GENERAL ARTICLE

Seeking Order in Chaos

Mendeleev and the Emergence of the Periodic Table

Abhinav Godavarthi and S Sivaram

The International Year of the Periodic Table, proclaimed by

the United Nations to begin January 2019, coincides with the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Mendeleev’s pub-
lished Periodic Table. The Periodic Table marked the coming
of age of Chemistry. Mendeleev’s genius lay not in the dis-
covery of the fact of periodicity, but in his interpretation of it
as a fundamental principle, allowing for concrete hypotheses Abhinav, 16, is currently a
12th grader at Plano West
to be tested. His predictions of the properties of elements-to-
Senior High School, Texas. A
be, as well as presentation in a simple and easy to understand quiz bowl national champion
chart were contributing factors to make it his lasting legacy. (USA), he is interested in both
The success of the Periodic Table was a triumph of the value science and history and
particularly the intersection
of understanding chemistry based on theory over merely de-
of the two. He is a cellist,
pending on empirical observations and an ability to relate pianist, and a Carnatic singer.
such theory to experiments. Mendeleev’s discovery emerged He plans to study chemistry,
out of the difficulties he encountered in teaching chemistry molecular biology, and
history, and eventually
and, interestingly enough, it continues to serve that purpose
pursue a PhD.
today. The Periodic Table is taught worldwide early on in
science education. Regardless of scientific technicalities, the
Periodic Table will always stand as a symbol of the beauty in
the simplicity of nature, an order that permeates a seemingly
chaotic world of elements with deep scientific and philosoph- S Sivaram is currently a
ical underpinnings. In this article, we trace the origins of this Honorary Professor and
epoch-making discovery, his life as well as the times in which INSA Senior Scientist at
Mendeleev lived and worked and the present and future im- IISER-Pune. He was a
CSIR-Bhatnagar Fellow
pact of his discovery. (2011–16) and Director of
CSIR-NCL (2002–10). Apart
from research in polymer
1. Introduction chemistry, he is interested in
the history of science and the
origin and evolution of
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2019 as
thoughts that drive the
the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Ele- scientific enterprise.

RESONANCE | January 2019 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-019-0756-x 11

 GENERAL ARTICLE

Keywords ments (IYPT 2019) [1]. The goal: “in proclaiming an Interna-
Periodic Table, atomic taxonomy, tional Year focusing on the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements
atomic weights, atomic number,
and its applications, the United Nations has recognized the impor-
valency, periodicity.
tance of raising global awareness of how chemistry promotes sus-
tainable development and provides solutions to global challenges
in energy, education, agriculture and health and other critical sec-
tors.” This year coincides with the 150th anniversary of Dmitri
Mendeleev’s Periodic Table published in 1869. The objective of
IYPT 2019 is to promote and celebrate the significance of the Pe-
riodic Table of Elements and its applications to both science and
society.

The Periodic Table is the The Periodic Table is the undisputed central piece of chemistry. If
undisputed central piece our world consists of elements, the building blocks from which all
of chemistry. If our living and non-living matter are derived, then the Periodic Table
world consists of
elements, the building is the construct which reveals the deepest relationships and pat-
blocks from which all terns amongst these elements. The Periodic Table was a startling
living and non-living revelation, simple to comprehend, yet profound in its impact. It
matter are derived, then reflected a deep order in nature, which always existed, but was
the Periodic Table is the
construct which reveals waiting to be discovered. The Table had deep philosophical un-
the deepest relationships derpinnings. Why was this relationship so? Who created it and
and patterns amongst for what purpose? Was it a cryptogram without a key? [2]. Does
these elements. this ‘invisible key’ hold the secrets to decipher the darkest secrets
of nature and this universe? Why is the Periodic Table so impor-
tant to not only chemistry but to other branches of science? What
were the historical events that led to the revelation of periodicity
of elements? Even after a century and a half, many questions beg
for answers. It is not, therefore, surprising that the Periodic Ta-
ble has attracted attention not only from scientists but from artists
and writers of all hues and colours. In the words of Oliver Sacks,
the Periodic Table appears “to read the mind of Gods” [2], or as
stated by C P Snow, “a jungle that suddenly transformed itself
into a Dutch garden” [3]. Does the Periodic Table belong to the
realm of chemistry or sociology (since it explores families and
relationships), or geography (since we can understand the prop-
erties of elements from the directional spaces they occupy in the
Table. For example, strongly electropositive elements are found

