How did Henry Moseley contribute to the current model of the atom?
Moseley’s law provided a reasonably complete experimental set of data supporting the (at that time new from 1911) Ernest Rutherford/Antonius Van den Broek concept of the atom, in which atomic number is understood as representing physically exactly the number of positive charges (protons) in a central atomic nucleus (Moseley mentions these two scientists in his paper, but does not actually mention Bohr). A simple modification of Rydberg and Bohr’s formula was found to give Moseley’s empirically-derived law for measurement of atomic number. In some cases Moseley was forced to modify the equipment to detect particularly soft X-rays which would not penetrate air and paper, by working with completely evacuated equipment, and in the dark.
