the modern atomic model by proposing
that electrons occupied fixed orbits around the nucleus, called electron shells. This shells were at set distances from the nucleus ad these were the same for all element. The shells become larger the futher they are away from the nucleus, similar to the layers of the skin that make up an onion; the outermost layer is considerably larger than the ones closest to the core.

       He reasoned that larger shells could hold more electrons and proposed each shell could hold 2 n squared electrons where n is the shell number. So the first shell could hold 2x(1 squared)=2 electrons, the second shell 2x(2 squared) electrons and so on.

                               

      This gives the following sequence of numbers of electrons in shells: 2, 8, 18, 32, 50 etc. He also showed that elecctrons can move from a lower orbit (close to the nucleus) to a higher orbit (futher from the nucleus) by absorbing energy when heated, accounting for already known absorption spectra. These electrons would then lose that energy when allowed to cool, giving the emission spectra for different elements.

Bohr Atomic Model

Neils Bohr

Here are some videos and pictures of Neils Bohr's invention or the Bohr Atomic Model.

Explaining the Bohr Model

In general, the circumference equals n times the wavelength, where n is any positive integer. In the above figures the value of n is 1, 2 and 3 respectively. It turns out that these standing wave states for electrons correspond exactly to the "allowed" electron orbits in Bohr's model. So, Quantum Mechanics explains Bohr's ad-hoc model of the atom. Now we call the integer n the principal quantum number. Note that for the hydrogen atom it completely describes the state of the electron.

          
         "We are tracing the description of natural phenomena back to combinations of pure numbers which far transcends the boldest dreams of the Pythagoreans." -Neils Bohr



Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr
              http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Niels_Bohr
              http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/PVB/Harrison/BohrModel/BohrModel.html
              http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/atom-2.html

Democritus and Aristotle

 

 

DEMOCRITUS

Democritus was born in the city of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian country of Teos during the year 460 BC, according to Apollodorus. He is popularly known as the Laughing Philosopher (for laughing at human folies) & also as “The Mocker”. It was said that he came from a rich family. This gave him the opportunity to travel the world & satisfy his thirst for knowledge.

Using his inheritance from his father, he travelled to Asia & was rumoured to have even reached the countries of India & Ethiopia. Through some of his writings, we know that he had been to Babylon & Meroe. According to Diodorus Siculus, he said that Democritus visited Egypt & resided there for 5 years. Democritus himself said that among his contemporaries, no one had journeyed, seen, or met more important scholars than he. During his travels, it was said that he became acquainted with the Chaldean Magi. One of the magi, whose name was “Ostanes” was said to have taught him.

After returning home to Abdera, he busied himself with the study of Natural Philosophy. He travelled around Greece to gain knowledge about the culture there. In his writings, many Greek philosophers are mentioned & by using his wealth, he was able to purchase their writings. The philosopher with the greatest influence on him was Leucippus, the founder of Atomism.

There are many anecdotes about Democritus, especially by Diogenes Laërtius. Diogenes Laërtius wrote that Democritus was modest, simple & that he lived exclusively for his studies. It was said that Democritus lost his eyesight in his old age. Despite that, he was cheerful & he was always ready to see the comical side of life.

According to Diodorus Siculus, Democritus died at the age of 90 in the year 370 BC. Although other writers have said that he lived to the age of either 104 or 109.

Videos for Democritus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK7wuTwAiBU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUzTQWn-wfE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvuaZ6EEUgs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpaxRtucmS4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIamapza_LE&feature=related

DEMOCRITUS

ISSUES/CONTRIBUTIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

Democritus’ exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, since they are often mentioned together in texts. Their speculation on atoms (which came from Leucippus) has a passing & partial resemblance to the 19^th century understanding of atomic structure that has led some to think of him as more of a scientist. Many consider Democritus to be the “Father of Modern Science” yet he was nevertheless well-known to his fellow Northern-born philosopher, Aristotle. It was said that he was dislike so much by Plato & it came to a point that Plato wished all of his works were burnt.

