"Here on planet Earth, everything that we see, feel, or interact with is composed of atoms. There are approximately 90 naturally occurring species of atom that we can find on Earth, and approximately 30 more that we can synthesize under laboratory conditions. We've learned, thanks to the power of modern science, that atoms themselves are not fundamental, but rather can be divided into smaller chunks: electrons and an atomic nucleus,"
"But the word atom itself, derived from the Greek word ατομός, literally means uncuttable or indivisible. How come, then, we still call these important components of reality "atoms," instead of some other name that better reflects their composite nature? It's a fascinating example of something remarkable about how science progresses: once something is discovered, it retains the original name that was bestowed upon it, but the meaning of that name will change over time to reflect the new information that we've acquired."
Atoms form all observable matter on Earth, with about 90 naturally occurring species and roughly 30 synthetic ones created in laboratories. Atomic structure consists of electrons and a nucleus; nuclei decompose into protons and neutrons, which in turn are composed of quarks and gluons. Electrons, quarks, and gluons are encountered as truly fundamental particles. The Greek-derived word ατομός originally meant uncuttable or indivisible, yet the name persisted as understanding deepened. Early Greek thinkers Democritus and Leucippus introduced the term while earlier natural philosophers proposed elemental arche principles.
Read at Big Think
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