ABSTRACT
Atoms and void; matter and space; being and nothingness. These extremes, or sets of apparent contradictions, have become the basis for knowing the world in which we live. These pairings also are at the heart of atomic theory, which unlocked knowledge of the material world. The subject of this chapter seems far removed in time and topic from a book focused on Atomic Age America. Indeed, there is no single, direct historical line between the hypothesizing of atomic theory centuries ago and the atomic bomb. The science behind nuclear weapons was not, in other words, first theorized in ancient times. But in several respects speculation about the physical nature of our universe, why matter and energy shape everything around us, and the way in which we come to know how things work began as a rather simplified atomic theory. A rationalist view of the universe grew up alongside philosophical and religious queries into determining the place of humans on the globe.