12 RESONANCE | January 2019

 GENERAL ARTICLE

on the west side, whereas strongly electronegative elements are

found on the east)? Perhaps it belongs to both history and philos-
ophy, as Primo Levi beautifully stated: “micro-history, the history
of a trade and its defeats, victories, and miseries, such as every-
one wants to tell when he feels close to concluding the arc of his
career, and art ceases to be long. Having reached this point in
life, what chemist, facing the Periodic Table, does not perceive
scattered among them the sad tatters, or trophies, of his own pro-
fessional past? He only has to leaf through any treatise and mem-
ories rise up in bunches: there is among us he who has tied his
destiny, indelibly, to bromine or to propylene, or the –NCO
group, or glutamic acid; and every chemistry student, faced by
almost any treatise, should be aware that on one of those pages,
perhaps in a single line, formula, or word, his future is written
in indecipherable characters, which, however, will become clear
‘afterward’: after success, error, or guilt, victory or defeat. Ev-
ery no longer young chemist, turning again to the page in that So, it happens, therefore,
same treatise, is struck by love or disgust, delights or despairs. that every element says
something to someone
So, it happens, therefore, that every element says something to
(something different to
someone (something different to each) like the mountain valleys each) like the mountain
or beaches visited in youth.” valleys or beaches
visited in youth.
The Periodic Table as we perceive today is indelibly associated
with Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev [5] as his most lasting contri- – Primo Levi
bution to chemistry. Therefore, to understand the significance of
the Table, we need to delve into the life and times of Mendeleev
and ask what led him to this epochal discovery. This article will
chronicle Mendeleev’s journey leading to the discovery of the Ta-
ble, his influences in every stage of his scientific career, his undy-
ing curiosity, and his lost Nobel Prize. Finally, we will briefly
allude to the future of the Periodic Table as an instrument of sci-
ence in the modern world.

2. Early Life and the Path to the Discovery [6]

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on 27 January 1834 in a

village near present-day Tobolsk, Siberia, as the last of 17 chil-

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

Figure 1. (Left) : Dmitri dren to Maria Dmitrievna Mendeleeva and Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev.
Mendeleev in 1897 (Picture A young Mendeleev saw his father, a teacher, becoming blind.
courtesy: public domain). This led his mother to work in a glass factory. However, in 1848
(Right) A statue of Dmitri the factory burned down, and the family faced penury. Mendeleev’s
Mendeleev at the University mother, recognizing his precocious mind, travelled thousands of
of St. Petersburg (Picture
miles with him to Moscow (where he was denied admission at
courtesy: S Sivaram, 2013).
the University, being a Siberian) and then to St. Petersburg where
he began to train as a teacher. After a brief stay at the renowned
Heidelberg University, home to such dominant figures as Robert
Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, Mendeleev returned to St. Peters-
burg to teach at the Technical Institute in St. Petersburg in 1861.
He had a flowing beard and long, wild hair that he was known
to trim only once a year (Figure 1), and he is believed to have
intentionally cultivated the personality of an eccentric.
Mendeleev initially wrote a textbook titled Organic Chemistry
(1861) (Figure 2) which was considered the most authoritative
book of his times. However, he was acutely conscious that his stu-
dents were finding it difficult to understand chemistry. Mendeleev

14 RESONANCE | January 2019

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also realized that the difficulties were due to the lack of a clear The edifice of science
system for classifying the known elements. Without such a clas- not only requires
sification, he could only state known facts about elements, but no material, but also a plan,
and necessitates the
framework that would explain the relationships amongst them. work of preparing the
Therefore, Mendeleev began to write a textbook for inorganic materials, putting them
chemistry and the result, Principles of Chemistry (two volumes, together, working out the
plans and symmetrical
1868–70) became the standard text until early in the 20th century.
proportions of the
As Mendeleev wrote in the preface to this book, “The edifice of various parts.
science not only requires material, but also a plan, and necessi-
tates the work of preparing the materials, putting them together, –D I Mendeleev
working out the plans and symmetrical proportions of the various
parts. To conceive, understand and grasp the whole symmetry of
the scientific edifice, including its unfinished portions, is equiva-
lent to tasting that enjoyment only conveyed by the highest forms
of beauty and truth. Without the material, the plan alone is but
a castle in the air, whilst material without a plan is but useless
matter” [7]. Mendeleev while writing Principles of Chemistry be-
gan to organize the elements beginning with hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, and carbon. He found in them a natural order. Next,
he included the halogens which had low atomic weights. He at-
tempted to use known atomic weights of elements as a principle
of organization. However, he encountered difficulties in doing so.
Mendeleev’s achievements as a thinker were not limited to the
discovery of the Periodic Table. He was a scientist concerned
with service, an avid technologist, and an industrialist. He con-
ducted his science with great influence and his pressing desire to
enable his country to compete with the rapidly growing Western
nations which he witnessed growing at an incredible pace in view
of the burgeoning industrial revolution.

