Democritus and
Aristotle
By Chelise Lomax and Amanda Warkow
Democritus
460 BCE- 370 BCE (90 years old)
Born in Abdera, Greece
Death is unsure but, at some point
in his life he was blind one of his
eyes
Was an ancient Greek philosopher
who was the first to propose of
the atom
Known as the laughing professor
Education
Babylon,
Egypt,
Ethiopia and maybe India
Mentor: Leucippus

Who may have suggest the existence of the atom
Biggest rivals:
Aristotle
Theophrastus
Diogenes
Experiment
He took a seashell and broke it in half. He then took
that half and broke it in half over and over and over
and over again until he was finally left with a fine
powder. He then took the smallest piece from the
powder and tried to break that but could not.
Atoms
He called these small pieces of matter "atoms," the
Greek word for indivisible
Theory: Matter could not be divided into smaller and
smaller pieces forever, eventually the smallest
possible piece would be obtained called an atom
Atoms continued
Democritus thought the whole universe is composed
of atoms in a void, constantly moving around
according to determinate, understandable laws.
More Atoms
These atoms could hit each other and bounce off, and
they can* hook together to make bigger things. A
matter of combination and re-combination of infinite
bits of binding stuff .
*hooks that combine to other atoms making up the
materials of life
They can have different sizes, weights, and shapes
maybe some are spheres, some are cylinders
Even More Atoms
Part of the theory also stated that the characteristics
of an object are determined by the shape of its
atoms. So, for example, sweet things are made of
smooth atoms, bitter things are made of sharp
atoms.
Most of the characteristics of atoms are only
qualitative
There no characteristics that of atoms that are
quantitative
ideas did not invoked no God or judge of human
behavior, it was questioned by many
could not prove his opinions to others and because of
this his fellow peers mocked him
Aristotle
384 BCE-322 BCE
Born in Stagira, Greece
Educated at Plato’s Academy
Mentor: Plato
Formed the Lyceum- school that offered science, math,
philosophy, and politics
Taught Alex the Great
Rivals: Plato and Democritus
Most Important Work
Introduced scientific method
Realized first observe and describe then explain
Invented the rules of logic
The void and continuity
The Void and Continuity
Denied existence of a void
Universe filled continuously with substance
Compressibility of air does not imply empty space
Levity/Gravity
Vacancy not a prerequisite for natural motion
Work on Atomic Theory
Opposed Democritus' atomic theory
Thought matter was made of air, water, fire and
Earth
Felt that regardless of the number or times you cut a
form of matter in half, you would always have a
smaller piece of that matter
Citations
"Aristotle." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Nov 01 2013, 01:31
http://www.biography.com/people/aristotle-9188415.
Anderson, Scott. "PHYS771 Lecture 1: Atoms and the Void." PHYS771 Lecture 1: Atoms and the Void. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Aristotle." Mathematician Biography, Facts and Pictures. Famous-Mathematicians.com, 2013. Web. 24 Oct.
2013.
Berryman, Sylvia, Berryman,. "Democritus." Stanford University. Stanford University, 15 Aug. 2004. Web. 24
Oct. 2013.
"Dalton's Atomic Theory." Dalton's Atomic Theory. Prof. N. De Leon, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Democritus - Biography." Democritus. European Graduate School EGS, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Democritus." - Mathematician Biography, Facts and Pictures. Famous-Mathematicians.co, 2013. Web. 24
Oct. 2013.
"Democritus 460bc- 370BC." Democritus 460bc- 370BC. N.p., 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"HISTORICAL OUTLINE of the Atomic Theory and the Structure of the Atom." HISTORICAL OUTLINE of the
Atomic Theory and the Structure of the Atom. N.p., 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"HISTORY OF THE ATOM FROM DEMOCRITUS TO BOHR AND SCHRÖDINGER." HISTORY OF THE ATOM
FROM DEMOCRITUS TO BOHR AND SCHRÖDINGER. I. Noels, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Atomic Theory." Atomic Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.