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Portrait of Dimitri Mendeleyev by Ilya Repin

Dimitri Mendeleev (Russian: Дми́трий Ива́нович Менделе́ев, Dmitriy Ivanovich Mendeleyev listen (help· info)) (8 February 1834 [O.S. 27 January] in Tobolsk – 2 February 1907 [O.S. 20 January] in Saint Petersburg), was a Russian chemist. He is credited as being the primary creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements. Unlike other contributors to the table, Mendeleev predicted the properties of elements yet to be discovered. Image File history File links Padlock. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (551x707, 27 KB)Repins portrait of Mendeleyev (1885) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (551x707, 27 KB)Repins portrait of Mendeleyev (1885) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or... Ilyá Yefímovich Répin (Илья́ Ефи́мович Ре́пин) (August 5, 1844 (Julian calendar: July 24) – September 29, 1930) was a leading Russian painter and sculptor of the Peredvizhniki artistic... Image:Ru-Dmitri Mendeleev. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... In Britain and countries of the British Empire, Old Style or O.S. after a date means that the date is in the Julian calendar, in use in those countries until 1752; New Style or N.S. means that the date is in the Gregorian calendar, adopted on 14 September... View of Tobolsk in the 1910s. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... In Britain and countries of the British Empire, Old Style or O.S. after a date means that the date is in the Julian calendar, in use in those countries until 1752; New Style or N.S. means that the date is in the Gregorian calendar, adopted on 14 September... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... Chemistry (from Greek χημεία khemeia meaning alchemy, see below for possible origins of this word) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms (such as molecules, crystals, and metals). ... The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular method of displaying the chemical elements, first devised in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. ...

Early life

Mendeleev was born in Tobolsk, Siberia, to Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev and Maria Dimitrievna Mendeleeva (nee Kornilieva). Mendeleev was the 13th surviving child of 17 total, but the exact number differs among sources.^[1] As a child, he was fascinated by the glass which was created at the factory his mother owned, and for a time, the young Mendeleev worked there. At the age of 13, after the death of his father and the destruction of his mother's factory by fire, Mendeleev attended the Gymnasium in Tobolsk. View of Tobolsk in the 1910s. ... Siberian Federal District (dark red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... A gymnasium (pronounced /gim-/ as opposed to /jim-/) is a type of school of secondary education in parts of Europe. ...

In 1849, the now poor Mendeleev family relocated to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Main Pedagogical Institute in 1850. After he graduated, an illness that was diagnosed as tuberculosis caused him to move to the Crimean Peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea in 1855. While there he became chief science master of the local gymnasium. He returned with fully restored health to St. Petersburg in 1857. Saint Petersburg  listen (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991... Categories: Russia-related stubs | Universities and colleges in Russia | Saint Petersburg ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Capital Simferopol Largest cities Simferopol, Eupatoria, Kerch, Theodosia, Yalta Official language Ukrainian. ... Map of the Black Sea. ...

Between 1859 and 1861, he worked on the capillarity of liquids and the workings of the spectroscope in Heidelberg. In 1862, he married Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva. Mendeleev became Professor of Chemistry at the Saint Petersburg Technological Institute and the University of St. Petersburg in 1863, achieved tenure in 1867, and by 1871 had transformed St. Petersburg into an internationally recognized center for chemistry research. In 1865 he became Doctor of Science for his dissertation "On the Combinations of Water with Alcohol". In 1876, he became obsessed with Anna Ivanovna Popova and began courting her; in 1881 he proposed to her and threatened suicide if she refused. His divorce from Leshcheva was finalized one month after he had married Popova in early 1882. Even after the divorce, Mendeleev was technically a bigamist; the Russian Orthodox Church required at least 7 years before lawful re-marriage. His divorce and the surrounding controversy contributed to his failure to be admitted to the Russian Academy of Sciences (despite his international fame by that time). His daughter from his second marriage, Lyubov, became the wife of the famous Russian poet Alexander Blok. His other children were son Volodya and daughter Olga, from his first marriage to Feozva, and son Ivan and a pair of twins from Anna. A spectroscope is a device which measures the spectrum of light. ... Heidelberg is a scenic city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt. ... Lapel pin of a graduate from Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technological University) (Russian: ) is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia (founded in 1828), that currently trains around 5000 students. ... Seal of Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Университет) one of the oldest Russian educational institutions, established in the city of Saint Petersburg on January 28, 1724 by decree of Peter the Great. ... Polygamy, literally many marriages in ancient Greek, is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has a maximum of one spouse at any one time). ... The Russian Orthodox Church (also known as the Orthodox Catholic Church of Russia) (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Blok in 1907 Alexander Blok (Александр Александрович Блок, November 28, 1880 [O.S. November 16] – August 7, 1921), was perhaps the most gifted lyrical poet produced by Russia after Alexander Pushkin. ...

Though Mendeleev was widely honored by scientific organizations all over Europe, including the Copley Medal from the Royal Society of London he resigned from St. Petersburg University on August 17, 1890. World map showing Europe Political map (neighbouring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...

In 1893, he was appointed Director of the Bureau of Weights and Measures. It was in this role that he was directed to formulate new state standards for the production of vodka. His fascination with molecular weights led him to conclude that to be in perfect molecular balance, vodka should be produced in the ratio of one molecule of ethyl alcohol diluted with two molecules of water, giving a dilution by volume of approximately 38% alcohol to 62% water. As a result of his work, in 1894 new standards for vodka were introduced into Russian law and all vodka had to be produced at 40% alcohol by volume. Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka is typically a colorless liquor, usually distilled from fermented grain or potatoes but also from other raw materials (see Production below). ...

Mendeleev also investigated the composition of oil fields, and helped to found the first oil refinery in Russia. View of Shell Oil Refinery in Martinez, California. ...

Mendeleev died in 1907 in St. Petersburg, Russia from influenza. The Mendeleev crater on the Moon, as well as element number 101, the radioactive mendelevium, are named after him. Saint Petersburg  listen (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991... Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease that infects birds and mammals (primarily of the upper airways and lungs in mammals) and is caused by an RNA virus of the Orthomyxoviridae family (the influenza viruses). ... Mendeleev is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, as seen from the Earth. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mendelevium, Md, 101 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block ?, 7, f Appearance unknown, probably silvery white or metallic gray Atomic mass (258) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f13 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 31, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Melting point 1100...

Periodic table

One form of Mendeleev's periodic table, from the 1st English edition of his textbook (1891, based on the Russian 5th edition)

After becoming a teacher, he wrote the definitive two-volume textbook at that time: Principles of Chemistry (1868-1870). As he attempted to classify the elements according to their chemical properties, he noticed patterns that led him to postulate his Periodic Table. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2116x2556, 864 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Dmitri Mendeleev ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2116x2556, 864 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Dmitri Mendeleev ... Generally, an element is a basic part that is the foundation of something. ... A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ...

Unknown to Mendeleev, several other scientists had also been working on their own tables of elements. One was John Newlands, who published his Law of Octaves in 1864. However, the lack of spaces for undiscovered elements and the placing of two elements in one box were criticised and his ideas were not accepted. Another was Lothar Meyer, who published a work in 1864, describing 28 elements. Like Newlands, Meyer did not seem to have the idea of using a table to predict new elements. In contrast to Newlands' methodical approach to creating a table, Mendeleev's was almost accidental and emerged gradually. John Alexander Reina Newlands (November 26, 1838 - July 29, 1898) was an English analytical chemist who prepared in 1863 the first periodic table of the elements arranged in order of relative atomic masses, and pointed out in 1865 the law of octaves whereby every eighth element has similar properties. ... Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 - 11 April 1895) was born in Varel, at that time belonging to the duchy of Oldenburg, now part of Germany. ...

As a better understanding of atomic weights was developed and better data became available, Mendeleev made for himself the following table:

By adding additional elements following this pattern, he developed his version of the periodic table.

On March 6, 1869, Mendeleev made a formal presentation to the Russian Chemical Society, entitled The Dependence Between the Properties of the Atomic Weights of the Elements, which described elements according to both weight and valence. This presentation stated that March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

1. The elements, if arranged according to their atomic mass, exhibit an apparent periodicity of properties.
2. Elements which are similar as regards to their chemical properties have atomic weights which are either of nearly the same value (e.g., Pt, Ir, Os) or which increase regularly (e.g., K, Rb, Cs).
3. 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.
4. The elements which are the most widely diffused have small atomic weights.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 must lie between 123 and 126, and cannot be 128. Here he was wrong as the atomic mass of tellurium (127.6) remains higher than that of iodine (126.9).
8. Certain characteristic properties of elements can be foretold from their atomic weights.

Only a few months after Mendeleev published his periodic table of all known elements (and predicted several new elements to complete the table), Meyer published a virtually identical table. Some people consider Meyer and Mendeleev the co-creators of the periodic table, although most agree that Mendeleev's accurate prediction of the qualities of what he called eka-silicon (germanium), eka-aluminium (gallium), and eka-boron (scandium) qualifies him for deserving the majority of the credit. The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. ... The atomic mass of a chemical element is the mass of an atom at rest, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tellurium, Te, 52 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 16, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 127. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iodine, I, 53 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 5, p Appearance violet-dark gray, lustrous Atomic mass 126. ... General Name, Symbol, Number germanium, Ge, 32 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 4, p Appearance grayish white Atomic mass 72. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gallium, Ga, 31 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 4, p Appearance silvery white   Atomic mass 69. ... General Name, Symbol, Number scandium, Sc, 21 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 3, 4, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 44. ...

As others before him had done, he questioned the accuracy of accepted atomic weights, pointing out that they did not correspond to those predicted by the Periodic Law.

