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Celebration of the Periodic Table Editorial EDITORIAL CELEBRATION OF THE PERIODIC TABLE DOI: 10.2138/gselements.15.5.295 The periodic table of chem­ ical elements is one of the PRINCIPAL EDITORS most significant achieve­ NANCY L. ROSS, Virginia Tech, USA ([email protected]) ments in science because it JONATHAN D. BLUNDY, University of Bristol, arranges the 118 known ele­ UK ([email protected]) ments in a deceptively JOHN M. EILER, Caltech, USA simple pattern that reveals ([email protected]) their properties. So how did EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE this “Rosetta Stone of BLANCA BAULUZ, Sociedad Española Nancy Ross Nature” originate? Most di Mineralogía likely, you will answer COSTANZA BONADIMAN, Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia Dmitri Mendeleev, the VALÉRIE BOYSE, Société Française Russian chemist who in 1869 published a version de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie of the periodic table that we recognize today. His Model of de Chancourtois’ vis tellurique, showing the CATHERINE CORRIGAN, Meteoritical Society table expresses the periodic law: elements periodic arrangement of elements. KATERINA M. DONTSOVA, The Clay Minerals Society arranged according to the size of their atomic BARBARA L. DUTROW, Mineralogical weights show periodic properties. To celebrate the one another on the cylinder (FIG. 1). He presented Society of America 150th­anniversary of this great achievement, the his ideas to the French Academy of Sciences and MASAKI ENAMI, Japan Association United Nations and UNESCO declared 2019 to be published his work in 1862. Unfortunately, an of Mineralogical Sciences the International Year of the Periodic Table of original diagram was left out of the publication, DANIEL J. FROST, European Association of Geochemistry, Chair Elements. But does Mendeleev deserve all the making the paper hard to comprehend. Although BERNARD GROBÉTY, Swiss Society of credit? Scientific discoveries rarely arise in isola­ de Chancourtois republished his work with the Mineralogy and Petrology tion; rather contributions from researchers over diagram later, it was largely ignored by chemists. MARK E. HODSON, Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland many years lead to a general picture that eventu­ After this, he appeared to lose interest in his idea HEATHER JAMIESON, Mineralogical ally emerges. But, sometimes, scientific discov­ and returned to other scientific endeavors. Association of Canada eries are made simultaneously by different DAVID R. LENTZ, International Association researchers. Such is the story of the periodic table. More discoveries of the periodic system of ele­ on the Genesis of Ore Deposits ments quickly followed. John Newlands, a British KLAUS MEZGER, Deutsche Mineralogische Among the critical events that led to the discovery sugar chemist and private chemistry tutor, noticed Gesellschaft of the periodic table was the emergence of atomic trends between elements and their weights, and MAREK MICHALIK, Mineralogical Society of Poland theory that had been initially proposed in 1808 published his “law of octaves” in 1865. Similar to RYAN R.P. NOBLE, Association of Applied by John Dalton, a British tutor and schoolteacher. de Chancourtois, Newlands’ work attracted little Geochemists A key advance was Dalton’s assignment of rela- attention and his pattern did not hold up very ORFAN SHOUAKAR­STASH, International Association of GeoChemistry tive weights to the atoms of elements. But how well. Four years after Karlsruhe, British chemist SASHA TURCHYN, Geochemical Society does one obtain an absolute weight of an atom? William Odling published a table that included MICHAEL WIEDENBECK, International In 1811, Italian physicist and mathematician 57 elements. However, Odling’s system also failed Association of Geoanalysts Amedeo Avogadro proposed an idea to calculate to have much impact, and he did not pursue it EXECUTIVE EDITOR atomic weights from gases, but his hypothesis was further. Gustavus Hinrichs, a Dane who immi­ JODI J. ROSSO ([email protected]) not widely accepted. It was ~50 years later that grated to the United States, published a unique Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro resurrected periodic system with the elements in a “bicycle EDITORIAL OFFICE Avogadro’s ideas and showed how atomic weights wheel” form, with groups of elements displayed could be calculated unambiguously. Cannizzaro’s as spokes. Lothar Meyer, an influential German paper, published in a local Pisa (Italy) journal, chemist, produced several versions of the periodic did not attract many readers and was repub­ table from 1864 onwards. Unfortunately, Meyer’s 2710 Crimson Way, Floyd 263 lished as a pamphlet in 1859. Cannizzaro then work wasn’t published until 1870, a year after Richland, WA 99354­1671, USA attended a conference that would change the Mendeleev’s 