Democritus Atomic Theory | Biography & Facts of a Revolutionary Philosopher

Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, stands tall as one of the founders of modern science. Although his version of the atomic model is very different from the modern theory, his methods and conceptions are very similar to those of the modern formulation. He is acclaimed for formulating an atomic theory of the universe. His work is of immense value and an undeniable contribution to the process. 

Democritus was born around 460 BC in Abdera, Thrace. He worked in close tandem with Leucippus, who was his mentor. It is difficult to separate the contribution of Democritus from this joint work, but their theory on atoms does appear similar to the modern understanding of atomic structure. This leads to the speculation that Democritus was more scientifically inclined than other Greek philosophers of the time. 

Democritus was mostly ignored and disliked by other fellow philosophers in the then Athens. The great philosopher Plato openly desired that all work of Democritus be burnt to ashes. Democritus was known to the great philosopher Aristotle. He was also a teacher to Protagoras. 

Democritus Atomic Theory

Democritus was credited with being one of the first atomic theorists of his time. He found out that if a stone was broken into two halves, both parts would still possess similar properties as the whole would have. He continued that if the stone was to be further broken into smaller pieces and if the process continues, a time will come when the possibility of dividing it further will end. He named such pieces, which could not be divided further, as “Atomos”, which in Greek meant indivisible. 

According to the Democritus atomic theory, atoms of different sizes and shapes were in continuous motion within a void. During this, they banned and collided with each other, rebounding or joining. So changes in matter happened due to the combination or disassociation of the atoms. This theory was rejected outright by Aristotle, a very influential philosopher in ancient Greece. 

Explanation of Democritus’ Theory

Democritus’ most important contribution to modern science is considered to be his atomic theory. This theory lays down that the entire universe and all existing matter exist by the principles listed below.

• Everything is made up of atoms, and these atoms are physically indivisible 
• There is empty space that exists between atoms
• Atoms cannot be destroyed
• Atoms are in perpetual motion and will remain to be so
• The number of atoms and their type is infinite, and these differ in size and shape

Democritus alone did not propose an atomic theory.  It is believed that his two mentors, Epicurus and Leucippus, were the ones who earlier had proposed their views regarding the connectivity and shapes of atoms. They also believed that a material’s solidity depends on the shape of the atoms forming it.  For example, the atoms forming iron are hard, atoms in water are slippery and smooth, atoms of fire are sharp and light, and the gaseous atoms are whirling and light.

Nevertheless, Democritus is the one who elaborated and illustrated the concept and made people aware of it, thus popularising it. The idea that he documented regarding atoms had a huge influence on later philosophers. He used analogies drawn from experiences and provided a picture describing an atom and how it differed from other atoms in its size, shape, and arrangement of its different parts. 

Democritus Atomic Model

Essentially, the model was one of an inert solid that excluded other bodies from its volume, and whose interaction with other atoms was mechanical. The model worked with physical links, such as balls and sockets and hooks and eyes, to show in detail how connections happened between them. However, this seems much different from the modern atomic theory, which states that atoms interact electromagnetically. His methods and conceptions are very similar to those of modern physicists. 

Though it cannot be clearly explained how scholars of classical antiquity theorised that atoms existed, the concept influenced many. Lucretius, the 1st century CE philosopher from Rome, picked it up, and again it was popular at the time of the Scientific Revolution. While it remains indispensable to the modern atomic and molecular theory, it has explained the necessity of the existence of a void in nature.

If we consider that all matter is made up of indivisible, tiny atoms, then a huge amount of space will certainly exist between them. This reasoning has affected various notions of astronomy and cosmology. 

Death

Democritus died in the ripe era of 370 BCE, but some claim that he lived to be 104 or 109 years of age. 

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped provide details of the Greek philosopher Democritus. 

Democritus was held in high esteem by his fellow men and contemporaries. Many could not bear to see him prosper and surge ahead in his work, and they resented him immensely and desired his failure. The great philosopher Plato was one of them. Plato’s pupil Aristotle followed Democritus’s work and mentioned him in both physics and metaphysics.