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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.

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