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Rutherford became known as the father of the nuclear age. He wanted to study atoms more, so he shot positively charged alpha particles at a sheet of gold paper. Most of the particles passed right through, however, some bounced back. He then concluded that atoms consisted mainly of empty space. He believed that most of the mass was in the center, with a few electrons away from the center. He named the center of the atom, the nucleus.

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Thompson discovered electrons in 1897. He described atoms as, "uniformly packed spheres of positive matter, filled with negatively charged electrons."

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Dalton proved that common substances always broke down into the same elements. he then determined that compounds were combinations of atoms, of different elements. he also concluded that atoms could never be created or destroyed. Because of Dalton's discovery, atomic theory was now accepted by the science community.

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Aristotle disagreed with Democritus. Instead, he believed that matter was made up of four elements, earth, wind, water, and fire.

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Democritus believed everything in the world was made up of tiny particles surrounded by empty space. He also said that these small particles vary in size and shape depending on the substance they composed. He called these particles, "atomos."