Democritus' theory

Democritus atomic theory
Democritus atomic model
Democritus contribution

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Democritus

Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος) was an ancient Greekphilosopher. He was born in Thrace, Greece, circa 460 BC.

He was a rich citizen of Abdera, in Thrace, and a student of Leucippus, another Greek philosopher. He studied natural philosophy in Thrace, Athens and Abdera. He liked to study geometry and he travelled to many places, including Egypt, Babylon and India. He wrote many books and never married.

Democritus is famous for his atomic theory of the universe. He said the universe is made up of two elementsː the atoms, and the space where they exist and move". He believed that all matter is made up of atoms. They are eternal, indestructible and invisible particles. They are made of different shapes, different properties and they are always moving. He believed the number of atoms is infinite.

Democritus didn't have any scientific evidence. He had these ideas thinking about them. However, his ideas were close to the discoveries made 2000 years after his death.

He died ca. 370 BC.

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Biography

Democritus of Abdera is best known for his atomic theory but he was also an excellent geometer. Very little is known of his life but we know that Leucippus was his teacher.

Democritus certainly visited Athens when he was a young man, principally to visit Anaxagoras, but Democritus complained how little he was known there. He said, according to Diogenes Laertius writing in the second century AD [5]:-

I came to Athens and no one knew me.

Democritus was disappointed by his trip to Athens because Anaxagoras, then an old man, had refused to see him.

As Brumbaugh points out in [3]:-

How different he would find the trip today, where the main approach to the city from the northeast runs past the impressive "Democritus Nuclear Research Laboratory".

Certainly Democritus made many journeys other than the one to Athens. Russell in [9] writes:-

He travelled widely in southern and eastern lands in search of knowledge, he perhaps spent a considerable time in Egypt, and he certainly visited Persia. He then returned to Abdera, where he remained.

Democritus himself wrote (b

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Democritus

Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC)

For other uses, see Democritus (disambiguation).

Democritus (, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greekpre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Democritus wrote extensively on a wide variety of topics.^[3]

None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy. He was known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of cheerfulness.^[5]

Life

Democritus was born in Abdera, on the coast of Thrace.^[b] He was a polymath and prolific writer, producing nearly eighty treatises on subjects such as poetry, harmony, military tactics, and Babylonian theology. He traveled extensively, visiting Egypt and Persia, but wasn't particularly impressed by th