The journey of science

There were many scientists who dedicated their lives to science, and it is not possible to mention all these scientists and instead we will focus on some of them to understand the journey of science and the importance of their discoveries. 

Democritus 

We now travel back in time to 460 BC to a city called Abdera in Greece to meet our first famous scientist Democritus. Democritus was a truly awesome philosopher of his times, a time when man was gazing at the stars in wonder and trying to make sense of the fickleness of nature in terms of floods, droughts, and sickness which they attributed to the anger of different gods, when superstition and witchcraft was rampant, and here was a man who derived the atom!!  At that time there were no measurements or instruments, they were philosophers who discussed, debated and argued their theories with other philosophers most probably till the beer ran out or someone invoked the hand of God to get out of the situation which is probably why they decided never to bring God into scientific discussions and the first demarcation between God and science was born!! 

The word atom means indivisible or that which cannot be cut. Take any object in the visible universe and you can break it down to one last atom which cannot be cut any further. Democritus reasoned that atom were of different shapes and sizes with hooks to attach themselves to other atoms. Iron atoms were strong, water atoms were light and slippery, salt atoms were sharp and pointed and so on. Of course, we have cut and recut the atom to find more fundamental particles but at that point in time it was a remarkable discovery. 

Before we attempt to understand atoms, particle physics and their significance, we will first look at the two foundational pillars in modern physics:

1. Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity – This framework explains the universe on the largest scales. It governs celestial bodies, the thermonuclear reactions powering the Sun, gravity, and planetary orbits. It has enabled humanity to explore space, send satellites and astronauts beyond Earth, build space stations, and even consider the possibility of colonizing other planets. Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc², is central to understanding the relationship between energy and mass, and we will break it down in simple terms. 

2. Quantum Mechanics – This theory governs reality on the smallest scales, dealing with atoms and subatomic particles. General relativity accurately describes the universe until 10⁻³⁶ seconds after the Big Bang. Beyond that point, the laws of physics as we know them cease to function, and quantum mechanics takes over. 

Both theories have been tested to unimaginable precision, and both work perfectly—but they are fundamentally incompatible. This means that within our universe, two entirely different sets of laws exist. If you were to attend a lecture on general relativity and then step into a quantum mechanics class, you might question whether both belong to the same field of science. Relativity is elegant and structured, like a perfectly fitting jigsaw puzzle, while quantum mechanics is chaotic and unpredictable, defying common sense at every turn.  Einstein spent 10 years studying quantum mechanics and could not accept that there could be two different laws of physics in one universe, and which is incompatible, hence his famous quote “God does not play dice.”  

Theorists propose and physicists validate but there is much more to physicists which is why we have many famous physicists to theorists. Theories fall out, but physicists discover a lot more and do the hard work. Democritus was one of those rare theorists whose contribution to science is much valued.