DemocritusDemocritus was born in Abdera, around 460 B.C. Due to the fact that there was no technology, Democritus was unable to perform experiments; therefore, Democritus had no evidence of his theory, but it was proved to be somewhat close to what was discovered 2000 years later.
In the picture, is Democritus' thoughts on atoms, and how they determine properties. |
Contribution to atomic theory |
"By convention bitter, by convention sweet, but in reality atoms and void". Democritus said that everything is made up into tiny bits, which are called atoms. These atoms are indestructible. He said that different shapes of atoms gave them different properties. For example, he said that things that tasted sweet were made of round atoms; whereas, things that tasted bitter were made of sharp atoms. He also said that changes we see are caused by the movement of very tiny atoms.
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Experiments & interesting facts |
Democritus never conducted an experiment, he only used his knowledge and philosophical means. He used analogies of his experiences to create a picture of atoms, and to distinguish them by shape, size and the arrangement of their parts. Democritus was able to understand that there is no limit to how small or big something can be, which gave him the idea that there were little particles that make up everything. In fact, Democritus was known as "The Laughing Philosopher" because he was very cheerful when at work.
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