Because arteries and arterioles become less elastic as people age, they cannot relax as quickly during the rhythmic pumping of the heart. As a result, blood pressure increases more when the heart contracts (during systole)âsometimes above normalâthan it does in younger people. Abnormally high blood pressure during systole with normal blood pressure during diastole is very common among older people.
Then in 1897, Thompson discovered the first component part of the atom: the electron, a particle with a negative electric charge. Discovery of the Atom. By the 19th century, technology had advanced greatly and many elements had been discovered to work with.
Subatomic Particles The rather steady increase of atomic masses through the periodic table was explained when physicists managed to split atoms into three component particles. The exploration of atomic structure began in 1911, when Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander who worked in Canada and England, discovered that atoms had a dense central nucleus that contained positively charged particles, which he named protons.