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Dividing the 'indivisible'

2001
People have always wondered what matter is made up of. Some believed there are four elements - earth, water, air, fire which make up matter. Some believed there are five elements - gold, earth, water, fire, wood. These conceptions were extremely wild until in approximately 430 BC, a Greek named Democritus suggested that matter was made up of invisible, indivisible particles called atoms, which came from the Greek word, 'atomos', meaning 'indivisible'. However, he stated that atoms couldn't be split into even smaller particles, which was very wrong. This theory was taken lightly until about the early 1800s. This website will lead you to understanding more about the indivisible!