3. Atomic Taxonomy (Circa 1860)

To properly understand Mendeleev’s contribution to creating the

categorized matrix of the elements as we know it today, we must
first observe all those who had attempted the challenge before
him. In his ‘Seven Postulates of Periodicity’, Mendeleev made

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

Figure 2. The front page

of Mendeleev’s book Or-
ganic Chemistry from the
Mendeleev Museum, The
University of St. Peters-
burg (Picture courtesy: S
Sivaram, 2013).

a few claims which truly set him apart as the prophet of the ele-
ments, but many underlying trends were brought into light by his
contemporaries.

As early as the third As early as the third century BCE, Plato and his disciples had
century BCE, Plato and formed the concept of the element, a unit of matter that formed,
his disciples had formed either by itself or with other elements, everything. Like most
the concept of the
element, a unit of matter ideas in chemistry, it was not until Antoine de Lavoisier (1743–
that formed, either by 94) touched the subject that a rigorous definition was provided.
itself or with other In his Elementary Treatise of Chemistry, widely considered as
elements, everything.
the first chemistry textbook, Lavoisier writes [8]: “...by the term
Like most ideas in
chemistry, it was not elements, we mean to express those simple and indivisible atoms
until Antoine de of which matter is composed...”
Lavoisier (1743–94)
touched the subject that Lavoisier went on to report the existence of several elements but
a rigorous definition was was unable to identify any underlying principle regarding their
provided. natural order. Nearly fifty years later, Johann Döbereiner (1780–
1849) put forth his empirical ‘Law of Triads’, which described the
related properties of triads of elements, with increasing atomic
mass. In his paper, titled ‘An Attempt to Group Elementary Sub-
stances According to Their Analogies’ (1829), Döbereiner stated:

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Figure 3. A recreation
of Mendeleev’s office at the
Mendeleev Museum, The
University of St. Peters-
burg (Picture courtesy: S
Sivaram, 2013).

“In the alkali group, according to this view, soda stands in the
middle, since if we take the value for the atomic weight of lithia,
determined by Gmelin, = 195.310, and the value for potash =
589.916, then the arithmetic mean of these numbers...[equals]
392.613, which comes very close to the atomic value for soda,
which Jacob Berzelius (1779–1848) determined as 390.897” [9].
Döbereiner was troubled by the fact that the gap in atomic weight
between chlorine and iodine was large, and that there must be
a third element with an atomic weight midway between the two
halogens. This element, bromine, was discovered in 1926. There
were mixed reactions to Döbereiner’s hypothesis. Berzelius and
Humphry Davy (1778–1829) were skeptical whether such ‘nu-
merology’ had any real meaning in science.
While Döbereiner’s work identified simple patterns in small gro-
ups, it showed no principle that could be extended across all the
known elements. That would only arrive some thirty years later,
when an English chemist by the name John Newlands (1837–98)

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

proposed the ‘Law of Octaves’, noting that “the eighth element,

starting from a given one, is a kind of repetition of the first, like
the eighth note in an octave of music” [10]. Newlands arranged
all the known elements, starting with hydrogen into seven groups
of eight. In fact, it was Newlands who contributed the term ‘Peri-
odic’ to the lexicon, not Mendeleev [11].
At the turn of the nineteenth century, another profound thought
appeared in chemistry. Building on the hypothesis of Joseph
Proust (1754–1826) that elements combine in discrete propor-
tions (The Law of Definite Proportions), Dalton (1766–1844) pos-
tulated that elements were composed of atoms with unique weights
which combine in simple whole number ratios to form compounds.
In spite of Dalton’s flawed postulate for the structure of water and
ammonia, his theory survived.

