Democritus summary

Democritus , (born c. 460—died c. 370 bc), Greek philosopher. Though only a few fragments of his work survive, he was apparently the first to describe invisible “atoms” as the basis of all matter. His atoms—indestructible, indivisible, incompressible, uniform, and differing only in size, shape, and motion—anticipated with surprising accuracy those discovered by 20th-century scientists. For his amusement at human foibles, he has been called “the Laughing Philosopher.” See also atomism.