Henry Moseley

Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (November 23, 1887-August 10, 1915) was an English physicist. His main contribution to science, the justification of the concept of atomic number, advanced chemistry. Henry Mosely This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Henry Mosely This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect. ... In chemistry and physics, the atomic number (Z) is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom. ... Multicolored chemicals are frequent hallmarks of chemistry. ...

Biography

Moseley was born in Weymouth, England, 1887. In 1906 he entered Trinity College of the University of Oxford, and on graduation from that institution went to Manchester University to work with Ernest Rutherford. For his first year at Manchester, he had a full teaching load, but after a year he was relieved of his teaching duties and began full-time research. Location within the British Isles Weymouth is a town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay – Weymouth Bay – and the natural harbour formed by the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... College name Trinity College Named after The Holy Trinity Established 1555 Sister College Churchill College President The Hon. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Manchester in Manchester, England, was formed by the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester before the merger) and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) on 1 October 2004. ... Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, PC, FRS (August 30, 1871 – October 19, 1937), was a New Zealand nuclear physicist. ...

In 1913, by using x-ray spectra obtained by diffraction in crystals, he found a systematic relation between wavelength and atomic number, Moseley's law. Previous to this, atomic numbers had been thought of as an arbitrary number, based on sequence of atomic weights, but altered when necessary (for example, by Dmitri Mendeleev) to put an element in the appropriate place in the periodic table. Moseley's discovery showed that atomic numbers were not arbitrary but had an experimentally measurable basis. In addition, Moseley showed that there were gaps in the sequence at numbers 43, 61 and 75 (now known to be radioactive, non-naturally-occurring, technetium and promethium, and the last discovered naturally-occurring element rhenium, respectively). Mendeleev had previously predicted technetium, and Bohuslav Brauner had previously predicted promethium; Moseley confirmed their predictions, predicted one additional undiscovered element, and showed there were no other gaps in the periodic table between aluminum and gold. 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... Legend: γ = Gamma rays HX = Hard X-rays SX = Soft X-Rays EUV = Extreme ultraviolet NUV = Near ultraviolet Visible light NIR = Near infrared MIR = Moderate infrared FIR = Far infrared Radio waves: EHF = Extremely high frequency (Microwaves) SHF = Super high frequency (Microwaves) UHF = Ultrahigh frequency VHF = Very high frequency HF = High frequency... Diffraction is the bending and spreading of waves when they meet an obstruction. ... It has been suggested that crystallization processes be merged into this article or section. ... The wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave pattern. ... In chemistry and physics, the atomic number (Z) is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom. ... Moseleys law is an empirical law concerning the characteristic electromagnetic spectrum that is emitted or absorbed by atoms. ... ... Portrait of Dmitri Mendeleev by Ilya Repin Dmitri Mendeleev (Russian: , Dmitriy Ivanovich Mendeleyev (help· info)) (8 February [O.S. 27 January] 1834 in Tobolsk – 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1907 in Saint Petersburg), was a Russian chemist. ... A chemical element, often called simply element, is a chemical substance that cannot be divided or changed into other chemical substances by any ordinary chemical technique. ... 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. ... General Name, Symbol, Number technetium, Tc, 43 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metal Atomic mass [98](0) g/mol Electron configuration [Kr] 4d5 5s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 13, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... General Name, Symbol, Number promethium, Pm, 61 Chemical series lanthanides Group, Period, Block n/a, 6, f Appearance metallic Atomic mass [145](0) g/mol Electron configuration [Xe] 4f5 6s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 23, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... General Name, Symbol, Number rhenium, Re, 75 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 6, d Appearance grayish white Atomic mass 186. ... General Name, Symbol, Number technetium, Tc, 43 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metal Atomic mass [98](0) g/mol Electron configuration [Kr] 4d5 5s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 13, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...

In 1914 he resigned at Manchester to return to Oxford to pursue his research, but when World War I broke out, he turned down a job offer and enlisted in the Royal Engineers. He fought at Gallipoli, where he was killed in action by a sniper in 1915. Many have since speculated that he could have won the Nobel Prize, but was unable to because it is only awarded to the living. 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE), commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... Combatants United Kingdom France India Australia New Zealand Newfoundland Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto Liman von Sanders Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) Casualties 252,000 (205,000 British, 47,000 French) dead 97,000 wounded 145,000+ sick 253,000...

Only twenty-seven years old at death, Moseley could in many scientists' opinions have contributed much to the knowledge of atomic structure had he lived. As Niels Bohr once said in 1962, "You see actually the Rutherford work [the nuclear atom] was not taken seriously. We cannot understand today, but it was not taken seriously at all. There was no mention of it any place. The great change came from Moseley." It is speculated that because of Moseley's death in the War that the British government no longer allowed their scientists to enlist in combat.

Further reading

• John L. Heilbron, H.G. J. Moseley; the life and letters of an English physicist, 1887-1915, University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, 1974.

John L. Heilbron, American historian of science and academic. ...

See also

• Moseley's law

Moseleys law is an empirical law concerning the characteristic electromagnetic spectrum that is emitted or absorbed by atoms. ...

External links

• Moseley's original articles
• Annotated bibliography for Henry Moseley from the Alsos Digital Library