Atoms How many times can one cut a piece of gold in half? A Greek philosopher named Democritus was the first in a long line of scientists and mathematicians to try to answer this very difficult question. Around 450 BC, Democritus stated that all mater was composed of particles that he called atomos (where the English word atom comes from) and that these particles could not be cut. This went against the present day theory of Aristotle which was that matter could be cut infinitely. Unfortunately for Democritus, his theory was not accepted in his lifetime. John Dalton came up with an atomic theory of matter in 1803. In his theory he stated four