重审道尔顿原子论的建立:1803还是1805?

Revisiting the Establishment of Dalton’s Atomic Theory: 1803 or 1805 ?

化学史家们往往将1803年9月的第一份相对原子质量表看作道尔顿原子论形成的时间点,但是道尔顿本人在1810年的讲座中则称原子论诞生于1805年。这一分歧源于道尔顿与化学史家们对其原子论工作的不同理解。道尔顿认定原子论的证明需从物理角度出发,故自称1805年完成证明。然而纵观原子论发展的历史,道尔顿无法从物理角度证明原子论,其工作实则达成了化学上的证明。因此,1803年9月实为其原子论真正形成的时间点。

The historians of chemistry used to value the first table of relative atomic mass,which appeared in September 1803,as the establishment of Dalton’s atomism,but Dalton himself,in one of his lectures in 1810,claimed that atomism had been born in 1805.In this paper,it is believed that the different understandings of Dalton’s atomic theory result in the division between Dalton and historians.Dalton believed that the physical proof is the key to support his atomism,so he claimed that it had been certified in 1805.However,throughout the long history of atomism,Dalton could not prove atomism from a physical point of view.Therefore,September 1803 is actually the time point for the establishment of Dalton’s atomism.