WORKS:

Ethics

§  Pythagoras

§  On the Disposition of the Wise Man

§  On the Things in Hades

§  Tritogenia

§  On Manliness or On Virtue

§  The Horn of Amaltheia

§  On Contentment

§  Ethical Commentaries

Natural science

§  The Great World-ordering (may have been written by Leucippus)

§  Cosmography

§  On the Planets

§  On Nature

§  On the Nature of Man or On Flesh (two books)

§  On the Mind

§  On the Senses

§  On Flavours

§  On Colours

§  On Different Shapes

§  On Changing Shape

§  Buttresses

§  On Images

§  On Logic (three books)

Nature

§  Heavenly Causes

§  Atmospheric Causes

§  Terrestrial Causes

§  Causes Concerned with Fire and Things in Fire

§  Causes Concerned with Sounds

§  Caused Concerned with Seeds and Plants and Fruits

§  Causes Concerned with Animals (three books)

§  Miscellaneous Causes

§  On Magnets

Mathematics

§  On Different Angles or O contact of Circles and Spheres

§  On Geometry

§  Geometry

§  Numbers

§  On Irrational Lines and Solids (two books)

§  Planispheres

§  On the Great Year or Astronomy (a calendar)

§  Contest of the Waterclock

§  Description of the Heavens

§  Geography

§  Description of the Poles

§  Description of Rays of Light

Literature

§  On the Rhythms and Harmony

§  On Poetry

§  On the Beauty of Verses

§  On Euphonious and Harsh-sounding Letters

§  On Homer

§  On Song

§  On Verbs

§  Names

Technical works

§  Prognosis

§  On Diet

§  Medical Judgment

§  Causes Concerning Appropriate and Inappropriate Occasions

§  On Farming

§  On Painting

§  Tactics

§  Fighting in Armor

Commentaries

§  On the Sacred Writings of Babylon

§  On Those in Meroe

§  Circumnavigation of the Ocean

§  On History

§  Chaldaean Account

§  Phrygian Account

§  On Fever and Coughing Sicknesses

§  Legal Causes

§  Problems

Aristotle 

  ARISTOTLE

          Aristotle was born in Stageira, Chalcidice (a place 55km away from Modern-Day Thessaloniki) in the year 384 BC. His father was Nicomachus, the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle trained & studied as a member of the aristocracy which is a form of government. At 18, he continued his education at Plato’s Academy in Athens. He stayed there for nearly 20 years & only left after Plato’s death in 347 BC.

          After leaving the Academy, he went to the court of his friend, Hermias of Atarneus, in Asia Minor. While in Asia, he travelled to the various islands & studied their botany & zoology. Later on, Aristotle married Hermias’s adoptive daughter, Pythias & they had a daughter together. After Hermias’s death, he was invited by Philip II of Macedon to tutor his son Alexander the Great in 343 BC.

          In Macedon, he was appointed as the head of the Royal Academy. At that time, he taught Alexander along with Ptolemy & Cassander. There he taught Politics & counselled his 3 pupils.

          By 335 BC, Aristotle returned to Athens & established his own school there called the Lyceum. He conducted courses at the school for the next 12 years. During that time, his wife Pythias died & Aristotle became involved with Herpyllis of Stageira. They had a son whom he named after his father, Nicomachus.

          It is believed that the period 335 to 323 BC was when Aristotle composed many of his works. He wrote many dialogues, of which very few survived. The surviving works are in Treatise form & were not intended to be for widespread publication since they are generally thought to be used as lecture aids for his students. His most important treatises include: Physics, Metaphysics, Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul) & Poetics.

          Aristotle had been suspected of playing a role in Alexander the Great’s death but there is very little evidence to that. Upon Alexander’s death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens grew. Eurymedon the Hierophant denounced Aristotle for not holding the gods in honor. Aristotle then fled to his mother’s family’s estate in Chalcis.

          In the year 322 BC, Aristotle died in Euboea of natural causes. He named his student Antipater as the new Chief Executor & left a will wherein he requested to be buried next to his wife.

ARISTOTLE

ISSUES/CONTRIBUTIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:

Aristotle’s views on the physical sciences greatly shaped medieval scholarship & that influence extended well into the Renaissance period before being replaced by Newtonian Physics. Some of his observations concerning the biological sciences were confirmed to be accurate only in the 19^th century. His works contained the earliest known formal study of logic which became Modern formal logic in the late 19^th century. In Metaphysics, Aristotelianism made a great influence on philosophical & theological thinking in the Islamic & Jewish traditions. It continues to influence Christian theology, especially Eastern Orthodox theology & the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. His ethics, though always influential had gained renewed interest with the modern coming of Virtue Ethics. All aspects of his philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study nowadays. Out of Aristotle’s many elegant treatises & dialogues, only about 1/3 of the original works have survived. Despite the far-reaching appeal that Aristotle’s works have traditionally enjoyed, modern scholarship now questions a substantial portion of the Aristotelian corpus as Aristotle’s own authentically.

WORKS:

Aristotle’s works that have survived through Medieval manuscript transmission are collected in Corpus Aristotelicum. These texts are technical philosophical treatises from within Aristotle’s school.

Videos for Aristotle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-AlcJnXIk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ-QIH-6duc&feature=related

References

  www.angelfire.com

  www.plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democritus