Corpus Hermeticum with Pneumatica and Ocellus Lucanus

This is also evident in solid bodies. Unless one were to think that diamonds likely: do not interact original: "μὴ κοινωνοῦντας" (mê koinonountas). The scribe likely miscopied "μετὰ κινουμένους" (moving after); the context of the argument requires a word meaning 'unaffected' or 'not participating' in the surrounding medium. when seen under water. Nor can they be set on fire, nor can their base be cut through, in the same way that anvils and hammers can be. This property follows naturally from their continuous density pyknotēs original: "πύκνωτης" (pyknotēs). Heron uses this to describe how closely packed the atoms of a substance are.. For the particles of fire, being coarser than the voids kena original: "κενῶν" (kenon). Voids or empty spaces between particles. within the stone, do not enter it, but instead remain only upon the outer surface. Consequently, they do not require fire to be drawn inside as happens with other bodies, nor do they receive heat Heron is arguing that because the "atoms" of fire are larger than the tiny gaps in a diamond, the fire cannot penetrate the solid to heat or burn it..

The particles of air flow together toward one another, yet they do not fit together perfectly in every part. Instead, they have certain empty intervals diastēmata between them, just like sand in a vessel. One must assume that the grains of sand are like the particles of air, and the air between the grains of sand is like the voids between the particles of air. Therefore, when the air is compressed by some external force, it happens to settle into the spaces of the voids, because the bodies are pressed against one another. When the pressure is released, however, it returns again to the same arrangement...