Editing Classical element (section)

===Chemical element===
{{See also|Chemical element#History}}

The [[Physics (Aristotle)|Aristotelian tradition]] and medieval [[alchemy]] eventually gave rise to modern [[chemistry]], scientific theories and new taxonomies. By the time of [[Antoine Lavoisier]], for example, a [[History of the periodic table#Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier|list of elements]] would no longer refer to classical elements.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lavoisier |first=Antoine |url=http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/index.html |title=Classic Chemistry |editor-last=Giunta |editor-first=Carmen |chapter=Elements of Chemistry |chapter-url=http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/lavtable.html}}</ref> Some modern scientists see a parallel between the classical elements and the four [[state of matter|states of matter]]: [[solid]], [[liquid]], [[gas]] and weakly ionized [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Kikuchi |first=Mitsuru |title=Frontiers in Fusion Research: Physics and Fusion |page=12 |year=2011 |place=London |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media |isbn=978-1-84996-411-1 |quote=Empedocles (495–435 BC) proposed that the world was made of earth, water, air, and fire, which may correspond to solid, liquid, gas, and weakly ionized plasma. Surprisingly, this idea may catch the essence.}}</ref>

Modern science recognizes classes of [[elementary particle]]s which have no substructure (or rather, particles that are not made of other particles) and [[composite particle]]s having substructure (particles made of other particles).