April 6, 2022 - Unruly

Elements
Created @April 6, 2022 1:06 AM

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flame test - every substance gave a telltale color as it burned

test became useless when more elements were discovered

1. robert bunson and gustav kirchhoff

instrument: two telescopes, wooden box, prism

bunsen burner - used to heat up samples

telescope shows spectrum of colors at particular

wavelengths

similar to a barcode but color

discovered cesium and rubidium with the instrument

followed by the discovery of indium and thallium by other

chemists

astronomers embraced the instrument - spectroscope

helium - discovered by looking at the sun > realised that

helium was present on earth too

19th century - several elements discovered

not arranged = “unruly garden”

2. dmitri mendeleev

first scientist to bring order to the elements

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 1

 discovered the periodic table of elements

story of discovery

dad was blind and mother, maria mendeleev, took care of

dozen of kids

travelled from province to st. petersburg accompanied by

mom > she died afterwards

professor in st. petersburg - leading institution of

russia’s capital

several discussions arguing the different atomic weights of

the elements

atomic weight - how much of each element is in one atom

why know atomic weights? to differentiate elements

only agreement between scientists

helium is the lightest element

the larger the weight, the heavier

scientists organised an international meeting to discuss the

atomic weight dispute

speech of stanislaw - new uniform system for atomic

weights

french chemist initially arranged elements in a cylinder

english chemist - organized like music notes per octave

5 chemists were able to discover a hidden order until

mendeleev teachings in st. petersburg

has this thing with cheesemakers that he regularly goes to

published 2 textbooks

first volume - discussed common details about 8 basic

elements

two chapters on halogen family

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 2

 second volume - he needs to find organising principle to
cover 55 elements

focus on element families than individuals

started with alkali family

discovers that the differences between atomic weights

are similar, regular change between horizontal and
vertical columns

same column - similar numerical properties

moves elements as a block, not individually

leaves blank spaces if pattern is not met - hopes that

an element will be discovered to fill this hole

iodine and tellurium

iodine is lighter = must come first = wrong family

family > atomic weight order

published the periodic table - incomplete but correct

left blanks for elements he thought were missing

he was convinced he discovered a law in nature

same column = similar properties

based on atomic weight

predicts missing elements and their properties based on

their neighbours on the table

gallium was discovered but density did not fit - mendeleev

was correct though

lord raleigh and william ramsay discovered argon - didn’t fit

the table

sent mendeleev’s discoveries crashing down

mendeleev didn’t believe argon wasn’t an element

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 3

 crypton, xenon, and neon - same increase of atomic weights
and had properties

revision: new column = noble gases

3. marie curie

graduate student woman from poland who pursued passion of

science in paris

story of marie curie

poland was under russia

family defied russians and upholding polish culture

daughter of two teachers

woman were allowed to go to university, nor be a scientist

too poor to go to paris (for education)

at age 24, she got her chance to go to paris

enrolled in paris university with cool professors

graduated with a degree in physics

received grant in magnetism with the help of professor

litman

paris

living showcase of scientific discoveries

boosted modern marvels

scientists were concurring diseases

marie curie had the liberty in paris

pierre curie - saught after french physicist to study the

subject

first rate researcher, teacher at industrial college

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 4

 pursued marie curie but curie planned to go back to poland
for dad after pursuing a first rate degree

got a doctorate in physics after marrying

x-rays were discovered during this period

marie didn’t know how to compete with this contribution so

she found a field with no competition

henri becquerel - discovered uranium gave of different rays

rays to penetrate paper, created images but not as good as

x-ray

discovered that air was charged to bridge conductors

marie curie worked on it after

instrument: measures electric effects on her samples

placed uranium on metal plate, charged plate with battery,

electricity leaped between the two plates

second device: with special piezoelectric crystal inside

that could generate its own charge

stretched the crystal, relieving the tension - develop

charge offsetting from uranium sample

third device: showed that these two charges were equal,

shows balance

discovery with brother years before: some crystals can

generate electricity with pressure

tested other elements to check if they’re like uranium,

capable of electrifying the air

no other elements showed this property

currie’s discoveries

1. thorium can also make air a better conductor

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 5

 this can be a property of matter, not only uniqued to
uranium

first called radioactivity

2. another element in pitch blend that made it radioactive

tested pitched blend RA from which uranium was taken

pitch blend was 4 times more radioactive than uranium

(was wrong > tested again and again)

another element in pitch blend that is causing it to be

like this

curie and pierre were not members of the academy of science >
requested lipman to announce this discover

pierre abandoned his work on crystals to help curie track

down the mystery element

experiment: subjected pitch black to battery of chemical

procedures

goal: seperate oar to different properties

two new radioactive elements were discovered in the oar

1. polonium - for poland

was not pure enough to yield a unique spectral line

2. radium

over a thousand times more radioactive than uranium

sample

showed presence of well-known barium

revealed pattern of spectral lines never seen before

glowed in the dark - controversial

where is that energy/light coming from? elements

change from one to another

inspired others to pursue this theory

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 6

 glow was from the disintegration of these atoms
themselves

radioactivity - sign that atom was unstable

if atoms were falling apart, then it must

not be the smallest unit of matter > what’s
inside an atom?

spectroscopy - used to confirm the discovery of new elements,

unique spectrum = unique element

spectral line wasn’t enough - know weight, have it measured,

needed to have pure material

needs to process large quantities of pitch blend to

separate radium

less than a millionth of 1% - isolating was a difficult

job

after 4 years, 1/10 of a gram of radium from 10 tons of

pitch blend

placed correctly in periodic table

same technique was followed to discover more elements

become the first ever female scientist to be awarded a

doctorate in france

censored because she was a woman

pierre fought for wife’s recognition

April 6, 2022 - Unruly Elements 7