How did we find the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in the past if we didn’t have the atomic number or weight?
In: Chemistry
Early chemists used hydrogen as a base unit. Hydrogen was “1” and everything else was multiples of that. Since the natural state of atoms is electrical neutrality, they must have the same number of electrons as protons.
This use of hydrogen as a base unit didn’t always work out, but that was remedied when we discovered the neutron which accounted for those discrepancies.
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