The Periodic Table: Its Story And Its Significance

Cover......Page 1
The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Preface to the Second Edition......Page 10
Preface to the First Edition......Page 12
Notes......Page 14
The Periodic System of the Elements......Page 16
The Elements......Page 18
Alchemy......Page 19
A Philosophical Approach......Page 20
The Evolution of the Periodic System......Page 21
Notes......Page 25
The Elements......Page 32
The Discovery of the Elements......Page 35
Names and Symbols of the Modern Elements......Page 36
The Modern Periodic Table......Page 39
The Periodic Law......Page 46
Reacting Elements and Ordering the Elements......Page 47
Recent Changes in the Periodic Table......Page 49
Understanding the Periodic System......Page 52
Molecular Tables......Page 53
Notes......Page 55
Quantitative Analysis......Page 62
Equivalent Weights......Page 64
A Short Digression on Greek Atomism......Page 65
Dalton’s Atomic Theory......Page 66
Law of Definite Proportions by Volumes......Page 70
Prout’s Hypothesis......Page 71
Döbereiner Discovers Triads......Page 75
Gmelin’s Remarkable System......Page 77
A Qualitative Intermission......Page 81
Pettenkofer’s Difference Relationships......Page 83
Kremers Goes Horizontal......Page 85
Supertriads......Page 87
Postscript on Triads......Page 90
Atomic Weight Determination......Page 91
Conclusion......Page 93
Notes......Page 95
Chapter 3: Discoverers of the Periodic System......Page 102
Another Brief Interlude on Qualitative Chemistry......Page 104
The Rapid Appearance of Several Periodic Systems......Page 105
Alexandre Émile Béguyer De Chancourtois......Page 107
John Newlands......Page 110
The Law of Octaves......Page 115
William Odling......Page 119
Gustavus Hinrichs......Page 124
Julius Lothar Meyer......Page 131
The Remelé-Seubert Episode: The Unpublished Table of 1868......Page 135
Conclusion......Page 137
Notes......Page 138
Chapter 4: Mendeleev......Page 142
Early Life and Scientific Work......Page 143
The Crucial Discovery......Page 146
The Nature of the Elements......Page 153
Making Predictions......Page 158
Mendeleev as Reductionist?......Page 159
Chapter 5: Prediction and Accommodation: The Acceptance of Mendeleev’s Periodic System......Page 166
Mendeleev’s Approach......Page 167
Correcting Atomic Weights......Page 169
Beryllium......Page 170
Uranium......Page 171
Tellurium and Iodine......Page 172
Mendeleev’s Predictions......Page 174
The Discovery of Gallium......Page 178
Scandium......Page 180
Germanium......Page 181
Mendeleev’s Less Successful Predictions......Page 182
The Acceptance of Mendeleev’s Periodic System......Page 185
Davy Medal Citation......Page 187
Contemporary Reactions to the Periodic Table......Page 189
The Power of an Idea......Page 192
The Inert Gases......Page 193
Notes......Page 198
Chapter 6: The Nucleus and the Periodic Table: Radioactivity, Atomic Number, and Isotopy......Page 204
X-Rays and Becquerel Rays......Page 205
Radioactivity......Page 207
The Discovery of the Nucleus......Page 208
Atomic Number......Page 209
Henry Moseley......Page 214
What Moseley Did Not Achieve......Page 218
Philosophical Debates Reopened......Page 219
Isotopy......Page 220
Postscript on Triads......Page 223
Postscript on Atomic Mass......Page 226
Notes......Page 227
The Discovery of the Electron and Early Models of the Atom......Page 232
Models of the Atom......Page 234
The Quantum Theory of the Atom......Page 237
Bohr’s Second Theory of the Periodic System......Page 241
Edmund Stoner......Page 246
The Pauli Exclusion Principle......Page 248
Notes......Page 252
Chapter 8: Electronic Explanations of the Periodic System Developed by Chemists......Page 256
Irving Langmuir......Page 262
Contributions of Charles Bury......Page 264
The Case of Hafnium (Element 72)......Page 266
Back to Bohr......Page 268
John David Main Smith......Page 270
Conclusion......Page 274
