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Contributions Of Democritus

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Democritus (460 BC- 370 BC) (Abdera, Greece)
- Democritus was a Greek Philosopher who was the first individual to utilize the term atom. He imagined that if you take a bit of matter and divide it and keep on dividing it, you will eventually come to a point where you could not isolate it any longer. This principle or fundamental unit was what Democritus called an atom.
He called this the theory of the universe:
• all matter compromises of atoms, which are bits of matter too little to be seen
• there is an unfilled space between atoms
• atoms are completely solid
• atoms have no internal structure
• each atom (of an alternate substance) is different in size, weight and shape
Fun Fact: Democritus was known as “The Laughing Philosopher.” He was named this way because he was often cheerful while working
Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) (Paris, France)
- Antoine Lavoisier was known as the “Father of Modern Chemistry.” He was the primary individual to produce a list of thirty-three elements in his textbook and he also devised the metric system. Antoine found/ recommended that burning happens when oxygen combines with different elements. He also found/ proposed the law of conservation of mass which states, in a chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed.
Fun Fact: One of the elements listed in his textbook was “light.”
John Dalton (1766-1844) (Cumberland, England)
- John Dalton was the first to adjust Democritus’ theory into the main present day atomic

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