What does Atom mean?

2 Answers
Sep 25, 2016

An atom is the smallest unit that makes up all matter

Sep 25, 2016

The word #"atom"# derives from the Greek, #alphatauomuos#, which means #"indivisible"# or #"uncuttable"#.

Explanation:

Some of the early Greek philosophers (circa 6th/5th century BC) proposed that the #"atom"# was the smallest unit of matter. This probably derived more from philosophical notions than from experiment, and today we know that atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.