1869 periodic table, so his contribu­ Tel/Fax: (509) 420­5331 (UTC­8) course of history of the periodic table. In 1860, tions are over­shadowed by Mendeleev. Layout: POULIOT GUAY GRAPHISTES the first international chemical congress was held Copy editor: PATRICK ROYCROFT in Karlsruhe (Germany) and 140 of the world’s The history of the periodic table is a remarkable Proofreader: PATRICK ROYCROFT tale, involving discoveries by six diverse indi­ Printer: ALLEN PRESS leading chemists attended. The sole purpose of viduals over a seven­year period. There were key The publishers assume no responsibility for the meeting was to sort out the basic units of any statement of fact or opinion expressed chemical interaction and the proper methods discoveries and events such as the 1860 congress in the published material. The appearance that accelerated its development. Mendeleev may of advertising in this magazine does not for determining unequivocal atomic weights. constitute endorsement or approval of the Cannizzaro’s defense of Avogadro’s ideas attracted not have been the first to develop a periodic quality or value of the products or of the system of the elements, but he was a master at claims made for them. great interest and copies of his pamphlet were dis­ tributed. Cannizzaro’s action provided the cata­ exploiting it. The discovery of the periodic table, elementsmagazine.org lyst for the development of the modern periodic as we currently know it, in 1869 was transforma­ table. Chemists Lothar Meyer, William Odling, tive, because it freed chemical science from asso­ and Dmitri Mendeleev all attended the confer­ ciations with the medieval mysticism of alchemy. ence and were inspired by Cannizzaro’s work. The periodic table even provided hints of the existence of subatomic structure that would be HOW TO BECOME AN ELEMENTS It was a French geologist and mineralogist discovered in the next century. PARTICIPATING SOCIETY? Alexandre­Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois who There are many lessons to be learned from the his­ Contact Daniel F. Frost was the first to arrange the chemical elements in ([email protected]), order of their atomic weights. He devised a 3­D tory of the periodic table. The discoveries of four Elements Executive Committee Chair spiral graph and plotted the atomic weights on of the six discoverers of the table were not recog­ the surface of a cylinder that brought similar ele­ nized until many years after they were published. ments onto corresponding points above or below Cont’d on page 296 ELEMENTS 295 OCTOBER 2019 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/elements/article-pdf/15/5/295/4839606/gselements-15-5-295.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 FROM THE EDITORS ABOUT THIS ISSUE ELEMENTS AT GOLDSCHMIDT2019 As we go to press, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Elements principal editors met in Barcelona (Spain) on Sunday, 17 (IPCC) has just released its 2019 “Special Report on the Ocean and August 2019, for their annual face­to­face meeting. The all­day meeting Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” (https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/ took place at the Barcelona International Convention Center, which is home/). When the topic is climate change, our reaction is usually just a short distance from the beach. While many vacationers enjoyed “Uh­Oh!”. Calls for clean energy, reduced emissions, and consumer the warm summer weather, our Elements editorial team was busy at activism are a regular part of news broadcasts or casual conversations. work. As mentioned in our August 2019 From the Editors column, these Unlike many of the political storms that cur­ meetings are essential for maintaining and/or improving the quality rently rage in national forums, climate and performance of Elements. Lively discussions have always been part change is truly an international and of Elements editorial meetings. This year was no different. Below are global problem. just a few highlights. Our last issue of Elements (August A New Column in Elements 2019 v15n4) focused on the topic of weathering, clearly demon­ Each issue of Elements includes approximately six thematic articles that are short, concise reviews of a specific geoscience topic. Articles are strating how climate (and CO2) links to weathering. The articles in written so that technical non­experts are readily introduced to a subject “Catastrophic Perturbations to the that is out of their field of expertise.Elements authors and editors work Deep Carbon Cycle” take the focus incredibly hard to transform articles into this accessible form, which is on carbon even further by exploring significantly different from typical journal articles or other scientific the passage of carbon among the nonliving comprehensive reviews. That hard work isn’t going unnoticed. Over and living
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