The Inventor of the Periodic Table: Dimitri Mendeleev

The Periodic Table, in its simplest definition, is a table developed to classify chemical elements. But how was this invention that we call by so many names—the periodic table, periodic scale, periodic chart, and even the elements table—discovered? Through what work did it reach us today? The key figure here is undoubtedly Dimitri Mendeleyev.

Who Was Dimitri Mendeleyev?

When the calendar showed 1834, Dimitri Mendeleyev was born in the Siberian city of Tobolsk as the youngest of seventeen siblings. Coming from an educated family, Mendeleyev's father was a high school principal, and his grandfather was the publisher of Siberia's first newspaper. Following his father's death, his mother sent him to Saint Petersburg University to receive better education. His success there brought him into prominence, and he served as a professor at Saint Petersburg University. As a result of important work conducted with scientists in France and Germany, he had the opportunity to attend a conference held in Germany in 1858. At this conference, he participated in discussions on the "Avogadro Hypothesis"; afterwards he traveled to Pennsylvania to visit and conduct research at the first oil wells there. Upon returning to Russia, he developed a commercial distillation technique. This technique attracted considerable attention due to its novelty and distinctive nature. Concluding that chemistry textbooks taught in schools were inadequate, Dimitri Mendeleyev wrote the book "Principles of Chemistry," which ranks among "Great Classics," in 1870. While writing his book, he noticed connections between chemical elements and focused on this subject. His main purpose here was to discover a common characteristic that unified the properties of these elements. Before Mendeleyev, British chemist John Dalton had also investigated the connections between the atomic weights of elements and sought to discover a general order. However, it was Dimitri Mendeleyev who found the connection between elements and arranged them in the periodic table.

Initially, the periodic table contained 63 known elements. One year after Dimitri Mendeleyev's death on 2 February 1907, the number of known elements rose to 86, which proved to be a rapid and equally important development for chemical science.

The Mendelevium Element Dimitri Mendeleyev conducted numerous studies comprising 25 books. These fascinating studies brought about significant developments in the field of geochemistry as a result of his organization of data on isomorphism. Furthermore, having discovered the critical boiling point, Mendeleyev developed the hydrate theory of solutions, and thus became known in the scientific world as a fine physical chemist as well. Although the inventor of the periodic table did not discover a new element, as a result of the countless services he provided to the scientific world, element number 101 was named "Mendelevium." Mendeleyev was honored with element number 101, synthesized by American physicists in 1955. In short, chemistry, a science with a place in every area of life, advances every day as a result of the work, discoveries, and efforts of Mendeleyev and many others. Dimitri Mendeleyev was indeed one of the important scientists who devoted his life to mankind and to science. Source https://www.bolgegundem.com/dmitri-mendeleev-kimdir-periyodik-tabloyu-nasil-olusturdu-819896h.htm https://www.herkesebilimteknoloji.com/slider/kesfin-yil-donumunde-periyodik-tablonun-tarihi https://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2016/02/08/dmitri-mendeleev-dimitri-mendeleyev-kimdir?paging=2 https://www.bolgegundem.com/dmitri-mendeleev-kimdir-periyodik-tabloyu-nasil-olusturdu-819896h.htm https://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1192325-dmitri-mendeleev-kimdir   Prepared by: Çağla Köksal