Another raging debate Another raging debate took place amongst chemists in the lat-
took place amongst ter half of the nineteenth century. There were some who be-
chemists in the latter half lieved in the physical reality of an atom (atomism) and others
of the nineteenth
century. There were who doubted the existence of the atom (anti-atomism). However,
some who believed in many chemists were willing to accept atomic theory epistemolog-
the physical reality of an ically (atom as a chemically indivisible unit) but not ontologically
atom (atomism) and
(as a physical reality). Mendeleev too grappled with this duality
others who doubted the
existence of the atom of thought and struggled to reconcile the concept of periodicity
(anti-atomism). based on atomic weights with the chemical nature of elements.
However, many chemists He viewed elements as ‘chemical individuals’ and believed that
were willing to accept
the ‘immense diversities of elemental individualities’ cannot be
atomic theory
epistemologically (atom reduced to a primary matter, such as an atom [12].
as a chemically
In spite of all the intellectual fervour of this period, there was
indivisible unit) but not
ontologically (as a considerable confusion about the atomic weights of many ele-
physical reality). ments. The book titled Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie (1861)
by August Kekulé (1829–96) gave nineteen different formulae
for acetic acid! This confusion was put to rest finally only in
1860 at the Karlsruhe Chemical Congress [13]. The Karlsruhe
Congress was called by a group of European chemists to discuss
matters of chemical nomenclature, notation and atomic weights.
The key organizers were August Kekulé, Adolphe Wurtz and Karl
Weltzien. On the last day of the meeting, reprints of Stanislao

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Element Atomic Element Atomic Element Atomic

Weight Weight Weight
Cl 35.5 K 39 Ca 40
Table 1. Mendeleev’s early
Br 80 Rb 85 Sr 88
representation of order in el-
I 127 Cs 133 Ba 137 ements, circa 1860.

Cannizzaro’s (1826–1910) paper published in 1858 on atomic

weights, in which he utilized earlier work by Amedeo Avogadro
(1776–1856), were distributed. Cannizzaro’s paper caused a flut-
ter and influenced the thinking of the participants. Julias Lothar
Meyer (1830–95) wrote that on reading Cannizzaro’s paper, “the
scales seemed to fall from my eyes” [14]. An important long-term
result of the Karlsruhe Congress was the adoption of the mod-
ern day atomic weights. Prior to this, several systems of atomic
weights were in use, such as a value of 1 for hydrogen (the base Following the Karlsruhe
unit), 6 for carbon and 8 for oxygen. This led to uncertainties in Chemical Congress in
the composition of many compounds. Following the Karlsruhe 1860, values of 1 for
hydrogen, 12 for carbon,
Congress, values of 1 for hydrogen, 12 for carbon, 16 for oxygen, 16 for oxygen, and so
and so forth were adopted based on the recognition that certain el- forth were adopted based
ements were composed of diatomic molecules and not individual on the recognition that
atoms. certain elements were
composed of diatomic
Mendeleev was present at the Karlsruhe Congress. He heard Can- molecules and not
nizzaro show the correct atomic weights of calcium, strontium individual atoms.

and barium, and it became clear how close these were to those of
the alkali metals – potassium, rubidium and caesium. As soon as
he returned to St. Petersburg, Mendeleev made a small jotting,
juxtaposing these three groups (Table 1). 1 This date is according to the

older Julian calendar that was

It occurred to him immediately that this must be a fragment of used in Russia at this time. It
a larger pattern which ultimately led him to the idea of periodic- differs from the Gregorian cal-
ity governing all the elements – a Periodic Law. Using a com- endar that was introduced in the
Western countries in 1582. In
bination of careful analysis and deep intuition, Mendeleev ar-
1869 the difference between the
rived at a tabulation of thirty odd elements. It is widely held that two calendars amounted to 12
the final revelation of the periodicity of the elements occurred to days.
Mendeleev on the morning of 17 February 18691 , after working

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

Figure 4. The first Peri-

odic Table of Mendeleev in
his hand writing, from the
Mendeleev Museum, The
University of St. Peters-
burg (Picture courtesy S.
Sivaram, 2013)

non-stop for three days and nights (Figure 4). On 6 March 1869,
Dmitri Mendeleev delivered a presentation to the Russian Chem-
ical Society titled, ‘The Dependence Between the Properties of
the Atomic Weights of the Elements’. The content of the presen-
tation was published later under the title, ’On the Relationship
2 D Mendelejeff, Zeitschrift für of the Properties to the Atomic Weights of the Elements’2 , thus
Chemie, Vol.12, pp.405–406, putting in writing a discovery that would revolutionize and re-
1869, (now Angewandte
invigorate chemistry forever. His first exposition of the Periodic
Chemie).
Table in the West was the Faraday Lecture he delivered on 4 June
1889 [15].
As a testimony to his supreme confidence that his Table repre-
sented the truth, he suggested new positions for half a dozen ele-
ments in defiance of their accepted valency and atomic weights.
Mendeleev went a step farther and made note of the underly-
ing principle of his discovery: periodicity. With this principle in
mind, he noted the inconsistencies in mass data on the existing el-
ements, hypothesized the determining factors of an atom’s prop-

