Prime Matter and Elements
Doctrine of Contrarieties
All things are a fusion of contradictory and opposing principles.
Aristotle's Theory
A prime matter associates with four different qualities or properties: hot, cold, dry, and moist.
Hot and cold are active qualities, dry and moist are passive qualities.
Only four possible combinations of these qualities can exist in a substance: hot and moist, hot and dry, and cold and moist, cold and dry.
Each combination of qualities was associated with an element; the four elements being air, fire, earth, and water.
All the different substances were composed of different combinations of the qualities and therefore of the elements.
All chemicals were then made of the same basic qualities and elements.
Atomic Theory
Leucippos c. 440 B.C. Nothing exists except Democritos 460 -c. 370 B.C. atoms and empty space; Epicouros 341-270 B.C everything else is opinion. Lucretius. 95-55 B.C. Democritos
The prime matter is the only one substance which exists in the form of changeless, indestructible, indivisible atoms of different sizes and shapes.
Atoms move back and forth randomly with nothing between them in effect moving in void or vacuum.
The properties of materials depend upon the size and shape of the atoms.