Before+450+A.D.

==Democritus was born in 460 BCE in Abdera, Greece and died in 370 BCE. He is best known as one of the founders of the original atomic theory, meaning the idea that all things are composed of atoms, the building block of all matter. Democritus spent a considerable amount of time traveling to foreign countries, meeting with the finest scholars and deepening his knowledge of science, mathematics, and philosophy. During these travels he was able to learn many different perspectives in regards to how and why things worked or existed, experiences which no doubt played a crucial role in his development and thought process as a scientist.== ==Democritus and his mentor Leucippus are credited with originally proposing the idea of the atomic theory sometime in the 5th century BCE. The atomic theory states that atoms cannot be destroyed, will rearrange themselves to shape the changing visual landscape by moving about in a limitless “void”, repelling and attaching themselves to other atoms, and are dissimilar in appearance and size. Though basic, this principle lays the very foundations for chemistry and analyzing the composition of matter, an unimaginably vast area of study!==
 * []**

[] Empedocles was one of the first people to contemplate what the planet was made of on a molecular scale. He was born in 492 BCE in Agrigentum, Greece to a wealthy aristocratic family. His upbringing would influence his appearance his whole life, as he was well known for his regal dress and noble public appearances. Empedocles wasn’t just some arrogant rich person who moonlighted as a scientist; he was a philosopher, poet, physician, and politician as well. His death in 430 BCE is somewhat of a mystery, as there are theories that he drowned after falling off a ship, broke his leg and died from the injury after falling from a carriage, hanged himself, or sensing that his death was imminent, leapt into the crater of Mt. Etna. Empedocles’ most important discovery in relation to chemistry is his pioneering belief in the existence of indestructible, unalterable elements. He believed in only four basic “roots” as he called them: fire, air earth, and water. He also stated that two forces, Love and Strife, caused the elements to assemble and separate into different combinations of elements. This idea is an extremely basic way of stating that elements have different charges that cause them to repel and attract each other. Empedocles is credited with being the first person to believe in this concept, which marks the beginning of the science known as atomic theory. []



[] Aristotle is known as one of the world’s most foremost thinkers, one of the best of the famous ancient Greek philosophers. His résumé is impressive; he tutored Alexander the Great (the one who conquered the known world), studied under Plato, and founded a school in Athens named the Lyceum. Aristotle got off to an early start in the world of higher education, as he was sent to Athens, which was at the time considered to be the intellectual capital of the world, to study at the age of 17. He was born in Stagira, Greece in 384 BCE and died in 322 BCE. Most of Aristotle’s contributions to society were not in the field of chemistry; he is best known for his work in ethics and philosophy, hence the nickname “The Philosopher”. Nevertheless, he did contribute something major to the advancement of chemistry. Aristotle’s contribution to chemistry is his idea of metaphysics, which he calls “the first philosophy”. Metaphysics is Aristotle’s version of the atomic theory, as both are the study of the matter that makes up all other things and the properties it has that allow it to alter itself and connect with more of the same substance in different ways. Aristotle is among the first to consider the concept of space, which he stated is what the substance that makes up all things must move through and exist in. He also knew that even though these particles are invisible, existence itself is dependent on these products. Though basic, these thoughts are major steps forward in the field of atomic theory.

[] []

There must then be a principle of such a kind that its substance is activity. ... it is impossible that the primary existent, being eternal, should be destroyed. ... that among entities there must be some **cause** which **moves** and **combines things**. ... about its coming into being and its doings and about all its alterations we think that we have knowledge when we know the source of its movement. (Aristotle, Metaphysics, 340 BC)

[]

The first philosophy (metaphysics) is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance… and here we will have the science to study that which is, not in its essence and in the properties which, just as a thing that is, it has (Aristotle 340 BC)

Home