All corrections
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom
1 correction found
1
Claim
which is in fact true for all of them if one takes isotopes into account.
Correction
This is false. Even for individual isotopes, atomic masses are not all integer multiples of hydrogen’s mass; a simple counterexample is chlorine-35.
Full reasoning
The statement makes a universal claim, but it is contradicted by basic isotopic mass data.
Using NIST values:
- Hydrogen-1 has an atomic mass of 1.00782503223 u.
- Chlorine-35 has an atomic mass of 34.968852682 u.
If chlorine-35 were an integer multiple of hydrogen’s mass, the ratio Cl-35 / H-1 would be an integer. But using those NIST values, the ratio is about 34.697, which is not an integer.
So Prout’s idea is not "in fact true for all of them" even when isotopes are considered individually. The universal claim is disproved by this single counterexample.
2 sources
- Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for All Elements - NIST (hydrogen entry)
1 H 1 1.00782503223(9) 0.999885(70) [1.00784,1.00811] m
- Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for Chlorine - NIST
17 Cl ... 35 34.968852682(37) 0.7576(10)