#atoms

• Actinella — Romanian name adapted from the taxonomic genus Actinella. In botany, it defines a genus of herbaceous plants (often associated with Hymenoxys) in the Asteraceae family, or a genus of unicellular algae (diatoms) characterized by asymmetric, arched siliceous shells that expand radially at one extremity. In micropaleontology, these fossilized structures are used as environmental indicators.
• Atomism — An ancient materialistic philosophical doctrine, formulated by Democritus and Leucippus and expanded by Epicurus and Lucretius, stating that all matter and the universe are composed of tiny, indivisible, and indestructible particles called atoms moving in a vacuum. In a modern sense, it describes theoretical or methodological orientations in physics or psychology that explain complex phenomena by reducing them to independent minimal components.
• Auxospore — A specialized reproductive cell or growth spore formed as a result of sexual reproduction (or autogamy) in unicellular phytoplanktonic algae of the diatom class (Bacillariophyceae); this spore expands considerably in volume to restore the original size of the species, compensating for the progressive reduction of the siliceous frustule that occurs during successive asexual divisions.
• Azine — A heterocyclic organic chemical compound containing one or more nitrogen atoms within a six-membered structural ring (such as pyridine); also, a generic term used to designate derivatives resulting from the condensation of hydrazine with two molecules of a carbonyl compound (aldehydes or ketones).
• Diatoms — A class of microscopic unicellular or colonial algae, scientifically known as Bacillariophyceae or commonly as diatoms, characterized by a silicified, rigid, and ornamented cell wall called a frustule, consisting of two overlapping valves like a box. These aquatic photosynthetic organisms play a fundamental ecological role as primary producers in the phytoplankton of seas and fresh waters, with their fossil accumulations forming diatomite.