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The Periodic Table's Shadow Side

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The Periodic Table's Shadow Side The Lost Elements The Periodic Table's Shadow Side Marco Fontani, Mariagrazia Costa, and Mary Virginia Orna OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS CONTENTS Preface xv Acknowledgments xvn Note to the Reader xxi Introduction xxm Why Collect into One Volume the Discoveries of Elements that Have Been Shown to be Erroneous or Have Been Forgotten? xxm How "an Element" Became a "Chemical Element" xxiv Is There Any Order to the Discoveries of the Elements? xxvm The Development of the Periodic Table xxx Part I: Before 1789: Early Errors and Early Elements Prologue to Part I 1 I.i. The Beginning of a Long Series of Scientific Blunders 3 I.1.1. Terra Nobilis 3 1.1.2. Siderum and Hydrosiderum 3 1.1.3. Sydneium or Australium 4 1.1.4. The Element That Breathes 6 1.1.5. The Birth of Homeopathy 7 1.2. The Elements Hidden by Alternative Names 12 I. 2.1. Metallum Problematicum or Tellurium 12 I.2.2. Ochroite or Cerium 13 I. 2.3. Ceresium or Palladium 13 I. 2.4. Erythronium, Panchromium or Vanadium 14 Part II: 1789-1869: From Lavoisier to Mendeleev: The First Errors at the Dawn of the Concept of the Chemical Element Prologue to Part II 19 II.1. Analytical Methodology from Lavoisier to Mendeleev 21 II. l.l. Blowpipe Analysis 22 II. 1.2. Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis 23 II. 1.3. Electrolysis 23 II.1.4. Emission Spectroscopy 24 II.2. The Elements of the Kingdom of Naples 27 II.2.1. Ruprecht and Tondi: Two Metallurgists Without Metals 27 II.2.2. Playing Bingo with Five Elements 28 II.2.3. The Extraction Procedure of the New Metals 29 II.2.4. Right or Wrong, Was Tondi the Victim of a Sworn Enemy? 29 II. 2.5. The Elements that Replaced Those of Tondi 30 vii Viii CONTENTS II.2.6. Possible Present-Day Interpretations 31 II.2.7. Revolution Offers a Second Career Possibility 33 II.3. Austrium: One Element, Two Elements, Three Elements, and Finally, Zero Elements 36 11.3.1. The First Fleeting Attempt to Name an Element Austrium 36 II.3.2. Austrium: A Posthumous Element 36 II.3.3. The "Austrian Element" of a Czech Chemist 38 II.3.4. A Third "Split" for Bohuslav Brauner 41 II.4. The Return of the Olympians: Silene, Aridium, Saturnum, Pelopium, Dianium, Neptunium, and Plutonium 43 II.4.1. Silene 43 11.4.2. Aridium 44 11.4.3. Saturnum 45 11.4.4. Pelopium 46 11.4.5. Dianium 47 11.4.6. Neptunium 48 11.4.7. Plutonium 49 II.5. The Unfortunate Affair of a Student of Kant: A Career Soldier, but a Chemist by Passion 53 II.5.1. Niccolanum 53 II.5.2. The Road from Oblivion 54 II.6. Andre-Marie Ampere Bursts onto the Chemistry Scene 56 II.6.1. "Phtore" 56 II.7. Cadmium: "Bone of Contention" Among Chemical Elements 59 II.7.1. A Related Discovery Increases the Confusion: Vestium 60 II.8. A Fireproof Family of Chemists 62 II.8.1. Chemistry as the Common Denominator 62 II.8.2. The Most Improbable of the Chemical Elements 63 II.9. A Bridge of False Hopes Between Divinityand False Elements 65 11.9.1. Crodonium 65 11.9.2. Wodanium 66 II.9.3. False Elements Exchanged for Another False Element 67 II.9.4. Ptene 69 II.9.5. Donarium 70 II.10. Gahnium, Polinium, and Pluranium 73 II.10.1. Gahnium 73 II. 10.2. Polinium and Pluranium 73 II.11. Aberdonia and the "Sweet" Map of Oblivion 77 11.11.1. Donium 77 11.11.2. Treenium 78 II.11.3. The Discovery of an AlreadyKnown Element? 79 II.11.4. The Sweet Epilogue Leaves a Bitter Taste in the Mouth 80 II.12. The Brief Parentheses of Four Misleading Elements 82 II.12.1. The Fleeting Existence of Thalium 82 11.12.2. The Meteoric Appearance and Disappearance of Comesium 83 II.12.3. The Mysterious Nature of Ouralium 84 II.12.4. The Brief History of Idunium 85 ix Contents II.13. Two Imaginary Elements: Sulphurium and Sulfenium 87 11.13.1. Sulphurium 87 II.13.2. The Ancient Modernity of Sulfenium 88 II.14. The Astronomer "Left in the Dark" 91 11.14.1. "Light" as a Means of Chemical Investigation 91 II. 14.2. A New Family of Elements from an Old Family of Astronomers 92 II. 14.3. Neptunium Is Tempting to a Lot of People 93 11.14.4. Conclusion 93 II.15. Bythium and 6: Two Elements That Arose (and Vanished) via Electrolysis 95 II.16. The Ghosts of Unnamed Elements 97 II.16.1. 1799: The Element of Fernandez 97 11.16.2. 