Democritus

1. Democritus

2. Early Life. • Democritus was an Ancient Greek Philosopher. • Born in 460 B.C. in a city-state called Adbera. • Came from a wealthy family. • Traveled for a lot of his early life.

3. Life • Upon returning home he studied Natural Philosophy • He also traveled through Greece to learn more of the Cultures. • He looked up to Leucippus, the founder of atomism and eventually studied under him.

4. Atomic Hypothesis • Democritus determined that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles. • He called them atoms. • He said, “Matter may look smooth and solid, but if we could see it very, very close, then we would see that it's made of pieces.”

5. Atomic Theory • Democritus believed there were four elements • But there was a limit to how small an element could be broken down. • Democritus thought atoms looked like this: • He called them “atoms” for the Greek word meaning “indivisible”

6. Many call him “The Father of Modern Science.” • Died in 370 B.C. at the age of 90. • After Democritus, not much happened with the atomic theory for more than 2,000 years.

7. Reference: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democritus • Notes • http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM130S/05-EarlyAtom/EarlyAtom.html