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Chemistry. While He Was Writing The Book

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who is best known for creating the first version of the periodic table of elements in 1869. While writing a chemistry textbook, Mendeleev noticed recurring patterns between groups of elements when he arranged them by atomic weight. He created a grid-like diagram that systematically organized the elements, which allowed him to even predict properties of unknown elements. This periodic law gained acceptance over the following decades as new elements matching his predictions were discovered. Mendeleev's periodic table of elements is now an iconic scientific symbol that helps predict chemical reactions and properties of elements.

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200 views3 pages

Chemistry. While He Was Writing The Book

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who is best known for creating the first version of the periodic table of elements in 1869. While writing a chemistry textbook, Mendeleev noticed recurring patterns between groups of elements when he arranged them by atomic weight. He created a grid-like diagram that systematically organized the elements, which allowed him to even predict properties of unknown elements. This periodic law gained acceptance over the following decades as new elements matching his predictions were discovered. Mendeleev's periodic table of elements is now an iconic scientific symbol that helps predict chemical reactions and properties of elements.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Who came up with the idea to organize the

basic building blocks of writing? We may


never know which individual came up with
this idea, but we do know who ordered the
fundamental units of chemistry- Dmitri
Mendeleev. He was born to Maria and Ivan
Mendeleev in a Russian village in Siberia on
February 8th. However, his father died when
Dmitri was only 13, and, with the aim of a
better education, the family moved to St.
Petersburg, where he enrolled in the Main
Pedagogical Institute. His mother died soon
after, and he graduated in 1855.
As a professor, Mendeleev taught first at the
St. Petersburg Technological Institute and
then, at the University of St. Petersburg,
where he remained through 1890. Quickly
realizing he needed a quality textbook to
cover the subject of chemistry, he put
together one of his own, The Principles of
Chemistry. While he was writing the book,
Mendeleev made a discovery which led to his
most famous achievement- he noticed
certain recurring patterns between groups of
elements. An element is a substance that
cannot be broken down into simpler
substances through ordinary chemistry. He
then systematically arranged the dozens of
known elements by atomic weight in a gridlike diagram. Following this system, he could
even predict the qualities of some elements
still unknown. He called this the periodic
law.
In 1869, Mendeleev formally presented his
discovery of the periodic law to the Russian
Chemical Society. At first his system had
very few supporters in the international
scientific community. The science world was

perplexed, and many scoffed at Mendeleev's


predictions. However, it gradually gained
acceptance over the following two decades
when three new elements which possessed
the qualities of his earlier predictions were
discovered. Also, because some elements did
not fit into his graph, he said that the
weights must have been incorrectly
measured.
In London in 1889, he presented a summary
of his collected research in a lecture titled
The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements.
The final triumph of Mendeleevs work was
slightly unexpected. The discovery of the
noble gases during the 1890s by William
Ramsay initially seemed to contradict
Mendeleevs work, until he realised that they
were actually further proof of his system,
fitting in as the final group on his table.
Mendeleev never received a Nobel Prize for
his work, but element 101 was named
Mendelevium after him, an even rarer
distinction.
His diagram, known as the periodic table of
elements, is an iconic scientific symbol used
today. The table is used by modern students
and scientists because it helps predict the
types of chemical reactions that are likely for
an element. Rather than memorize facts and
figures for each element, a quick glance at
the periodic table reveals a lot about the
reactivity of an element, whether it is likely
to conduct electricity, and many other
characteristics.
Dmitri Mendeleev died in Saint
Petersburg, February 2, 1907, six days
before his 73rd birthday. He died of

influenza.

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