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Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) was a Russian chemist who is known as the Father of the Periodic Table. He formulated the periodic law and developed a periodic table of elements. Other scientists had begun formulating tables of elements, but were using only one aspect of the known elements. When Mendeleev became a teacher in 1867, he wrote a two volume textbook, Principles in Chemistry, that became the definitive volume of its time. It was during this time that he formulated the periodic table and formally presented it in 1869. In his table, he considered both atomic weights, and the valences, of the known elements of the time. Using this table, he was able to predict the existence of several elements unknown at this time, as well as correct some errors in known elements.
The precepts that he developed were the following:
- The elements, if arranged according to their atomic weight, exhibit an apparent periodicity of properties.
- Elements which are similar regarding their chemical properties either have similar atomic weights (e.g., Pt, Ir, Os) or have their atomic weights increasing regularly (e.g., K, Rb, Cs).
- The arrangement of the elements in groups of elements in the order of their atomic weights corresponds to their so-called valencies, as well as, to some extent, to their distinctive chemical properties; as is apparent among other series in that of Li, Be, B, C, N, O, and F.
- The elements which are the most widely diffused have small atomic weights.
- The magnitude of the atomic weight determines the character of the element, just as the magnitude of the molecule determines the character of a compound body.
- We must expect the discovery of many yet unknown elements – for example, two elements, analogous to aluminium and silicon, whose atomic weights would be between 65 and 75.
- The atomic weight of an element may sometimes be amended by a knowledge of those of its contiguous elements. Thus the atomic weight of tellurium lie between 123 and 126, and cannot be 128. (Tellurium's atomic weight is 127.6, and Mendeleev was incorrect in his assumption that atomic weight must increase with position within a period.)
- Certain characteristic properties of elements can be foretold from their atomic weights.