Other achievements

Mendeleev made other important contributions to Russian chemistry. The Russian chemist and science historian L.A. Tchugayev has characterized him as "a chemist of genius, first-class physicist, a fruitful researcher in the fields of hydrodynamics, meteorology, geology, certain branches of chemical technology (explosives, petroleum, and fuels, for example) and other disciplines adjacent to chemistry and physics, a thorough expert of chemical industry and industry in general, and an original thinker in the field of economy." Mendeleev was one of the founders, in 1869, of the Russian Chemical Society. He worked on the theory and practice of protectionist trade and on agriculture. Image File history File links Дмитрий_Иванович_Менделеев_4. ...

In 1902, in an attempt at a chemical conception of the Aether, he put forward a hypothesis that there existed two inert chemical elements of lesser atomic weight than hydrogen. Of these two proposed elements, he thought the lighter to be an all-penetrating, all-pervasive gas, and the slightly heavier one to be a proposed element, coronium. Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) | Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (水) Hinduism and Buddhism The Pancha Mahabhuta (The Five Great Elements) Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind) Agni/Tejas (Fire) Akasha (Aether) Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth) Ap/Jala (Water) Aether (also spelled ether) is a concept used in ancient and medieval science as a substance. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... High resolution spectrum of the Sun showing thousands of elemental absorption lines (fraunhofer lines). ...

Mendeleev devoted much study, and made important contributions to, the determination of the nature of such indefinite compounds as solutions. Dissolving table salt in water In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of one or more substances, known as solutes, dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. ...

In another department of physical chemistry, he investigated the expansion of liquids with heat, and devised a formula similar to Gay-Lussac's law of the uniformity of the expansion of gases, while as far back as 1861 he anticipated Thomas Andrews' conception of the critical temperature of gases by defining the absolute boiling-point of a substance as the temperature at which cohesion and heat of vaporization become equal to zero and the liquid changes to vapor, irrespective of the pressure and volume. Physical Chemistry is the combined science of physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, and quantum mechanics which functions to provide molecular-level interpretations of observed macroscopic phenomena. ... Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (December 6, 1778–May 10, 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. ... Thomas Andrews (December 19, 1813–November 26, 1885), Irish chemist and physicist, was born in Belfast, where his father was a linen merchant. ...

Mendeleev is given credit for the introduction of the metric system to the Russian Empire. The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ... Official language Russian Official Religion Russian Orthodox Christianity Capital Saint Petersburg (Petrograd 1914-1925) Area Approx. ...

He invented pyrocollodion, a kind of smokeless powder based on nitrocellulose. This work had been commissioned by the Russian Navy, which however did not adopt its use. In 1892 Mendeleev organized its manufacture. Smokeless powder Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of gunpowder-like propellants used in firearms which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which it replaced. ... Nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also: cellulose nitrate, flash paper) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through, for example, exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. ...

Mendeleev studied petroleum origin and concluded that hydrocarbons are abiogenic and form deep within the earth. He wrote: "The capital fact to note is that petroleum was born in the depths of the earth, and it is only there that we must seek its origin." (Dmitri Mendeleev, 1877)^[2]

Notes

1. ^ The number of Mendeleev's siblings is a matter of some historical dispute.
2. ^ Mendeleev, D., 1877. L'Origine du pétrole. Revue Scientifique, 2e Ser., VIII, p. 409-416.

See also

• Mendeleev's predicted elements
• Abiogenic petroleum origin
• Tobolsk State Teacher Training Institute named after D. I. Mendeleev

When Dmitri Mendeleev proposed his periodic table, he noted gaps in the table, and predicted that as of yet unknown elements existed with properties appropriate to fill those gaps. ... The hypothesis of abiogenic petroleum origin holds that petroleum was formed by primordial non-biological processes deep in the earths crust and mantle. ...

Further reading

• Gordin, Michael (2004). A Well-Ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02775-X.
• Mendeleyev, Dmitry Ivanovich, Jensen, William B. (2005). Mendeleev on the Periodic Law: Selected Writings, 1869 - 1905. Mineola, NY: Dover. ISBN 0-486-44571-2.
• Strathern, Paul (2001). Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest For the Elements. New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-26204-3.

Paul Strathern (1940-) is an English writer and academic. ...

External links

Biographies

• Biography by Roger Rumppe and Michael E. Sixtus, care of the Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Chemistry. 20 sources. Notes, among other things, that various sources list D.M.'s siblings as being 10 to 16 in number.

Periodic table

• Original Periodic Table, annotated
• Mendeleev's first draft version of the Periodic Table, 17 February 1869

Other

• References about Mendeleev, maintained by Eugene V. Babaev, last updated May 2005 (as of December 2005).
• Faraday Lecture by Mendeleev, July 4, 1889, annotated
• Mendeleev and Sanskrit
• Picture of Mendeleev, Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, University of Pennsylvania
• Everything in its Place
• Mendeleev profile at thinkquest.org
• An Attempt Towards A Chemical Conception Of The Ether
• Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev at BGSU
• Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev article on h2g2.
• Who was Dmitri Mendeleev?

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