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

erties, and, most importantly, predicted the properties of elements-

to-be. He reserved several empty spaces in his Table for elements
‘as yet unknown’. He predicted the existence of an element ‘eka- Mendeleev predicted the
aluminium’ below aluminium in Group III with an atomic weight existence of an element
of 68 and specific gravity of 5.9. Four years later, Lecoq de ‘eka-aluminium’ below
aluminium in Group III
Boisbaudran (1838–1912) would discover this element, which he with an atomic weight of
named Gallium, after his home country and had an atomic weight 68 and specific gravity
of 69.9 and specific gravity of 5.94! The accepted atomic mass of 5.9. Four years later,
Lecoq de Boisbaudran
of gallium today is 69.723 and the value of density is 5.91 g/cm3 .
(1838–1912) would
The pattern of periodicity could only not be clearly seen at the discover this element,
beginning partly because of inaccurate values of atomic weights. which he named
This resulted in an entire group of missing elements that no one Gallium, after his home
country and had an
had predicted, namely, the noble gases. Furthermore, The Ta-
atomic weight of 69.9
ble did not provide the optimal ordering principle based only on and specific gravity of
atomic weights and as many as four pairs of elements occurred in 5.94!
reversed positions. This issue had to wait until the discovery of
atomic number in 1913–14 for a full clarification. The contem-
porary Periodic Table that we see today is arranged according to
the increasing atomic numbers that correspond to the increasing
number of protons in the nucleus and can be attributed to Anto-
nius van den Broek (1870–1926) and H G J Mosley (1887–1915).
Mendeleev was the first to recognize valency as rationale for nat-
ural families of elements, with Group I having a valency of one,
Group II with a valency of two and Group VIII with a valency of
eight. When he arranged the elements in the order of their atomic
weights, in horizontal ‘periods’ as he called them, one could see
the recurrences of the same properties and valencies at regular
intervals.
Ironically, originating from someone who doubted the existence
of an atom, the Periodic Table provided the strongest argument
for the physical atom which opened the door for a deeper under-
standing of the atomic structure, and led to revolutionary discov-
eries in the early years of the twentieth century!
Mendeleev’s genius lay not in the discovery of the fact of peri-
odicity, but in his interpretation of it as a fundamental principle
allowing for concrete hypotheses to be tested. His predictions

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 GENERAL ARTICLE

of the properties of elements-to-be, as well as the creation of

Mendeleev’s genius lay an elegant figure, were instrumental in making it his most last-
not in the discovery of ing legacy. It was Mendeleev who changed the whole challenge
the fact of periodicity,
from one of simple classification to that of an understanding of
but in his interpretation
of it as a fundamental first principles, consistent with fellow thinkers from the periods
principle allowing for of enlightenment and romanticism who preceded him. For in-
concrete hypotheses to stance, Linnaeus (1707–1778), who had not only classified ani-
be tested. mals and plants but also designed a system for classification after
his time; Alexander Humboldt (1769–1859), who shaped our un-
derstanding of the biosphere as a truly interconnected system of
ecosystems and environments through the observation of broad
natural principles; Darwin (1809–1882) , who strove to uncover
underlying principles of visible diversity in the natural world by
proposing the theory of natural selection; J D Dana, (1813–1895),
a renowned geologist, who provided a chemical classification of
minerals; even mathematicians such as Gauss and Abel, who un-
covered the fundamental laws and a reduced set of principles that
explained the applied phenomena that scientists of previous gen-
erations had described.

