{WAC #1 - In Defense of Dmitri Mendeleev} Nicolas Reed 9/22/17


  Dear NSF,                                                                                                   September 8, 1900

     Do you ever wonder about how the periodic table was constructed and how people criticize it? Dmitri Mendeleev is heavily criticized for his work from people who don't know all the information. Dmitri shouldn't be criticised and shut down because the way he has organized this system is so great. Also the way he has constructed the system is based off of previous information that has been proven and other scientists have very similar results as him.

      The first reason you shouldn't shut him down is because the way he has organized the periodic table is so brilliant. Everything in his periodic table link up. The mass numbers link up because they are put from least to greatest. The energy levels and chemical properties also link up because each family has similar chemical properties. For example, all of the alkaline metals (family 1) have a very similar chemical reactions to water and other substances. They are all in the same family in the periodic table which makes sense. Also all elements in a certain period have the same amount of energy levels. In row 2, fluorine and lithium have the same amount of energy levels, and in row 3, silicon and magnesium have the same amount of energy levels. He also categorized the periodic table by having  metals on the left, metalloids on the center and non-metals on the right. This categorization does not affect what elements are in each family that much but still links the elements together.   The last reason is that the way he constructed the periodic table is very easy to understand due to everything I said above. You can tell what the mass number of each element and if you wanted to know if an element was a metal you could tell. The last reason is that the organization is so great that even new elements could be added to it very fast and easily without then screwing up anything. For example, the noble gases were quickly added to the periodic table very swiftly without any major changes happening to the periodic table. This is one of the reasons you shouldn't criticise Dmitri Mendeleev for his work.

     The second reason you shouldn't shut Dmitri down is the fact that how he organized the periodic table is all based off previous information. The periodic table is based off of this information that has been proven. Many people already know the chemical reactions elements have so he put that to work in his periodic table. Also he knows what type of metal each element is because of all the tests that have been done. Also in the article written by Newsela titled Inventors and Scientists: Dmitri Mendeleev it talks that he went to St. Petersburg (a very good school) as a kid and he has been known as great professor.   His extensive knowledge and studies of  chemistry were all put into his making of the periodic table.  As he was constructing the table, he evidently kept into mind what properties were being shown, if the size of the atom matter, and if atomic mass mattered. The properties he has shown are very important such as the element name, element abbreviation, each family's chemical reactions, atomic mass and atomic number, and each period's energy levels. The size of the elements also matter because that is how he organized each period. The size of the atom grows based off of how many energy levels each element has and that is how each period is constructed. Atomic mass matters because that is how the order of the periodic table is set. That is why hydrogen is first element on the periodic table, because it has the smallest mass number. Dmitiri's periodic table is based off of true facts and this is another reason that Dmitri shouldn't be shut down.

     The third and final reason is because many other scientists have similar results and Dmitri has taken their results and tinkered them to make them more accurate. The first example is that he added on to the Law of Triads made by Johan Döbereiner. The law of triads was that three certain elements are very similar and  after 30 years of research scientists found that a group can be more than three. Dmitri used what Johan and other scientists have said and put that in his periodic table by putting each group in a family (column). Also the elements Johan found that were in a triad are in the periodic table as the same family for Dmitri. The second person is Alexandre Beguyer de Chancourtois. Alexandre made his system in 1862 and he had his system go in order my mass (just like Dmitri) and had similar chemical properties lined up (just like Dmitri). His ideas were completely shut out though until later when Dmitri put them to work and put them in his periodic table. The third person is John Newlands, he made is periodic table with 8 families (8 columns). Although their were some misplacements and mistakes some of the elements in his version are in the same spot as Dmitri's. Newlands also predicted that their was a missing element that could complete the triad of silicon and tin (just like Dmitri). But he did not leave space for it on his table but he still made the prediction. The last and probably most important is John Meyer, he first made a periodic table in 1864 but with only half the known elements at the time. Then he published his new one in 1870, one year before Dmitri's that was published in 1869. They both have almost identical results and this goes to show that Dmitri isn't the only one. Every single person on this list helped Dmitri Mendeleev create his periodic table. From Johan Döbereiner to John Meyer, they all played a part in Dmitri's periodic table.

    In conclusion, Dmitri Mendeleev should not be shut down and criticised because the way he created his system is so great. He also has the facts to back up the organization of the periodic table. Lastly, many scientists have similar findings and results as him. Dmitri Mendeleev is just someone trying to bring true and understandable sense to something that many people can not figure out. This is why my friend, Dmitri Mendeleev should not be criticised, nor shut down.

                        Sincerely, Nicolas Reed

   
















   

   

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