The periodic table of the elements, principally created by the Russian chemist, Dmitry Mendeleev (1834-1907), celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. It would be hard to overstate its importance as an organizing principle in chemistry – all budding chemists become familiar with it from the earliest stages of their education. Given the table’s importance, one might be forgiven for thinking that the ordering of the elements was no longer subject to debate. However, two scientists in Moscow, Russia, have recently published a proposal for a new order. Let’s first consider how the periodic table was developed. By the late 18th…
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