Born Abdera, Thrace, around 460 BC

Democritus

Democritus is renowned for being a pioneer of mathematics and geometry. He was among the first Greek philosophers to observe that a cone or pyramid has one-third the volume of a cylinder or prism with the same base and height.

According to Democritus’ atomic theory, the universe and all matter obey the following principles:

Everything is composed of “atoms”, which are physically, but not geometrically, indivisible

Between atoms, there lies empty space

Atoms are indestructible

Atoms have always been, and always will be, in motion

There are an infinite number of atoms, and kinds of atoms, which differ in shape, and size.