No, Democritus did not propose a model with electrons surrounding a nucleus at a distance. His ideas were much simpler and predate the discovery of electrons and the nucleus by centuries.

Here's why:

* Democritus's Atom: Democritus (around 460-370 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who proposed that matter was made up of indivisible particles called "atoms." He believed these atoms were solid, homogeneous spheres that differed in size and shape.

* No Nucleus or Electrons: The concept of a nucleus with electrons orbiting it is a much later development, attributed to the work of scientists like Rutherford (who discovered the nucleus in 1911) and Bohr (who proposed the model of electrons in quantized orbits around the nucleus in 1913).

* Ancient Philosophy vs. Modern Science: Democritus's atomic theory was philosophical rather than scientific. It lacked the experimental evidence and mathematical framework that characterize modern scientific models.

In essence, Democritus's model was a very basic conceptual idea about matter, while the modern atomic model is a much more complex and scientifically supported explanation of the structure of atoms.