An example of an historical scientific idea (that would now be considered an alternative conception)
"…the atoms of hydrogen were considered as being nearly spherical, whereas the atoms of sodium and potassium were believed to have the shapes of elongated ellipsoids.
The atoms of oxygen on the other hand were thought to have the shape of a doughnut with an almost completely closed central hole, so that a water molecule (H2O) could be formed by placing two spherical hydrogen atoms into the holes on either side of the oxygen doughnut…The substitution of sodium or potassium for hydrogen in a water molecule was then explained by the statement that the elongated atoms of sodium and potassium could be fitted better into the hole of the oxygen doughnut than the spherical atoms of hydrogen."
George Gamow (1961) One, Two, Three…Infinity. Facts and speculations of science, Revised Edition, Dover Publications, Inc., New York.
