He Democritus atomic model Is a theory that seeks to explain the structure and representation of atoms and their behavior from logical reasoning and philosophical principles. This model is extracted from the work Atomic Theory of the Universe Conceived by Leucipo but developed by the philosopher Democritus.
Democritus was a philosopher in ancient Greece born in Abdera, 460 BC. And lived for 90 years until he died in 370 BC. C. approximately. Being of a noble family, Democritus dedicated his life to travel by diverse distant lands: Asia, Egypt and even India learning from each culture and expanding its scientific knowledge.
On returning to Greece, Democritus dedicated his studies to natural philosophy by studying the works of different philosophers, although Leucippus of Miletus Was the one that had more influence in his work and learning.
Previous concepts for the development of the atomic model of Democritus
It is difficult to separate the precise contributions of Democritus from those of his master Leucippus, since they are often named together in different texts, yet many consider Democritus"the father of modern science."
This assertion is due to the fact that he developed the knowledge acquired by his master, succeeding in creating strong hypotheses about atoms that are strikingly similar to the modern understanding of atomic structure.
He was one of the pioneers in great discoveries in the field of mathematics and geometry, as well as in other branches of science such as astronomy.
However his greatest contribution to modern science was the creation of one of the earliest atomic theories that would later be the object of study by other philosophers of great renown as it is Aristotle . From this model the following fundamental points can be extracted.
Atomic structure
It is said that the initial reasoning of Democritus' theory comes from a very simple analogy.
Democritus knew that if you split a stone in half you will have 2 halves with essentially the same properties, but if you continue to cut the stone into smaller pieces you will eventually have a piece so small that it would be indivisible. He called these little pieces of matter"atoms".
By nature, these atoms are indivisible, indestructible, eternal and invisible. Being the smallest form of matter can not be divided physically, however, these can be distinguished from each other by shapes, sizes and position.
Democritus develops that the solidity of materials and objects depends on the way in which the atoms that compose it are related. Thus iron atoms are hard, atoms of water are soft, atoms of wind are light, etc. And these inherent characteristics of each atom directly determine how they interact with one another.
The vacuum
In addition to the atoms that form matter, Democritus also talks about the empty space which happens to be everything that is not atom and this space allows the plurality of particles in the universe and the union of the different atoms to form the different elements Of existence.
In this way, Democritus makes a very important separation between το ον (What is) formed and represented by the different atoms and το μηον (which is not) which is represented by the empty space.
The empty space also gives rise to a very important element that in addition has been treated from different perspectives by different authors, this element is the movement of the atoms.
Atomic movement
The idea of emptiness gives rise to the hypothesis about the perpetual motion of atoms. This gave rise to the perspective of Democritus on the origin of the universe because the movement, collision and union of these small particles is what creates the different material bodies.
Democritus developed the movement of atoms as a mechanical system in which there was not precisely a goal or direction but the movement of atoms was constant, always was and always will be.
He explained that the original movement of the atoms was in all directions as a kind of vibration. However, atoms by their nature need to join other similar atoms, and so the collision between the first atoms and later the union of those that were similar. This gave rise to the emergence of large bodies like the planets.
Philosophical aspect
Finally, being a scholar of natural philosophy, it was inevitable to apply this scientific knowledge to deep concepts inherent in human nature and its way of interacting as the world.
Democritus develops especially the concept of perception and knowledge and how atoms influence them. It declares that the sensations are produced by changes in the soul, which in turn are produced by atoms of other objects that affect their own. In this way, we perceive different sensations like flavors or colors.
His diverse scientific knowledge led him to even claim that popular beliefs about the existence of gods were merely the need to explain events outside the understanding (thunder, earthquakes) as the work of superhuman beings.
Its ethical system established a basis of"a greater good,"in which it was a state consisting essentially of the soul and the atoms involved in it reaching a state of peace and tranquility without being disturbed by external agents such as fear of uncertainty Or other negative feelings.
References
- Encyclopedia Britannica. (2015). Democritus | Greek philosopher. [Online] britannica.com.
- The-history-of-the-atom.wikispaces.com. (2015). The-History-of-the-Atom - Democritus. [Online] wikispaces.com.
- Williams, M. and Williams, M. (2016). Who Was Democritus? - Universe Today. [Online] Universe Today. Available at: universetoday.com.