4. Mendeleev, Ethics, and the Elusive Nobel

If Mendeleev was not the first one to come up with the idea of
periodicity, why is any credit attributed to him for the Periodic
Table? In questions of Mendeleev’s ethical integrity, we must
probe his intents in attempting to classify the elements: were they
for the sole purpose of getting recognition? Did he feel a com-
petitive spirit with his contemporaries? Did he have access to the
wide body of literature emerging from Western Europe?
E Scerri, an acknowledged scholar on Mendeleev, believes that
“Mendeleev wasn’t isolated in Siberia, which is the way he is
sometimes portrayed. He spoke all the major European languages,
was familiar with the literature and had travelled in Europe. He
mentioned the precursors of the Periodic Table, but not the ones
who actually devised systems. He surely must have known about
them.” He continues further to ask, “Why wouldn’t he acknowl-

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edge the efforts of other scientists here? It beats me. I don’t know
whether the project of systematizing was viewed differently by
Mendeleev and his colleagues than, say, discovery of a new sub-
stance or a new reaction. Or maybe it was standard issue of hu-
man frailty. Indeed, my sense is that Mendeleev probably had
very little to lose by acknowledging earlier versions of the Peri-
odic Table, simply because his was a more useful way to system-
atize the elements. Mendeleev’s Table captured the organizing
principles that made the most sense. Mendeleev should have ac-
knowledged any earlier versions of the Periodic Table of which
he was aware – even if he didn’t feel that they had influenced his
own thinking in formulating his famous version of the Periodic
Table.” [16]. While speculations abound, there is no definitive
view whether Mendeleev deliberately ignored the work before his
times in an attempt to claim total credit for himself.
It is perplexing that Mendeleev lost the Nobel each year from its Apart from the Periodic
introduction (1901) to his death (1907) [17]. In his homeland, Table, Mendeleev added
too, he was never elected a full member of the Russian Academy greatly to the knowledge
of phase transitions,
of Sciences. Nevertheless, by the end of his life, Mendeleev had anticipating the presence
been honoured by several scientific institutions all over Europe, of the critical point.
including the Royal Society in London, which gave him the Davy Later on, he began
Medal in 1882 and the Copley Medal in 1905. applying his theoretical
knowledge to the
development of
technologies for the
5. Mendeleev’s Other Contributions Russian military.

In light of his discovery of The Periodic Law at such an early

stage in his career, many of Mendeleev’s further contributions
have been forgotten. Mendeleev abandoned the pursuit of his in-
terest in the Periodic Table in 1871, a mere two years after his
epochal discovery. At Heidelberg, his theoretical interests ex-
tended into physical chemistry. He added greatly to the knowl-
edge of phase transitions, anticipating the presence of the critical
point (terming it the ‘temperature of absolute ebullition’). Later
on, he began applying his theoretical knowledge to the develop-
ment of technologies for the Russian military. His work on the
expansion of gases, funded by the Russian government, found

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great use in ballistics.

Mendeleev was deeply Beyond fundamental work, Mendeleev was deeply involved in the
involved in the discovery, manufacturing, and distribution of petroleum in Rus-
discovery,
sia; in fact, a large chunk of existing plans for petroleum infras-
manufacturing, and
distribution of petroleum tructure today in Russia can thank Mendeleev for their efficien-
in Russia, and a large cies. After a visit to the United States in the 1870s, Mendeleev
chunk of existing plans introduced private entrepreneurs to American oil drilling tech-
for petroleum
niques. The shift in Russian oil refineries to the centre of Russia,
infrastructure today in
Russia can thank allowing for easy transport and distribution of the product, can
Mendeleev for their also be attributed to Mendeleev. Mendeleev devoted a significant
efficiencies. portion of his remaining years to advocating further innovations
to Russian oil production, from improvements to oil quality to
the creation of a pipeline stretching through the Caucasus to the
Black Sea [18].
Mendeleev understood that science alone was not enough to cre-
ate sustainable change in his country, and that policy and indus-
trial management played equally important roles. This aspect of
Mendeleev’s mindset as an agent of change in the world is most
seen in the last stage of his career. He spent fourteen years as the
head of the Main Chamber of Weights and Measurements, during
which period, he was instrumental in shifting the Russian Empire
to the use of metric system and the development of more precise
weighing systems. His commitment to the field continued until
his death in 1907. He also made important advances in the fields
of meteorology and economics, writing polemical texts in the lat-
ter encouraging increased industrialization of Russia.

