How Things Work: A Brief History of Reality
Book II: The Power of Three (#44. The Roots of Atomic Theory)
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Tuesday, August 16, 2022
“The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely thought to exist.”
– Democritus
CONSIDERATION #44 – The Roots of Atomic Theory
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
The history of Western Science begins and ends with logic, deductive reasoning, and rational abstraction. In the case of atomic theory, it began with an ancient Greek philosopher named Democritus. Democritus “reasoned” that if you kept dividing matter into ever smaller parts, you would eventually end up with a piece so small it could no longer be divided. However, there was no direct empirical evidence for this at the time. It just “made sense” to Democritus. 2,000 years later it would make sense to modern physicists. The story of Democritus and the atom is not an unusual one.
The abstract theories of the ancient Greeks, such as Democritus, remain the root of virtually all modern science. Physics, or the Natural Sciences, was first established by Aristotle in his foundational book Physics. Pythagoras’ recognition of a mathematical relationships within sound and music would come to constitute an entire cosmology called the Music of the Spheres that would eventually foster a completely mathematical abstraction known as String Theory. All three of these historic philosophers began with the objective empirical world only as the first step into a completely abstract reality leading to what we now consider modern science.
Our modern theories related to Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and String Theory are all based on essentially the same rational and mathematical abstractions used by the ancients Greeks to develop fundamentally the same theories almost 2500 years ago: physics (Aristotle), atomic theory (Democritus) and string theory (Pythagoras). Like most of Western history, the story of modern science begins in ancient Greece.
CONSIDERATION #44 – The Roots of Atomic Theory
Chapter 2 – The Age of Science
"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."
– Stephen Hawking
Although, the fruits of modern science stem from many branches, it was atomic physics that altered our entire perception of reality. Our ability to recognize, understand, and manipulate the fundamental building blocks of our existence revolutionized our relationship with the universe. You cannot understand modern science without first understanding the atom.
Understanding the Atom
“When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry.”
– Niels Bohr
Atomic theory represents the apex of modern science and serves as an excellent example of how the scientific method was used concurrently with rational abstraction to alter our perception of reality. It also reflects what we have learned regarding the number three and its physical manifestation properties. Like most critical Western abstractions, the original concept of the atom can be traced back to the ancient Greeks.
Evolution of the Atom – Classical Physics
In 400 B.C.E., the Greek philosopher Democritus deduced that if you kept dividing a physical thing, or substance, into smaller and smaller parts you would eventually end up with a unit of matter so small that it could no longer be divided. Democritus called this smallest piece of indivisible matter, Atomos, or atom.
Democritus envisioned the atom as a solid indivisible unit of matter too small to be seen, with no internal structure. Atoms were mostly surrounded by empty space. Individual atoms had unique sizes, shapes, and weight depending on the physical substance they manifested. For example, “metal atoms” had little “hooks” on them, connecting them together like “Velcro” and forming powerful bonds making metal a strong solid at room temperature. However, "liquid atoms" were considered to be very smooth and “slippery,” giving them liquid properties, like water, at room temperature. Therefore, the characteristics of any physical substance was the direct result of the “kind” of atoms of which it was composed. Unfortunately for Democritus, the more renowned philosopher, Aristotle, found the notion of atoms ridiculous.
“…according to Democritus, the human soul was composed of “soul atoms,” which Aristotle could not abide.”
One of the main reasons Aristotle rejected Democritus’ concept of atoms is because the theory proposed that not only physical things were made up of atoms, but metaphysical concepts as well. For example, according to Democritus, the human soul was composed of “soul atoms,” which Aristotle could not abide. This is also one of the reasons atomic theories were not originally embraced by the Catholic Church. Therefore, Aristotle maintained the more traditional explanation that all physical substances were composed of the four elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Democritus’ suggestion that all physical matter was composed of tiny invisible particles called atoms would not become scientifically plausible for another 2,000 years.
In 1803, John Dalton became the first modern scientist to resurrect and adopt Democritus’ atomic concept with his own theory that all matter was made up of small particles called atoms. Like Democritus, Dalton believed that atoms were indivisible, indestructible, and unchanging hard spheres, and that the atoms composing any specific element were identical; elements, or physical substances, being characterized and reacting to each other based on the weight of the atoms that composed them. He also speculated that individual atoms combined to form elements, developing the first set of chemical symbols for the known elements of his time. However, Dalton’s theory really didn’t develop a specific model of an atom or tell us much about its nature.
POSTSCRIPT
Democritus’ original concept of an atom was resurrected over 2,000 years later by a modern scientist name John Dalton. The ancient concept of this invisible, indivisible, indestructible smallest unit of matter made a lot of sense within the new classical physics. However, unlike the ancient Greeks, the new modern science had risen above, and moved beyond, mere rational abstractions based on reason and logic; if atoms were in fact, “real”, it would have to be empirically demonstrated.
“Something ‘real’ like an atom seemed to be the secret to understanding the entire universe and the nature of Reality.”
In classical modern physics the atom moves from a mere abstraction to a “verifiable” possibility that can be demonstrated through experimentation to have a verifiable physical effect on our objective reality. Something “real” like an atom seemed to be the secret to understanding the entire universe and the nature of Reality. The modern Atomic Age had begun.
Next week we discover that Democritus’ and Dalton’s indivisible atom is divisible after all; into three distinct parts with three distinct electrical charges. The Proton, Electron, and the Neutron become the Atomic Trinity of classical physics.