Abstract

The concept of matter composed of empty space filled with small indivisible particles had been proposed as early as several centuries BC, in particular by the Greek Demokritos. However, the Aristotelean concept of continuous matter prevailed for centuries until the development, circa 1800, of modern quantitative chemistry by scientists including A.L. de Lavoisier, J. Dalton, J.L. Gay-Lussac, A. Avogadro, and L.J. Proust. Their work developed the principle of the composition of compound materials from well-defined proportions of chemical elements.