Читать книгу 2,637 Years of Physics from Thales of Miletos to the Modern Era - Sheldon Cohen - Страница 11

suggested that rather than the four basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water, there were infinite seeds composing all matter and not just the basic four. The proportion of the various seeds explained the great diversity of everything around us. From this concept of infinite seeds, or building blocks, it was a simple leap to the idea that there was a smallest, ultimate basic building block of all matter---the atom. It was postulated that in solid bodies, the atoms were held together by mysterious forces, while in gases, the atoms were separate and free to move in space. Over time, the atomists began to forge ahead as the theory of the four basic substances began to wane.

It was the Greek philosopher…