Tale of Seven Elements

Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-0-19-539131-2
Verlag: OXFORD UNIV PR

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 519 g

In 1913, English physicist Henry Moseley established an elegant method for 'counting' the elements. Soon afterwards, it became clear that there were precisely seven elements missing from the periodic table--those that had yet to be isolated among the 92 naturally occurring elements from hydrogen (#1) to uranium (#92). In A Tale of Seven Elements, Eric Scerri will present the discovery of those seven elements, five of which are radioactive and three or possibly four of were first isolated by women.

The book covers a period roughly spanning the two world wars, beginning with the discovery of protactinium in 1917 and ending with that of promethium in 1945. In some cases, the state of war directly influenced attempts to isolate some of the seven elements--this is true of protactinium, when, in 1916, its discoverer, Lise Meitner, wrote of the problems she encountered in purchasing even the most basic items of laboratory equipment. During the second war, the discovery of nuclear fission, also by Meitner and her associates, quickly led to the development of the nuclear weapons program and the associated technologies of particle accelerators. Clearly, scientific discoveries occur within a social and political context and the discovery of the seven elements is no exception. This book draws together for the first time the fascinating stories of the discoveries of these seven elements, placing them in historical context.

Zielgruppe

General readers with an interest in history of science and chemistry

Autoren/Hrsg.

Scerri, Eric

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Chemie Allgemein Geschichte der Chemie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Populärwissenschaftliche Werke
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface: What constitutes the discovery of an element?

- Chapter 1.

- Dalton, to the Discovery of the Periodic System

- Chapter 2.

- van den Broek, Moseley and the missing seven elements.

- Chapter 3.

- Element 91, protactinium

- Chapter 4.

- Element 72, hafnium

- Chapter 5.

- Element 75, rhenium

- Chapter 6.

- Element 43, technetium

- Chapter 7.

- Element 87, francium

- Element 8.

- Element 85, astatine

- Chapter 9.

- Element 61, promethium

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Eric Scerri is a leading philosopher of science specializing in the history and philosophy of the periodic table. He is also the founder and editor in chief of the international journal Foundations of Chemistry and has been a full-time lecturer at UCLA for the past ten years where he regularly teaches classes of 350 chemistry students as well as classes in history and philosophy of science. He is the author of The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance.