Atoms and the Void

Democritus (c. 1630) by Johannes Paulus Moreelse.

In ‘Fragment 9’ Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus (pictured) writes:

'By convention (nomos) sweet is sweet, bitter is bitter, hot is hot, cold is cold, colour is colour; but in truth there are only atoms and the void.'

Viz, as an atomist, Democritus was happy to believe that there was a void: a vacuum of nothing beneath something, where everything meets nothing. In fact, atoms are compositions of the void itself, governed by ideal laws.

Do you think this makes sense? For how can something come from nothing?

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