6. Conclusions and the Future of the Periodic Table

It is clear that Mendeleev’s contributions to chemistry range far

and beyond the Periodic Law. Yet, the Periodic Table is his most
enduring legacy, the simplest formulation of the natural world’s
most essential building blocks. It is through this formulation that
he successfully managed to communicate the inherent patterns
in nature and the beauty with which it is constructed. Since the
initial conception of the Table, it has been structurally modified

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by many to emphasize certain patterns that lie within it. There are
hundreds of versions of Periodic Table that can be accessed on the
web [19, 20]. Several of them use quantum number as a basis of
categorization. For example, Charles Jenet’s ‘Left Step Periodic
Table’ makes clear the exact pattern of orbital filling in the ele-
ments [19]. Valery Tsimmerman’s ‘ADOMAH’ Table systemati-
cally describes the element by each of its four quantum numbers,
making it incredibly useful from a physicist’s perspective as well
[20]. Many continue to question the position of elements in the
Periodic Table. The position of the two f-blocks has been the sub-
ject of extensive discussion. IUPAC has kept two vacant spaces
below Sc and Y with separate 15-element rows of lanthanides and
actinides [21].
The creation of such ‘next-gen’ Periodic Tables gives rise to an The creation of
important question: is there a limit on how far the Table may ‘next-gen’ Periodic
reach? It is said that Feynman once proposed that unitriseptium Tables gives rise to an
important question: is
(atomic number 137) would be the last element capable of exist- there a limit on how far
ing in a neutral form [22]. At such nuclear charge, the speed of an the Table may reach?
electron in the 1s orbital in the atom is predicted by the classical
Bohr model to exceed the speed of light. Even after taking into
account relativistic effects, approximations of nuclear size, and
field effects, a limit emerges. Current theoretical studies based
on quantum theory places a limit on atomic size at Z < 173. At
such atomic numbers, elements would be fundamentally unstable
and spontaneously disintegrate into charged atomic sub-particles.
Even today, as chemists attempt to synthesize larger and larger
elements (many comprising the trans-Uranium family), the fun-
damental instabilities in the products are clear.
As the human need for novel energy sources arises, and with it,
the synthesis of several new elements such as those of the trans-
Uranium family, one question that arises is whether or not such
elements should be considered as elements in the truest sense of
the word. After all, to date, several of these elements have not
been found to be naturally-occurring, but all elements are said to
be components of the natural world.
We posit that the Periodic Table today is most powerful as an

RESONANCE | January 2019 25

 GENERAL ARTICLE

educational tool – not simply a record of those substances we

may find in nature, but rather a means to categorize and analyse
any element which may be found to have use in any way. Thus,
any element that emerges as a consequence of explicitly synthetic
efforts still has a very important place in the Periodic Table of the
future. The Periodic Table, in one plane, is a manifestation of
properties of natural elements; in another plane, it points out to
the properties of the atoms which define man-made elements.

Regardless of scientific More broadly, regardless of scientific technicalities, the Periodic

technicalities, the Table will always stand as a symbol of beauty and simplicity of
Periodic Table will nature. Although Mendeleev was a true genius for discovering
always stand as a symbol
of the beauty in the the Periodic Table, the periodic system was pre-existing and pro-
simplicity of nature, an vided by nature itself. The truth was just waiting to be discovered
order that permeates a by someone. There were never two ways of arranging the ele-
seemingly chaotic world
ment similar to a deck of playing cards in the game of patience or
of elements with deep
scientific and solitaire. When the game is completed, the result is obvious. It is
philosophical the same with the Periodic Table.
underpinnings.
The ultimate quest of science is to seek order in chaos and to
find meaning in the patterns of creation of this universe. To quote
Mendeleev, the quintessential philosopher-chemist, “it is the func-
tion of science to find a general reign of order in nature and to find
the causes that govern this order; and this refers in equal measure
to the relations of man – social and political – and the entire uni-
verse” [23]. Mendeleev assured his position in posterity because
he accomplished this goal.

Suggested Reading
[1] https://iupac.org/united-nations-proclaims-international-year-
periodic-table-chemical-elements/; accessed 25 December 2018;
https://www.iypt2019.org/
[2] Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, Alfred A.
Knopf Inc., New York, 2011.
[3] C P Snow, The Search, Stratus Books, UK, 1958.
[4] Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, Schocken Books New York, 1984, reprinted as
Penguin Classics, 2000.
[5] The name of Mendeleev has been spelt on various ways in the literature, such
as, Mendeleeff, Mendelejeff, Mendeleyev, Mendeleeiff, etc. The difficulty in ex-

