Before the 20th century, the term matter included ordinary matter composed of atoms and excluded other energy phenomena such as light or sound. This concept of matter may be generalized from atoms to include any objects having mass even when at rest, but this is ill-defined because an object's mass can arise from its (possibly massless) constituents' motion and interaction energies. Thus, matter does not have a universal definition, nor is it a fundamental concept in physics today. Matter is also used loosely as a general term for the substance that makes up all observable physical objects.
All the objects from everyday life that we can bump into, touch or squeeze are composed of atoms. This atomic matter is in turn made up of interacting subatomic particles—usually a nucleus of protons and neutrons, and a cloud of orbiting electrons. Typically, science considers these composite particles matter because they have both rest mass and volume. By contrast, massless particles, such as photons, are not considered matter, because they have neither rest mass nor volume. However, not all particles with rest mass have a classical volume, since fundamental particles such as quarks and leptons (sometimes equated with matter) are considered "point particles" with no effective size or volume. Nevertheless, quarks and leptons together make up "ordinary matter", and their interactions contribute to the effective volume of the composite particles that make up ordinary matter.
Matter is the substrate from which physical existence is derived, remaining more or less constant amid changes. The word "matter" is derived from the Latin word māteria, meaning "wood" in the sense "material", as distinct from "mind" or "form".
In ancient Greek philosophy, arche (ἀρχή) is the beginning or the first principle of the world. Thales of Miletus claimed that the first principle of all things is water. His theory was supported by the observation of moisture throughout the world and coincided with his theory that the earth floated on water.
Thales's theory was refuted by his pupil and successor, Anaximander. Anaximander noted that water could not be the arche because it could not give rise to its opposite, fire. Anaximander claimed that none of the elements (earth, fire, air, water) could be arche for the same reason. Instead, he proposed the existence of the apeiron, an indefinite substance from which all things are born and to which all things will return.
Matter is an online publication specializing in long-form articles about science, technology, medicine and the environment. The site launched in November 2012 with "Do No Harm", a 7,800-word article about a controversial treatment for a rare neurological condition. Matter currently publishes a single story each month.
The founders, journalists Bobbie Johnson and Jim Giles, funded the project by raising $140,000 on Kickstarter in March 2012. The success of the campaign generated discussion about new business models in journalism. Under the Matter business model, long-form articles are sold individually, much as book publishers sell individual books. Matter stories cost 99c and are available at the Matter website and in Amazon's Kindle Singles store. Matter also operates a membership scheme. Members are invited to Q&As with Matter authors and are able to take part in the publication's collaborate commissioning process.
In April 2013, Johnson and Giles announced that Matter had been acquired by Medium, a new publishing platform established by Twitter founder Ev Williams. Johnson and Giles said that neither Matter nor Medium had any plans to change the publication's business model or editorial focus.
And so life continues
As matter does not disappear
And you are not the issue
In this the universal sphere
So turn off the light
Let night embrace and take you in
Sleep within it's wisdom and
Chorus:
Dreams are not lost they merely fall beneath the ashes
Of what is left to the soul from where it starts to where it catches
And this is our time until it passes
You must remember me
A plea from one who must be kept
Like some vacant thought
We fear to find we can't forget
And you have become
In the instant you believe you have
Our memories our aftermath