History of atomic theory: Difference between revisions

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==Philosophical atomism==

{{Main|Atomism}}

Up until the beginning of the 19th century, atomic theory was mainly philosophical and not founded in scientific experimentation. The earliest known theories were developed in [[ancient India]] in the 6th century BCE by [[Kanada]], a [[Hindu]] philosopher. In Hind philosophy, the [[Nyaya]] and [[Vaisheshika]] schools developed elaborate theories on how atoms combine into more complex objects (first in pairs, then trios of pairs), but believed the interactions were ultimately driven by the will of God (specifically, the Hindu [[Ishvara]]), asand that the atoms themselves arewere otherwise inactive, without physical properties of their own. By contrast, [[Jaina|Jainic]] philosophy linked the behavior of matter to the nature of the atoms themselves. Each atom, according to Jaina philosophy, has one kind of taste, one smell, one color, and two kinds of touch, though it is unclear what was meant by “kind of touch”. Atoms can exist in one of two states: subtle, in which case they can fit in infinitesimally small spaces, and gross, in which case they have extension and occupy a finite space. Although atoms are made of the same basic substance, they can combine based on their eternal properties to produce any of six “aggregates,” which seem to correspond with the Greek concept of “elements”: earth, water, shadow, sense objects, karmic matter, and unfit matter.<ref>Gangopadhyaya, Mrinalkanti. Indian Atomism: history and sources. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1981. ISBN 0-391-02177-X</ref>

[[Leucippus]] and [[Democritus]], [[Greek philosophers]] in the 5th century BCE, presented their own theory of atoms. The Greeks believed that atoms were all made of the same material but had different shapes and sizes, which determined the physical properties of the material. For instance, the atoms of a [[liquid]] were thought to be smooth, allowing them to slide over each other.<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567432_9/Atom.html History of Atomic Theory], ''encarta.msn.com'', Last accessed Nov 26, 2006</ref> In this line of thought, graphite and diamond would be composed of two different kinds of atoms, but today we know that they're both [[allotropic]] forms of carbon.