26 RESONANCE | January 2019

 GENERAL ARTICLE

actly translating his Russian name to English is probably the cause of this con-
fusion.
[6] Several articles on Mendeleev have appeared in previous issues of Resonance:
Journal of Science Education. A Chakravorty, Dmitrii Ivanovich Mendeleev,
Resonance,Vol.5, No.5, pp.2–5, 2000; A G Samuelson, Fulfilling Mendeleev’s
Dream, Resonance, Vol.5, No.5, pp.64–66, 2000; Gregory J Butera, Glenn
Seaborg 1912–1999, Resonance, Vol.5, No.5, pp.67–73, 2000. In addition, there
are several scholarly publications on the life and work of Mendeleev. P Strath-
ern, Mendeleyev’s Dream: The Quest for the Elements, St. Martin’s Press, New
York, 2000; E V Babaev, Dmitri I Mendeleev, Mendeleev Communications,
Moscow, 2009.
[7] H M Leicester, Chymia, Vol.1, No.67, 1948; D I Mendeleev, The Principles of
Chemistry, London, , p.9, 1891.
[8] Lavoisier and R Kerr, Elements of Chemistry, trans. Edinburgh, Scotland:
William Creech, from p.24, 1790.
[9] L A Horvitz, Eureka! Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed the World, John
Wiley, New York, 2002.
[10] J R Partington, A Short History of Chemistry, Harper Torchbooks, New York,
p.345, 1960.
[11] B Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Broadway Books, New York,
2003.
[12] P Thyssen in Positivism and Chemistry, Eds. M Eisvogel and K Ruthenberg,
Konigshausen and Neumann, Wurzburg, Germany, 2015.
[13] Historically, Karlsruhe Chemical Congress was the first international meeting
of chemists and it led to the eventual founding of the International Union of
Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
[14] Eric R Scerri, A Tale of Seven Elements, Oxford University Press UK, p.21,
2013.
[15] The text of the Faraday Lecture has been reproduced in Resonance as
Mendeleev’s Faraday Lecture: The Periodic Classification of the Chemical El-
ements, Vol.5, No.5, p.104, 2000.
[16] Eric R Scerri, The Periodic Table: Its Story and Significance, Oxford University
Press, UK, 2006; Eric R Scerri, The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction,
Oxford University Press, UK, 2011.
[17] C J Giunta, Dmitri Mendeleev’s Nobel-Prize-Losing Research, ACS Sympo-
sium Series, Vol,1262, Chapter 3, pp.31–49, 2017; U Lagerkvist, The Peri-
odic Table and the Missed Nobel Prize, World Scientific, Singapore, 2012; R M
Friedman, The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science, Times
Books, New York, 2001; Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.,42, 1194, 2003.
[18] B Bensaude-Vincent, Dmitri Mendeleev, Encyclopaedia Britan-
nica, 2018; Z Pelta-Heller, Distillations, January 19, 2018.
https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/blog/braving-the-
elements-why-mendeleev-left-russian-soil-for-american-oil, accessed, Decem-
ber 16, 2018.
[19] P J Stewart, Charles Janet: Unrecognized Genius of the Peri-
odic System, Foundations of Chemistry, 2009; https://www.meta-

RESONANCE | January 2019 27

 GENERAL ARTICLE

synthesis.com/webbook/35 pt/pt database.php?PT id=152, Accessed De-

cember 17, 2018.
Address for Correspondence [20] Valery Tsimmerman, Periodic Law can be understood in terms of tetrahedral
Abhinav Godavarthi sphere packing, 2008; http://www.perfectperiodictable.com, Accessed Decem-
5853 Pebblestone Ln ber 18, 2018.
Plano, TX 75093 , USA. [21] E D Jemmis, Controversy continues on the position of elements in the Periodic
Email: Table, Current Science, Vol.114, No.12, p.2428, 2018; M C Rath, Periodic ta-
[email protected] ble of elements revisited for accommodating elements of future years, Current
Science, Vol.115, No.9, p.1644, 2018.
S Sivaram
Indian Institute of Science
[22] P Ball, Would Element 137 Really Spell the End of the Periodic Table, Chem-
Education and Research
istry World, 28 October 2010; T Kuntzleman, The Search for the Final Element,
Dr Homi Bhabha Road
https://www.chemedx.org/blog/search-final
Pune 411 008, India.
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the End of the Periodic Table? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-
Email:
s.sivaram@iiserpune .ac.in
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reach-end-periodic-table-180957851/, accessed 26 December 2018.
[23] Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869–1905, W B Jensen Ed.,
Dover Publications, New York, 2005.

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