Notes......Page 275
Chapter 9: Quantum Mechanics and the Periodic Table......Page 278
From Bohr’s Old Quantum Theory to Quantum Mechanics......Page 280
The Advent of Quantum Mechanics......Page 281
Hartree-Fock Method......Page 282
Writing Electronic Configurations for Atoms......Page 284
Examining the Evidence......Page 288
Anomalous Configurations......Page 289
An Explanation for Shell Closing but Not for Period Closing......Page 293
The Nickel Atom......Page 296
Back to Hund’s Rule......Page 297
Choice of Basis Set......Page 298
Qualitative Reduction/Explanation of Periodic Table in Terms of Electrons in Shells......Page 299
Ab Initio Calculations......Page 300
Density Functional Approach......Page 302
Density Functional Theory in Practice......Page 303
Conclusion......Page 304
Notes......Page 305
Evolution of the Elements......Page 310
Astrophysics and Cosmology: The Current View......Page 318
Stability of Nuclei and Cosmic Abundance of Elements......Page 319
Notes......Page 324
Element 91—Protactinium......Page 328
Early History......Page 329
The Search for the Mother of Actinium and the Discovery of Brevium......Page 331
The Discovery of Protactinium......Page 333
Element 72—Hafnium......Page 335
Element 72......Page 337
Element 75—Rhenium......Page 340
Noddack, Tacke, and Berg......Page 341
Element 43—Technetium......Page 342
The Claimed Discovery of Masurium......Page 343
Van Assche’s Attempt to Rehabilitate the Noddack-Berg Claim for Element 43......Page 344
Finally, the “Real” Element 43 Is Obtained......Page 347
The Oklo Phenomenon......Page 350
Element 87—Francium......Page 351
Francium......Page 353
Perey......Page 354
Early Claims for Element 85......Page 357
Element 61—Promethium......Page 360
Early Claims......Page 361
An Italian Claim......Page 364
Charles James and B. Smith Hopkins......Page 365
The Discovery of the “Real Element 61”......Page 367
Notes......Page 370
Chapter 12: Synthetic Elements......Page 376
Early History of the Synthesis of Elements......Page 378
The Synthesis of Elements Beyond Uranium......Page 379
Real Transuranium Elements......Page 382
From 101 to 106......Page 384
The Case of Nobelium......Page 385
The “German Elements,” 107–112......Page 388
Elements 113-118......Page 390
Chemistry of the Synthetic Elements and Relativistic Effects......Page 393
Finally, Something Completely Different......Page 396
Concluding Speculations......Page 397
Notes......Page 398
Differences in Numbers of Columns......Page 402
What Comes Next?......Page 404
Interesting Issues Connected with the Onset of New Blocks of the Table......Page 405
First Appearance of an f-Electron......Page 406
Periodic Tables Other Than Those Literally Table Shaped......Page 410
Contributions by Amateurs......Page 411
More Specific Tables......Page 412
Is There an Optimal Periodic Table?......Page 415
Elements and Groups of Elements as Natural Kinds?......Page 416
Some Specific Cases......Page 417
Back to Elements as Basic Substances......Page 419
The Placement of Hydrogen in the Periodic System......Page 420
A Historical Survey of Evidence and Arguments in Favor of Placing Lu and Lr into Group 3......Page 421
Sum of First Three Ionization Energies......Page 424
Back to Triads......Page 425
Reductionist Worries......Page 430
A Continuum of Periodic Tables?......Page 431
Notes......Page 432
Diagonal Behavior......Page 436
Similarities Between Group ( n) and Group ( n + 10)......Page 437
Early Actinoid Relationships......Page 440
Secondary Periodicity......Page 441
Knight’s Move Relationship......Page 443
First-Member Anomaly......Page 445
Ions That Imitate Elements......Page 446
Notes......Page 447
Collected Bibliography of Sources Quoted......Page 450
Books for Suggested Reading......Page 468
Selected Articles by the Author on the Periodic Table and Related Topics......Page 471
Works by Eric Scerri......Page 474
Index......Page 480
End Adds......Page 502