1852: The Element of Friedrich August Genth 97 II.16.3. 1852: The Element of Carl Anton Hjalmar Sjogren 98 II.16.4. 1861: The Element of the Brothers August and Friedrich Wilhelm Dupre 98 II.16.5. 1862: The Element of Charles Frederick Chandler 99 II.16.6. 1864: The Elements of William Nylander and Carl Bischoff 101 II.16.7. 1869: The Element of Oscar Loew 102 II.16.8. 1878: The Elements of William Balthasar Gerland 102 II.16.9. 1883: The Element of Theodor Eduard Wilm 103 II.16.10. 1897: The Elements of Gethen G. Boucher and F. Ruddock 104 II. 16.11. 1904: The Radium Foil of George Frederick Kunz 104 11.16.12. 1908: The Element of Clare de Brereton Evans 105 11.16.13. 1913: The Element of H.C.Holtz 107 Part III: 1869-1913: From the PeriodicTable to Moseley's Law: Rips and Tears in Mendeleev's Net Prologue to Part III 109 III. i. The Forerunners of Celtium and Hafnium: Ostranium, Norium, Jargonium, Nigrium, Euxenium, Asium, and Oceanium 111 III. 2. The Discoveries of the Rare Earths Approach Their End: Philippium, Element X, Decipium, Mosandrium, Rogerium, and Columbium 119 III.2.1. Philippium and Element X 119 111.2.2. Mosandrium 121 111.2.3. Decipium and the Complexity of Didymium 122 III.2.4. Rogerium and Columbium 124 111.2.5. Conclusion 124 III.3. Lavoesium and Davyum: The Rise and Fall of Two Metals with Illustrious Names 128 III.3.1. The Discovery of Lavcesium 128 III. 3.2. A Residue of Workon Platinum: Davyum 129 III.3.3. Lavcesium Falls into Oblivion 130 III.3.4. Davyum's Long Agony 131 III.3.5. Conclusion 132 III. 4. The Complex Events Surrounding Two "Scandinavian" Metals: Norwegium and Wasium 135 X CONTENTS 111.4.1. The Announcement of the Discovery of Norwegium 136 III.4.2. Norwegium 136 III.4.3. A Second Claimant 137 111.4.4. The "Launching" of Wasium 138 111.4.5. The "Shipwreck" of Wasium 138 111.4.6. The Epilogue to Norwegium 139 III.5. Vesbium: An Element from the Center of the Earth 143 III.6. The Curious Case of the Triple Discovery of Actinium 147 III.6.1. The First Announcement of the Discovery of Actinium 147 III.6.2. Confessions of a Violinist 149 III.6.3. Did the Search for Neoactinium Really Delay the Discovery of Francium? 150 III.6.4. A Cold Shower at the End of a Career 152 III.7. The Improbable Elements of a Country Gentleman 155 III.8. A Bridge Between the Protochemistryof the Pharaohs and the Arab World: Masrium 158 III.9. The Demon Hidden in the Rare Earths 161 III.9.1. Provincial America Suits the Great Physicist Just Fine 161 111.9.2. The Son of a Protestant Pastor Discovers a Demon 162 III.9.3. The Tragic Conclusion 163 III.10. Dim Lights and Dark Shadows Around "Lucium" 165 III.10.1. Preview of the Discovery 165 111.10.2. The Discovery of the First "Patented" Element 165 III.10.3. The Interventions of Crookes, Fresenius, and Shapleigh 167 III.10.4. Who Was Manipulating Lucium's Strings from Behind the Scenes? 168 III.11. In the Beginning There Was Didymium... and Then ChaosAmong the Rare Earths 171 III.ll.l. Didymium: An Awkward Lodger in the /-Family 171 III.11.2. The Splitting of Didymium: Praeseodidymium and Neodidymium 173 III.11.3. A "Colorful" War: Glaucodidymium OR Glaucodymium 173 III.11.4. Claude-Henri Gorceix and Bohuslav Brauner Intervene in the Chaos 174 IILia. Sir William Ramsay: The Most "Noble" of Chemists 178 III.12.1. The First Discoveries 178 III.12.2. A Wrong Track 180 III.12.3. Anomalous Argon: The ElementThat Would Not Fit 181 III.12.4. A Pause in Research 182 III.12.5. Radioactivity and the Discovery of Niton 183 III.12.6. A Harvest of Laurels at the Conclusion of His Career 186 III.12.7. Postscript: Krypton II 187 III.13. Confederate and Union Stars in the PeriodicTable 191 III.13.1. Introduction 191 III.13.2. Carolinium (and Berzelium) 192 III.13.3. Conclusion 195 III.14. Two Elements from the Depths of Provincial Americana 198 III.15. The Early Successes of the Young Urbain 200 III.15.1. Bauxium 201 III.15.2. From Monium to Victorium and in Pursuit of Ionium and Incognitum 202 xi Contents 111.15.3. The Element E or X2 206 111.15.4. The Meta Elements 208 III. 15.5. The Elements of Paul Emile (Francois) Lecoq de Boisbaudran and of Eugene-Anatole Demarcay 210 NI.15.6. TheTerbium-I.Terbium-II.andTerbium-IIIofWelsbach 213 III. 16. The Setting of the Element of the "Rising Sun" 219 III.
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