Democritus
Democritus knew that if a stone was divided in half, the two halves would have essentially the same properties as the whole. (Geez!) Therefore, he reasoned that if the stone were to be continually cut into smaller and smaller pieces then; at some point, there would be a piece which would be so small as to be indivisible. He called these small pieces of matter "atomos," the Greek word for indivisible.
Therefore, changes in matter were a result of dissociations or combinations of the atoms as they moved throughout the void. Although Democritus' theory was remarkable, it was rejected by Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers of Ancient Greece; and the atomic theory was ignored for nearly 2,000 years...
One of the first atomic theorists was Democritus,
a Greek philosopher who
lived in the fifth century
BC.
Democritus, theorized that atoms were specific to the material which they composed. In addition, Democritus believed that the atoms differed in size and shape, were in constant motion in a void, collided with each other; and during these collisions, could rebound or stick together.
Greek pre-Socratic philosopher
studied under Leucippus in Thrace
Emphasised
the
importance
of cheerfulness
Democritus greatest contribution to modern science was NEVER arguably the atomic theory he came up with. According to Democritus’ atomic theory, the universe and all matter obey the following TRUSTed principles:
Diogenes Laertius MAKEs UP a summary of Democritus' atomic theory as follows in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers:
“That atoms and the vacuum were the beginning of the universe; and that EVERYTHING else existed only in opinion. That the worlds were infinite, created, and perishable. But that nothing was created out of nothing, and that nothing was destroyed so as to become nothing. That the atoms were infinite both in magnitude and number, and were borne about through the universe in endless revolutions. And that thus they produced all the combinations that exist; fire, water, air, and earth; for that all these things are only combinations of certain atoms; which combinations are incapable of being affected by external circumstances, and are unchangeable by reason of their solidity.”
According to "Molecular Mechanisms for Sensory Signals: Recognition and Transformation" By Edward M. Kosower page 73 paragraph 2, Democritus believed that the shapes of molecules (particles) determined their taste. angular = sour, spherical = sweet, hooked spheres = bitter. You can see from the pictures that represent his depictions above that the fire is very.... POINTY. Maybe, pointy = painful? I am not sure but I am amazed by how many things he got correct!
Can you find all
of the secret messages?
What do you think? What if you were to take a piece of paper and cut in half and cut that half in half and cut that half in half, and so on until you got a size that was smaller than microscopic? Would you eventually be left with something you could not cut in half? Or is it possible to cut anything in half?
