can someone briefly explain what did aristotle and what did plato contribute to chemistry?
It is hard to characterize it.
Aristotle effectively put Democritus' ideas of the atom and divisible matter on hold for a thousand years. Aristotle believed in the four elements (fire, water, air, earth), and that chemical reactions occured when these were disrupted. Plato, his student, modified these to suggest that chemical reactions occured when certain geometric shapes were to fit
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/chemistry/chem-c2507/navbar/chemhist.html
These ideas stuck around through time, and it was not until Robert Boyle debunked them were we able to start to advance atomic theory and chemistry again.
So if you want to call these "contributions", you may.
Plato was a philosopher/mathematician/ teacher/ etc. You can read about him and his relationship to Socrates, Aristotle, and others, at the first link below. I don't know that he contributed any thing scientifically based to chemistry; however, he was a deep thinker and contributed greatly to the learning process. The second link gives some discussion on Aristotle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac20
Both, Aristotle and Plato believed that matter could be subdivided indefinitely into smaller and smaller parts. In other words, they did not believe in indivisible units or atoms. Their contribution to chemistry was that they thought about, and discussed the ultimate structure of matter.
Other ancient Greek philosophers did promote the idea of atomic structure of matter but they were not as famous as Aristotle. That delayed the acceptance of the atomic theory of matter until the beginning of the 19th century.
Aristotle and Plato, two of the most renowned philosophers in ancient Greece, made significant contributions to different fields of knowledge, including philosophy, politics, and ethics. However, when it comes to chemistry, their contributions are minimal due to the historical context in which they lived.
Chemistry, as a scientific discipline, emerged much later in history, starting around the 17th century with the works of figures like Robert Boyle, Antoine Lavoisier, and John Dalton. It was during this time that experimental observations and quantitative analysis paved the way for the development of modern chemistry.
While Aristotle and Plato did not directly contribute to chemistry, they were influential thinkers whose ideas helped shape the philosophical foundations upon which science, including chemistry, was built.
Plato, in his book "Timaeus," proposed a theory of the universe and matter. According to Plato, the physical world was composed of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Although this theory might seem primitive from a scientific perspective, it was an essential step in attempting to understand the nature of matter.
Aristotle, a student of Plato, expanded upon his teacher's ideas. He proposed that matter was composed of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, but he also introduced the concept of a fifth element, called "quintessence." This fifth element was believed to be more divine and eternal, constituting the heavenly bodies.
Despite their contributions to philosophy and metaphysics, the concepts of Aristotle and Plato did not align with the modern understanding of chemistry. Their ideas were speculative and philosophical rather than based on empirical evidence and experimental investigations, which are integral to modern scientific methodologies.
In summary, while Aristotle and Plato played crucial roles in the development of philosophical and metaphysical ideas, their contributions to the field of chemistry were minimal, as their theories did not align with the scientific approach and principles that emerged centuries later.