The history of the periodic table reflects over a century of growth in the understanding of chemical properties, and culminates with the publication of the first periodic table by Dmitri Mendeleevin 1869.[1] While Mendeleev built upon earlier discoveries by such scientists as Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier and Stanislao Cannizzaro, the Russian scientist is generally given sole credit for development of the periodic table.
The table is a visual representation of the periodic law which states that certain properties of elements repeat periodically when arranged by atomic number. The table arranges elements into vertical columns (groups) and horizontal rows (periods) to display these commonalities.
Contents
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1 Elemental ideas from ancient times
2 Age of Enlightenment
2.1 Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
2.2 Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner
3 Classifying elements
3.1 Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois
3.2 John Newlands
4 Dmitri Mendeleev
4.1 Lothar Meyer
4.2 William Odling
5 Refinements to the periodic table
5.1 Henry Moseley
5.2 Glenn T. Seaborg
6 Main discovery periods
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Elemental ideas from ancient times[edit]
People have known about some chemical elements like gold, silver and copper from antiquity, as these can all be discovered in nature in native form and are relatively simple to mine with primitive tools.[2] However, the notion that there were a limited number of elements from which everything was composed originated with the Greek philosopher Aristotle. About 330 B.C Aristotle proposed that everything is made up of a mixture of one or more of four "roots" (originally put forth by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles), but later renamed elements by Plato. The four elements wereearth, water, air and fire. While the concept of an element was thus introduced, Aristotle's and Plato's ideas did nothing to advance the understanding of the nature of matter.
Age of Enlightenment[edit]
Hennig Brand was the first person recorded to have discovered a new element. Brand was a bankrupt German merchant who was trying to discover the Philosopher's Stone — a mythical object that was supposed to turn inexpensive base metals into gold. He experimented with distilling human urine until in 1649[3] he finally obtained a glowing white substance which he namedphosphorus. He kept his discovery secret, until 1680 when Robert Boyle rediscovered it and it became public. This and related discoveries raised the question of what it means for a substance to be an "element".
In 1661 Boyle defined an element as a substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by a chemical reaction. This simple definition actually served for nearly 301 years (until the development of the notion of subatomic particles), and even today is taught in introductory chemistry classes.
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier[edit]
Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier
Lavoisier's Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elementary Treatise of Chemistry, 1789, translated into English by Robert Kerr) is considered to be the first modern chemical textbook. It contained a list of elements, or substances that could not be broken down further, which included oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus,mercury, zinc, and sulfur. It also forms the basis for the modern list of elements. His list, however, also included light and caloric, which he believed to be material substances. While many leading chemists of the time refused to believe Lavoisier's new revelations, the Elementary Treatise was written well enough to convince the younger generation. However, as Lavoisier's descriptions only classified elements as metals and non-metals, it fell short of a complete description.
