Mendeleev’s periodic table contributions

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Dmitri Mendeleev, born 8 February 1834, was a russian chemist and inventor often credited with the formulation of the periodic table, one that is continuously used in science to this date. Mendeleev, however, did not create the periodic table from scratch, rather he improved on pre-existing notions to create one that would not be in error as new elements were discovered.

Through deduction, Mendeleev realised that the relative atomic mass and properties of an element occur periodically, and many of these properties, when the elements are arranged by their atomic mass, repeat themselves, such as chemical properties of Lithium recurring in Sodium such as their reactivity with water, and once again in Potassium later on. This lead to the creation of the Periodic Law. This law, initially, was only an empirical concept and could not be proven, it was merely suggested in research done by scientists at the time. Technological advancements today and the development of the electronic theory of atomic structure lead to a better theoretical understanding of the phenomenon.

One of Mendeleev’s greatest accomplishments was his ability to not impose his own views of how he believed elements should behave to the periodic table. While other periodic tables failed, he made his own perdurable by only using elements that were better known, and leaving gaps in his periodic table to where he predicted other elements would have to appear. Mendeleev’s foresight generated a periodic table which could adapt to new elemental discoveries. His method of arrangement and knowledge of how elements behave due to their properties also allowed for him to predict elements that were not yet discovered - and their properties, with a significant degree of accuracy. For example, Mendeleev predicted the existence of gallium, an element that should fit below aluminium in his periodic table. When gallium was actually discovered in 1875, it pertained many of the properties that Mendeleev predicted before. Other elements that were later discovered supported Mendeleev’s table, giving it more credit. Below, you can see a snippet of what his periodic table looked like in 1871. Also, be sure to give this video a watch:
A TED-ed talk which explains Mendeleev’s genius further.

Image result for Mendeleev table
References:

“Mendeleev Periodic Table.” Study.com,

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