CORPUSCULAR MODEL OF MATTER: PRINCIPLES, CONTRIBUTIONS - PHYSICAL - 2025

The corpuscular model of matter is a theory that is part of classical physics and that tries to explain the composition of all the matter that exists in the universe. This theory is based on the assumption that all existing matter is made up of particles, which are minuscule in size.

This model has had many defenders since its formulation, and acquired relevance from the seventeenth century. In this sense, the corpuscular model of matter has many similarities with the first atomic theory, in which atoms were considered the most elementary particles. The current that this theory follows was called atomism.

The big difference between both models is that the atomic theory proposed by the ancient Greeks perceived atoms as impossible to divide, while in the corpuscular model these tiny particles can be fragmented.

Beginning

Like all the models that have been formulated and on which the sciences are based, the so-called corpuscularism is founded on certain principles, some of which have become fundamental pillars for the chemistry of modern times.

First, it highlights the assumption that chemical compounds have the potential to display secondary-order characteristics, which are distinct from the characteristics of the elements that combine to form these compounds. This assumption represents the cornerstone of molecular chemistry today.

On the other hand, the ability of chemical processes to modify the composition of a body without significantly changing its shape, is the basis of permineralization (fossilization consisting of the deposit of mineral substances in certain tissues) and the understanding of various procedures of nature. biological, geological and metallurgical.

Furthermore, the assumption that the same elements are predictably combinable for different reasons, while employing different methods in the formation of compounds with completely different characteristics, became the basis of certain chemical synthesis analyzes and the cornerstone of crystallography. and stoichiometry.

Contributions

Scientist Robert Boyle contributed to this model arguing that, in addition to the fact that all matter is made up of tiny divisible particles, they are composed of a type of matter with universal properties, only distinguishable from each other by the way in which they move. through space and by its shape.

In the same way, Boyle published his studies on the mechanical corpuscular hypothesis, which he defended in the 1660s, contradicting the models in force at that time.

These models had been proposed by Aristotle and Paracelsus to try to explain how matter is composed and to expose the techniques for carrying out chemical analysis.

Additionally, the contributions of French scientists Pierre Gassendi and René Descartes include the theory that these tiny particles that make up matter have the same characteristics as macroscopically observable objects, such as mass, size, shape, and consistency.

At the same time, this theory indicates that they have movements, collide and group to give rise to the various phenomena of the universe.

On the other hand, the corpuscular hypothesis was also supported by John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, being used by Newton to develop his later theory on the corpuscular behavior of radiation.

Relationship between the corpuscular model of matter and l

When speaking of alchemy, reference is usually made to an ancient practice, currently considered as pseudoscience by skeptical scientists, whose main goals were to obtain a cure for diseases, the transformation of base metals into gold (or silver) and the prolongation of the life.

However, the processes on which alchemy is based to obtain such achievements were already known to chemistry for several centuries before the Christian era, such as the techniques used in metallurgy and the properties of mercury and sulfur, which were indispensable in these studies.

Due to the promise of granting what humanity most aspires to (wealth, longevity and immortality), during the seventeenth century alchemy was considered prohibited, so scientists who wished to study it had to do so clandestinely; among these scientists were Boyle and Newton.

Robert Boyle's Alchemical Studies

Throughout his life, Boyle was in constant search of alchemy that proposed the transmutation of the metals known as basic (lead, copper, among others) into gold.

Boyle tried to establish communication with characters that he considered involved in this scenario and with whom he believed had secrets of alchemy.

Boyle has been named as the father of chemistry thanks to this determination to make known the importance of using chemical principles and processes in the analysis of natural phenomena and medical studies.

In this way, Boyle combined his knowledge, skills as an inventor and studies on alchemy with his scientific experiments in the different scientific branches in which he worked (philosophy of nature, chemistry and physics) to develop his mechanical corpuscular hypothesis, which served as the basis for the subsequent Chemical Revolution.

Alchemical Studies of Sir Isaac Newton

For his part, Isaac Newton studied alchemy in a contemporary way with Boyle, writing a large number of essays on this subject, far superior to his scientific publications on physics or optics that gave him so much recognition.

In fact, many of Newton's studies are based on Boyle's research and discoveries.

This scientist related his investigations in the different fields of science, proposing explanations for natural phenomena through the application of physical forces and their relationship with alchemy.

Finally, in later centuries both topics were separated and, while alchemy was taking a back seat, the corpuscular model was gaining strength and improving over the years until it reached the current model, which speaks of dual behavior (wave and wave). corpuscular) of matter.

References

1. Wikipedia. (sf). Corpuscularianism. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org
2. Britannica, E. (nd). Robert Boyle. Retrieved from britannica.com
3. Lüthy, CH, Murdoch, JE, and Newman, WR (2001). Late Medieval and Early Modern Corpuscular Matter Theories. Recovered from books.google.co.ve
4. Clericuzio, A. (2013). Elements, Principles and Corpuscles: A Study of Atomism and Chemistry in the Seventeenth Century. Obtained from books.google.co.ve
5. Newman, WR (2006). Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution. Recovered from books.google.co.ve