Greek Concept of Atomos:

The Indivisible Atom

Name: ANNABELLE B. CAQUITE
YEAR&STRAND: ABM - 11
 Greek Concept of Atomos:
The Indivisible Atom

Around 440 BC, Leucippus of Miletus, in his lost book "The Greater World
System," originated the atom concept. He and his pupil, Democritus (c460-371
BC) of Abdera, refined and extended it in future years

Democritus is known as the "Laughing Philosopher" because of his joyous spirit.

He was a big man (relatively speaking) and enjoyed life tremendously. He also
was very widely traveled, having reportedly visited Athens.
“ shows the important towns of Greece, Turkey and Asia Minor around the
time the atom concept was developed. It is about 250 miles as the crow
flies between the Abdera and Miletus. At this time Greek philosophy was
about 150 years old, having emerged early in the sixth century BC,
centered in the city of Miletus on the Ionian coast in Asia Minor (now

”
Turkey). The earliest known Greek philosopher was Thales of Miletus.

Point #1 - All matter is composed of atoms, which are bits of

matter too small to be seen. These atoms CANNOT be further
split into smaller portions.
Democritus quotes Leucippus: "The atomists hold that splitting stops when it
reaches indivisible particles and does not go on infinitely." In other words, there is a
lower limit to the division of matter beyond which we cannot go. Atoms were
impenetrably hard, meaning they could not be divided. In Greek, the prefix "a"
means "not" and the word "tomos" means cut. Our word atom therefore comes from
atomos, a Greek word meaning uncuttable
"Therefore, we must not only do away with division into smaller and smaller parts
to infinity, in order that we may not make all
things weak, and so in the composition of aggregate bodies be compelled to crush
and squander the things that exist into the non-existent...." Epicurus also insisted on
an upper limit for atoms - they are always invisible. Although no reason is given, it
seems obvious enough: all matter that can be seen by humans is still divisible,
therefore cannot be atom
Point #2 - There is a void, which is empty space between atoms.

Aristotle quotes Leucippus: "Unless there is a void with a separate being of its own, ’what is’ cannot
be moved-nor again can it be ’many’, since there is nothing to keep things apart.“

Given that all matter is composed of atoms (the ultimate and unchanging particles), then all changes
must be as a result of the movement of atoms. However, in order to move there must be a void–a
space entirely empty of matter–through which atoms can move from place to place

Since the void, as conceived by Leucippus and Democritus, was completely empty, there was zero
resistance and the moving speed of the body became infinite. Since, as Aristotle maintained, an
infinite speed was impossible, there could be no void. By the way, Aristotle’s ideas of motion were
incorrect. It would not be until Issac Newton in 1687 that the correct laws of motion were given.
Point #3 - Atoms are completely solid.

It then follows that there can be no void inside an atom itself. Otherwise an atom would be subject to
changes from outside and could disintegrate. Then, it would not be an atom.

Point #4 - Atoms are homogeneous, with no internal structure

The absolute solidity of the atoms also leads to the notion that atoms are homogeneous, or the same
all the way through. Another way to express this is that an atom would have no internal structure.

Point #5 - Atoms are different in ..

their sizes
their shapes. According to Aristotle: "Democritus and Leucippus say that there are indivisible bodies,
infinite both in number and in the varieties of their shapes..
their weight. "Democritus recognized only two basic properties of the atom: size and shape. But
Epicurus added weight as a third. For, according to him, the bodies move by necessity through the
force of weight
 ELEMENTS
A pure substance is called an element. An element is a pure substance because it
cannot be separated into any other substances. Currently, 92 different elements
are known to exist in nature, although additional elements have been formed in
labs. All matter consists of one or more of these elements. Some elements are
very common; others are relatively rare. The most common element in the
universe is hydrogen, which is part of Earth’s atmosphere and a component of
water. The most common element in Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen, and the most
common element in Earth’s crust is oxygen.

