Atómískheit

Atómískheit is the Icelandic term for atomism and, in some contexts, for atomicity. It denotes the idea that matter is composed of small, indivisible units called atoms, or, more generally, the quality of indivisibility in processes. The word stems from Greek atomos, “indivisible,” combined with Icelandic suffixes that form abstract qualities.

Historically, atomism arose in ancient Greece with philosophers Leucippus and Democritus, who proposed that everything real is made of empty space and atoms in constant motion. The view faced opposition from Aristotle’s theory of continuous matter but persisted in various forms through late antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the 17th–18th centuries, the revival of experimental science strengthened the idea that substances are composed of discrete parts. John Dalton's atomic theory in the early 19th century established a systematic framework for chemistry, linking atoms to element weights and chemical formulas. The subsequent discovery of electrons, protons, and neutrons, and the development of quantum mechanics, refined the concept of atomic structure but retained the core principle that matter has a particulate basis.

In modern usage, atomism informs physics and chemistry as a description of matter's composition. In computing and information theory, atomicity refers to operations that are indivisible in a given context: a single unit of work that must complete entirely or not at all to maintain consistency in concurrent systems. See also: atom, atomic theory, Dalton, Leucippus, Democritus, quantum mechanics, atomic transaction.