These terms are just symbolic names which should not be taken literally. Essentially, the latter four elements merely represent a first division of akasha. The diversity of appearances in the universe is owed to the variety of mixtures and interactions of the gunas. Whether the cosmic energy appears as a human mind, as a galaxy or as electromagnetic force, depends solely on the gunas. While the Ultimate Reality is the source which remains forever unchanged, the universe or maya is continuously fluctating due to the play of the gunas.
Thoughts come and go and atoms are dynamic systems by virtue of the gunas.
Even the four forces, which physicists regard as elementary, are certain mixtures of the gunas. Vedanta does not tell much about the details of the physical world that surrounds us. For these details the reader is referred to the quantum physics section of this site. Nevertheless, according to Vedanta, the most fundamental physical substance is not akasha but the gunas. According to Vedanta, the present universe is just part of a beginningless and endless cycle.