History of the Periodic Table of the Elements

(CHEM 1360)Part 2

REDISCOVERY OF

THE ELEMENTS —

following ancient footsteps

European element discovery sites

The Highlands in Scotland

The Road to Strontian

Up from Strontian to the Mine

Entrance to the Mine

Climbing down into the Mine

Searching for a vein

Discovery! Alkaline earth carbonates and silicates

Mediterranean element discovery sites

Monte Palermo, “three French leagues from Bologna”

Discovery! Nuggets of fosforo di Bologna!

Fosforo di Bologna — Barite, BaSO4

Argillaceous matrix — i.e., clay and mud

Early Mankind discovers a new substance with ductile, rather than brittle, failure

Nubians deliver goldto their King

(Temple in Thebes)

Gold, most highlydesired of the metals

because of its eternal nature

Roa Montan, Romania — ancient Roman gold mine

Rosa Montana — wax tablet to entrance

Rosa Montana — enough room for one slave laborer

Silver Joachimthalers — etymological source of “dollar”

Thaler, 1561, minted in Sankt Joachim, Bohemia

Sankt Joachim, Bohemia —now Jáchymov, Czech Republic

Copper vasefrom Cyprus

(Cyprus = cuprum)

The Canaanites (Hittites) with “iron

chariots”in the Book of Judges

Plato and Aristotle espouse a logical universe

The origin of the concept of “element” or “principle”

Macquer’s “Dictionnaire de Chymie,” 1777

The current concept of “Chemical Element,” as of 1777

The Discoveryof Phosphorus

The Birth of Science

Greek logic

Alchemicaldiscoveries

Religiousphilosophy

Aqua fortisSpiritus salus

Blue vitrolLiver of sulphurManna mercuriFlowers of zinc

etc., etc. . . .

By reason you can arrive at the truth, even when it is not intuitively obvious. . . .

There was a Beginning. . . .

There are Natural

Causes. . . .God works

through Natural Law

The Birth of Science

By experimentation andcareful reasoning we canarrive at these laws and

ultimate understanding. . . .

Alchemicaldiscoveries

Greek logic

Religiousphilosophy

Falun Mine, Sweden — major copper mine that served the early miners

Averting the Gnomesin the dark caves. . . .

The German wordfor gnome is “Kobold”

Cobaltite, CoAsS

The German word“Kupfernickel” means

copper devil

Annabergite, Ni3(AsO4)2•8H2O

Nicollite, NiAs

German element discovery sites

Klatschmondblumen,Harz Mountains, Germany

Tilkerode, East Harz Mountains

Tilkerode, East Harz Mountains — selenium-rich ore, source of thallium

Lead ores

Minimum, Pb3O4

Cerrusite, PbCO3, “white wax”

Mercury ore“sweating”quicksilver

East European element discovery sites

Touring across Romania. . . .

Gypsies panning and collecting gold in fleece(Daniel Edward Clarke, Nagyag, Romania, 1802)

Gypsies today. . . .

Hiking up the Transylvanians. . . .

Faa Bii, Romania — “forgotten” gold mine in the Transylvania Mountains

The mines have huge talus banks, rich in pyrites.

Fata Baii Mine, where tellurium was discovered —known originally by Hungarian name, “Fascebanya”

Romanian miners (and one Australian) at Faa Bii Mine

Britain element discovery sites

Hidden by a stream in Menaccan, Cornwall. . . .

Manaccan church, Cornwall, where Gregor preached

The Lord’s Prayer, in Cornish

Plaque in Manaccan Church

Panning for ilmenite, FeTiO3, the black sand that “follows the compass”

Scandinavian element discovery sites

Hisinger’s house, owner of Bastnäs Mineand mentor of Jöns Jacob Berzelius

Bengt Hogrelius with old Swedish chemistry text

The modest author does not include his name on the title page(Cronstedt, who discovered nickel)

It is clear that a substance is beinggiven off. . . . I call it “phlogiston”

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Phlogiston is a universal principle given off by:

combustion

calxing

respiration

The atmosphere doesn’t become saturated with phlogiston because plants remove it

The world is thus a beautiful balanceincorporating the recycling of phlogiston

RespirationCombustionCalxing

Plants remove phlogiston

Prediction: Since a metal becomes heavierwhen it loses phlogiston to become a calx. . . .

Phlogiston

IronIron calx (rust)

Phlogiston musthave anti-gravity!

Clapham mansion, where Cavendishperformed his classic experiments

Lavoisier’s Elements, 1789

Lavoisier’s Elements

“Elements in the body”

“Earths”

“Nonmetallic elements”

“Metallic elements”