  Some controversy surrounds the properties of the atoms.  They vary in size: one report—which some scholars question—suggests that atoms could, in principle, be as large as a cosmos, although at least in this cosmos they all seem to be too small to perceive (DK 68A47).  They can take on an infinite variety of shapes: there are reports of an argument that there is ‘no more’ reason for the atoms to be one shape than another.  Many kinds of atoms can interlock with one another because of their irregular shapes and hooks at their surface, accounting for the cohesiveness of some compounds. It is not clear whether the early atomists regarded atoms as conceptually indivisible or merely physically indivisible (Furley 1967).  The idea that there is a smallest possible magnitude seems to suggest that this is the lower limit of size for atoms, although notions like being in contact or having shape seem to entail that even the smallest atoms have parts in some sense, if only mathematically or conceptually.  