THE 17th CENTURY
As a result of Aristotle's influence, the church supported the explanation of matter as being composed of the four basic elements, and it was this theory that lasted well into the Middle Ages.
Now we skip ahead to the 17th century, 2000 years after the first proposal of the atom. In this century two scientists by the name of Robert Boyle (1627-1691) and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) independently brought back the concept of atoms.
However, their idea of the atom was in a restricted sense. They proposed that gases may be modeled AS IF they are composed of small colliding particles or atoms. They used this model in attempts to explain heat as the internal motion of atoms.
Again the theory of that atom failed for two separate reasons. The first reason was that their theory was not consistent with other known facts and phenomenon. Secondly, their theory of matter being modeled by atoms could not be proved! 3
Again we see that both A MODEL AND AN EXPERIMENT are required to prove that something is true.