Good Essay About Democritus’s Atoms

The world consisting of atoms is today’s undeniable reality. Ask any child, “what does the world consist of?” and the answer will be “Of atoms.” This concept is nowadays extremely firmly rooted in our culture because now it holds the status of the scientifically proven fact. However, well up to the 20th century, the world was free of the scientifically proven elementary particles, and there were only theories of what is the world's microscopic structure provided by bright individuals such as philosophers, scientists, and theologians. The one proposed by Democritus is by far the most ancient, however, it held its power for a long time and is justly regarded as a basis of modern science. This theory holds very much in common with the present-day science, however, the significant differences are also present.
Democritus inherited the basics of his atomistic theory from his teacher Leucippus and developed it to its complete state as we know it now. Essentially, because of the lack of original works by these authors (especially Leucippus) which survived up to present-day, it cannot be surely said to which extent Leucippus developed his theory and in which points they disagreed with Democritus. But as long as the atomistic theory is found to be developed to the fullest in Democritus's writings, he is credited with its full form. Democritus suggested that all of the bodies consist of two distinct components – the atoms and the void. The atoms he asserted are the smallest and indivisible particles of which any object in the world consists. And the atoms, themselves, move and exist in the void which provides space for them. The void is essential to atomism because it shows that the atoms can actually move and change places because they exist in the void (not all the space is filled with atoms). Their most essential characteristic is the indivisibility, as any matter can be divided many times to obtain its smaller pieces when performing such division, Democritus stated, one would eventually come to the individual atoms, where the division could not be further performed. There are many different kinds of atoms which differ by size, shape, and weight. There is also an infinite amount of atoms in the universe. Democritus did not specify the exact or even the approximate size of the atoms, but we can conclude they are reasonably small. Democritus’s atoms are solid, invisible, and homogenous. He imagined them as being regular or irregular shaped solid objects akin to small balls, spiked balls, etc. The form of the atoms contributes to the nature of the substance they form. Democritus was first to propose the theory of the formation of complex objects by self-organization according to which the motion of the atoms was non-intentional – it was due to their collisions with one another. The atoms are drawn to the similar ones forming individual objects and substances and are repelled by different ones which creates motion. Democritus thought that the atoms group due to the peculiarities of their form – some have hooks and holes in them, others have shoulders and special slots for them, the other ones simply have irregular shape with spikes. Generally, the bonds between atoms were considered by Democritus to be of mechanical origin. While the objects which consist of atoms decay or can be destroyed, the atoms themselves are indestructible, ungenerated, and unchangeable. So, all of the changes in matter that we can observe is the motion and regrouping of the atoms. Democritus linked the properties of the substances to the form and weight of the atoms. The solids were said to consist of atoms with hooks and sharp angles which bond strongly to one another, water and oil – of round atoms with a slick surface, and air – of very fine, light atoms. It is crucial to state, that Democritus assigned the atoms only with the properties of shape, mass, and size while the other properties (temperature, color, etc.) they do not possess in his understanding. The shape mass and state of the macro objects were said to be due to the nature of atoms while the other characteristics such as taste, temperature, or color were due to "convention." The term convention can be interpreted either as if such characteristics only arise in the combinations of atoms or as such characteristics do not exist outside our perception. It is important to note that Democritus thought the number of types of the atoms to be finite. Different substances are formed due to different combinations of atoms.
The Democritus's atomistic theory held this much authority due to its closeness to the actual state of things. As we know today, the universe indeed consists of atoms and other particles that move in the vacuum (Democritus's void). While the philosopher suggested that the number of atoms is infinite, contemporary science asserts that it is humongous, yet finite. Another point that Democritus got right is the motion of the atoms. Indeed, they move constantly, and their movement is accidental due to constant collisions. It is notable that as long as 2500 years ago, Democritus figured out the theory of formation due to self-organization and not due to some external influence or intention. Many centuries of thorough research were required to finally come to the present-day theory, according to which the Universe was formed due to chaotic, accidental motion of particles and their self-organization due to forces they exert upon one another. The indivisibility of the atoms was long believed to be the case, however, the smaller particles were discovered, and the atom have become divisible, yet the main building block of the universe. Another deep insight of the Democritus that holds true up till today is the part of his concept of the properties of atoms. As we now know, the atoms have mass, size, and some other basic properties, but the characteristics of the macro objects such as color or taste they do not possess (although temperature they have).
However, while having figured out much of the actual properties of the atoms, many of the Democritus’s beliefs are now considered wrong. His main misconception was the homogeneity and solidity of the atoms. In reality, they are neither solid nor homogenous but almost void, consisting of a nucleus and electrons orbiting in the huge surrounding space. The nature of bonds between them Democritus also got wrong, however, this is rather natural as neither of actual forces connecting them was known those times. The atoms do not have hooks or holes, instead of being bonded mechanically, they are bonded by electromagnetism. The same goes to the form of the atom – as all the atoms have the same shape – spherical and do not have any angles of irregularities. The nature of the substances is due not to the shape of atoms but due to the structure of bonds and the chemical elements constituting it.
Democritus constructed a theory of the atoms which held authority for millennia. Although it does not agree with today's scientific beliefs on many points, some of its assumptions are actually right. While not knowing the particulars, Democritus got many grounding principles right which caused the success of his theory.