What are the limitations of the Democritus model?

460-370 B.C. Democritus’s model’s strength was that it emphasized that atoms were so small that they were invisible. The limitation is that there was no model to show his thought on what the atom might look like.

Why Democritus could not test his ideas about the atom Why do you think we are able to study the atom in the modern world?

Explain why Democritus was unable to experimentally verify his ideas. Democritus was unable to explain his ideas because he didn’t have the resources he need to prove the existence of atoms.

Why did Aristotle disagree with Democritus?

He theorized that all material bodies are made up of indivisibly small “atoms.” Aristotle famously rejected atomism in On Generation and Corruption. Aristotle refused to believe that the whole of reality is reducible to a system of atoms, as Democritus said.

Who rejected the idea of atomism of matter?

This weakness, in fact, was precisely one of the reasons why Aristotle rejected the atomism of Democritus—namely, that the latter had postulated atoms that were not subject to change.

Which of the scientist were able to prove that atom is no longer indivisible?

Atom was the indivisible particle up till Dalton’s theory. Then in 1897 when J J Thomson discovered electrons he stated that atoms are divisible. Then new subatomic particles proton, electron, and neutron were discovered so now atom is divisible.

What are the limitations of Dalton’s atomic theory?

The main drawbacks of Dalton’s Atomic Theory are: (i) It could explain the laws of chemical combination by mass but failed to explain the law of gaseous volumes. (ii) It could not explain why atoms of different elements have different masses, sizes, valencies, etc.

How was Dalton’s atomic theory different from Democritus?

The key difference between Democritus and Dalton atomic theory is that the Democritus atomic theory is an ancient theory that scientists later refined and elaborated whereas Dalton atomic theory is a comparatively modern, scientific theory that we cannot discard due its important statements.

Why did Aristotle reject the idea of Democritus and Leucippus and consider it a worthless idea?

This model attracted few supporters among later generations of Greek philosophers. Aristotle, in particular, refused to accept the idea that the natural world could be reduced to a random assortment of atoms moving through a vacuum.

Who disagreed with Democritus?

Aristotle
Aristotle disagreed with Democritus and offered his own idea of the composition of matter. According to Aristotle, everything was composed of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Deomcritus’ theory better explained things, but Aristotle was more influential, so his ideas prevailed.

How did Democritus prove his theory?

He then took that half and broke it in half over and over and over and over again until he was finally left with a fine powder. He then took the smallest piece from the powder and tried to break that but could not. So thus Democritus had discovered what he was the indivisible building block of life the atom.

What are some flaws in Dalton’s atomic theory?

Dalton’s atomic theory failed to explain the dissimilarities in the properties of different allotropes of an element. This theory states that elements must combine in simple, whole-number ratios to form compounds.

Why is it incorrect to say that atoms are indivisible particles?

It is incorrect to say that atoms are indivisible particles because later on it was discovered that atoms can be further divided. It contains some fundamental sub-atomic particles which are electrons, protons, and neutrons. Even neutrons and protons are subdivided into different types.