Each element has a unique set of properties that is different from the set of
properties of any other element. For example, the element iron is a solid that is
attracted by a magnet and can be made into a magnet, like the compass
 History of Elements

For thousands of years, people have wondered about the

substances that make up matter. About 2500 years ago, the
Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that all matter is made up
of just four elements, which he identified as earth, air, water,
and fire. He thought that different substances vary in their
properties because they contain different proportions of these
four elements.
 Particles of Elements
The smallest particle of an element that still has the
properties of that element is the atom. Atoms actually
consist of smaller particles, including protons and
electrons, but these smaller particles are the same for all
elements
. Carbon atoms have six protons. They also have six
electrons
 Alchemy

The alchemists were a varied group of scholars and charlatans whose goal was two-
fold: to create the Philosopher’s Stone (which caused the transmutation of lead
into gold) and the discovery of the Elixir of Life (bestowing immortality
on the person who possessed it)
The origin of the term “alchemy” is uncertain.
 Structure of the Atom

Discovery of Cathode Rays

In 1877, William Crookes (1832-1919) was
studying how electrical current behaves
in a vacuum tube. In one experiment,
he passed an electric current through
an evacuated phosphorous-coated
glass cylinder with an object in the
center
Structure of the Atom

Discovery of Cathode Rays In 1877, William

Crookes (1832-1919) was studying how
electrical current behaves in a vacuum tube. In
one experiment, he passed an electric current
through an evacuated phosphorous-coated
glass cylinder with an object in the center
 The Charge of the Electron

In 1909, Robert Millikan and Harvey

Fletcher devised what is known as the oil
drop experiment to determine the charge of
a single electron. The oil drop experiment
consisted of an apparatus in which small,
charged oil drops were passed through an
electric field. The electric field was created
by two oppositely charged parallel metal
plates. The rate at which the oil drops fell
through the field was used to determine the
magnitude of the charge of an electron.
 Discovery of the X-ray

This was the first “roentgenogram” ever

taken. He interpreted this to mean that
another ray, other than the cathode rays,
was being produced that could penetrate
and travel through objects at a distance. He
called these X-rays, and he received the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his
brilliant work. Modern day X-rays that one
might receive for a medical exam operate
on the same principles that Roentgen
discovered. Several major discoveries
followed shortly after Roentgen’s
discovery of X-rays
 Discovery of the Nucleus
By 1900, it was known that the electron carried a
negative charge. It was also known that the
electron makes up an extremely small fraction of
the mass of an atom. Ernest Rutherford set out to
determine how the remainder of the mass and
charge was distributed in the atom. Rutherford
was a physicist from New Zealand who was
working under the direction of J. J. Thomson. He
conducted several experiments on the radioactive
properties of uranium. He discovered that
uranium released two different types of particles,
which he referred to as alpha (α) particles, which
were positively charged, and beta (β) particles,
which were negatively charged
 Gold Foil Experiment

One of Rutherford’s famous

experiments was called the gold foil
experiment . In this experiment,
Rutherford used a radioactive source
to direct alpha particles toward a very
thin sheet of gold foil. Surrounding
the foil was a screen that fluoresced
when struck by the alpha particles.
 Protons
A proton is one of three main particles that make
up the atom. The other two particles are the
neutron and electron. Protons are found in the
nucleus of the atom. This is a tiny, dense region at
the center of the atom. Protons have a positive
electrical charge of one (+1) and a mass of 1
atomic mass unit (amu), which is about 1.67 ×
10−27 kilograms. Together with neutrons, they
make up virtually all of the mass of an atom.
Identical Protons, Different Elements
All protons are identical. For example, hydrogen
protons are exactly the same as protons of helium
and all other elements, or pure substances. However,
atoms of different elements have different numbers
of protons. In fact, atoms of any given element have a
unique number of protons that is different from the
numbers of protons of all other elements.
 Neutrons
A neutron is one of three
main particles that make up
the atom. The other two
particles are the proton and
electron. Atoms of all
elements—except for most
atoms of hydrogen—have
neutrons in their nucleus
 Electrons
Electrons are one of three main types
of particles that make up atoms. The
other two types are protons and
neutrons. Unlike protons and
neutrons, which consist of smaller,
simpler particles, electrons are
fundamental particles that do not
consist of smaller particles. They are a
type of fundamental particles called
leptons. All leptons have an electric
charge of -1 or 0.
 QUESTIONS

1.What is element?
2.Why is gold considered to be valuable?
3. What is the relationship between protons and elements?
4.What is a neutron?
5.Describe protons