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Article: Atoms
- Article from:
- Science of Everyday Things
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ATOMS
CONCEPT
Our world is made up of atoms, yet the atomic model of the universe is nonetheless considered a "theory." When scientists know beyond all reasonable doubt that a particular principle is the case, then it is dubbed a law. Laws address the fact that certain things happen, as well as how they happen. A theory, on the other hand, attempts to explain why things happen. By definition, an idea that is dubbed a theory has yet to be fully proven, and such is the case with the atomic theory of matter. After all, the atom cannot be seen, even with electron microscopes
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yet its behavior can be studied in terms of its effects. Atomic theory explains a great deal about the ...