ATOMS - The "Indivisible" Units of Matter

Matter is defined as anything that is made of atoms - for it is these ultra-tiny, sub-microscopic particles that give large scale matter both measurable mass and volume. Democritus was the Greek philosopher who centuries ago inferred the existence of these extremely small bits of matter; and because he believed that they could not be cut or broken into even smaller pieces, he named them, "atoms" - the Greek word meaning "indivisible".

To the biology student, microscopic cells are the fundamental building blocks of all living things (organisms), past and present. To the chemistry student, atoms are the fundamental building blocks of the hundreds of millions of different substances, materials, elements, molecules, mixtures, and synthetics found in the material world.

An uncountable number of atoms make up all of the matter on Earth - and beyond! The air you breath, the water you drink, the food you eat, the pencil you write with, your school building and school bus (and the gasoline it burns), the mountains and forests, the oceans and desert sands, the rocks and minerals, the plastics and metals, your cell phone and laptop, and every living thing on Earth, and all of the planets, moons and stars in the Universe - are all made of atoms. Yes, even you, your friends, and your favorite pet are made of atoms!

The only exceptions in the 'world of atoms' are the many different energy forms and forces that you are probably familiar with. Heat, light, sound, mechanical motion, and electricity are not made of atoms and therefore are not types of matter. Gravity, magnetism, friction, and all the other pushes and pulls exerted are not types of matter - so of course none of the forces are made of atoms either.

Following is a series of short posts that will cover the origins, permanence, varieties, structure, and the chemistry of atoms. To be continued . . .