A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 177
atomic weight, similar elements
occurred every eighth place. He
published his findings in 1864.
In the journal Chemical News
Newlands wrote: “Elements
belonging to the same group
appear in the same horizontal
line. Also the numbers of similar
elements differ by seven or
multiples of seven...This peculiar
relationship I propose to call The
Law of Octaves.” The patterns
in his table make sense as far
as calcium, but then go haywire.
On March 1, 1865, Newlands was
ridiculed by the Chemical Society,
who said that he might as well list
the elements in alphabetical order,
and refused to publish his paper.
The significance of Newlands’
achievement would not be
recognized for more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, French mineralogist
Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de
Chancourtois had also noticed the
patterns, publishing his ideas in
1862, but few people noticed.Card puzzle
Around the same time, Dmitri
Mendeleev was struggling with
the same problem as he wrote his
book Principles of Chemistry in
St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1863,
there were 56 known elements, and
new ones were being discovered
at a rate of about one a year.
Mendeleev was convinced thatSee also: Robert Boyle 46–49 ■ John Dalton 112–13 ■ Humphry Davy 114 ■ Marie Curie 190–95 ■
Ernest Rutherford 206–13 ■ Linus Pauling 254–59
Mendeleev’s periodic table was
the precursor of the modern table,
shown here. He left gaps in his table
where the corresponding element
had not yet been discovered, and
used these to predict the properties
of the missing elements.there must be a pattern to them.
In an effort to solve the puzzle,
he made a set of 56 playing cards,
each labeled with the name and
major properties of one element.
Mendeleev is said to have made
his breakthrough as he was about
to embark on a winter journey in- Before setting out, he laid out
his cards on the table and began
to ponder the puzzle, as though
playing a game of solitare. When
his coachman came to the door for
the luggage, Mendeleev waved him
away, saying he was busy. He
moved the cards back and forth
until finally he managed to arrange
all 56 elements to his satisfaction,
with the similar groups running ❯❯
12345678910111213 14 15 16 17181 2 3 4 5 6 7PERIODOs
Ru
Fe
Hs
Po
Te
Se
S
O
At
I
Br
Cl
F
Rn
UuoXe
Kr
Ar
Ne
He
Re
Tc
Mn
Bh
Bi
Sb
As
P
N
W
Mo
Cr
Sg
Pb
Sn
Ge
Si
C
UuqUut UupUuh UusTa
Nb
V
Db
Tl
In
Ga
Al
B
Hf
Zr
Ti
Rf
Hg
Cd
Zn
Cn
La-LuY
Sc
Ac-LrAu
Ag
Cu
UuuBa
Sr
Ca
Mg
Be
Ra
Pt
Pd
Ni
UunCs
Rb
K
Na
Li
H
Fr
Ir
Rh
Co
Mt
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1HYDROGENINDIUMNp
Pm
Md
Tm
No
Yb
Lr
Lu
U
Nd
Fm
Er
Pa
Pr
Es
Ho
Th
Ce
Cf
Dy
Ac
La
Bk
Tb
Cm
Gd
Am
Eu
Pu
Sm
9361101691027010371926010068915999679058986689579765966495639462NEPTUNIUMPROMETHIUMMENDELEVIUMTHULIUMNOBELIUMYTTERBIUMLAWRENCIUMLUTETIUMURANIUMNEODYMIUMFERMIUMERBIUMPROTACTINIUMPRASEODYMIUMEINSTEINIUMHOLMIUMTHORIUMCERIUMCALIFORNIUMDYSPROSIUMACTINIUMLANTHANIUMBERKELIUMTERBIUMCURIUMGADOLINIUMAMERICIUMEUROPIUMPLUTONIUMSAMARIUMH
1HYDROGENsymbolelement
nameatomic numberH
HHHY Nel1111111111Transition metals
Rare earth metalsOther metals
MetalloidsOther non-metals
HalogensNoble gases
Radioactive rare earthsKEY
Alkali metals
Alkali earth metals