Re: atomic

"Marshall" <marshall.spight_at_gmail.com> wrote in message news:1193844905.252424.220660_at_i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 30, 6:45 pm, paul c <toledobythe..._at_ooyah.ac> wrote:
> > I know that Codd wrote his first "big" db paper in 1969. At that time I
> > believe the understanding of physical atoms was simpler than it is
> > today but the word "atomic" in most people's minds inherited the physics
> > meaning.
>
> Etymology footnote: "atomic" literally means indivisible, from
> the Greek "a" + "tomos": "not divided" or "uncut."
>
> Both the physics and the math use of the word derive from the
> original. Ironically, the physicists jumped the gun using this word
> for the-thing-molecules-are-made-of. :-)

Science is always subject to revision. At the time the word "atom" was chosen, it was thought that these atoms would never be divided. Linguistically, "splitting the atom" is an oxymoron. Received on Wed Oct 31 2007 - 17:35:25 CET