Development of the chemical symbols and the Periodic Table

Lavoisier - Dalton - Berzelius - Менделеев (Mendeleev) - Moseley

Lavoisier 1789 - 33 elements

1. Simple substances belonging to all the kingdoms of nature, which may be considered as the elements of bodies (gases),
2. Oxidable and Acidifiable simple Substances not Metallic (nonmetals),
3. Oxidable and Acidifiable simple Metallic Bodies (metals),
4. Salifiable simple Earthy Substances (earths).

Lavoisier's table of simple substances
Gases New names (French) Old names (English translation) Lumière Light Calorique Heat Principle of heat Igneous fluid Fire Matter of fire and of heat Oxygène Dephlogisticated air Empyreal air Vital air Base of vital air Azote Phlogisticated gas Mephitis Base of mephitis Hydrogène Inflammable air or gas Base of inflammable air	Metals New names (French) Old names (English translation) Antimoine Antimony Argent Silver Arsenic Arsenic Bismuth Bismuth Cobolt Cobalt Cuivre Copper Étain Tin Fer Iron Manganèse Manganese Mercure Mercury Molybdène Molybdena Nickel Nickel Or Gold Platine Platina Plomb Lead Tungstène Tungsten Zinc Zinc
Nonmetals New names (French) Old names (English translation) Soufre Sulphur Phosphore Phosphorus Carbone Pure charcoal Radical muriatique Unknown Radical fluorique Unknown Radical boracique Unknown	Earths New names (French) Old names (English translation) Chaux Chalk, calcareous earth Magnésie Magnesia, base of Epsom salt Baryte Barote, or heavy earth Alumine Clay, earth of alum, base of alum Silice Siliceous earth, vitrifiable earth

Further reading:

• Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) from Elements of Chemistry (on-line).
• From Alchemy to Chemistry: Five Hundred Years of Rare and Interesting Books (on-line).

Dalton 1808 - 36 elements

1. all matter was composed of small indivisible particles termed atoms,
2. atoms of a given element possess unique characteristics and weight, and
3. three types of atoms exist: simple (elements), compound (simple molecules), and complex (complex molecules).

A few of his symbols are here above, to the right the page from the New System, also the background image of this website is an illustrations of Dalton's symbols.

Dalton's symbols were not much better than previous examples, as there was nothing about them which made it easy to memorise them. However, Dalton's symbols did have some benefits: each symbol represented one atom and the formula of a compound was made up of the symbols of its elements, it showed how many of these atoms were present in the molecule.

O Oxygen	H Hydrogen	N Nitrogen	C Carbon	S Sulphur	P Phosphorus	Au Gold	Pt Platinum	Ag Silver
Hg Mercury	Cu Copper	Fe Iron	Ni Nickel	Sn Tin	Pb Lead	Zn Zinc	Bi Bismuth	Sb Antimony
As Arsenic	Co Cobalt	Mn Manganese	U Uranium	W Tungsten	Ti Titanium	Ce Cerium	K Potassium	Na Sodium
Ca Calcium	Mg Magnesium	Ba Barium	Sr Strontium	Al Aluminium	Si Silicon	Y Yttrium	Be Beryllium	Zr Zirconium

A few years later Dalton's system was superseded with the chemical symbols and formulae by Jöns Berzelius, which are still used today.

Further reading:

• John Dalton (1766-1844): The Father of the Chemical Atomic Theory (on-line).

Berzelius 1813-14 - 47 elements

The chemical signs ought to be letters, for the greater facility of writing, and not to disfigure a printed book. Though this last circumstance may not appear of any great importance, it ought to be avoided whenever it can be done. I shall take, therefore, for the chemical sign, the initial letter of the Latin name of each elementary substance: but as several have the same initial letter, I shall distinguish them in the following manner:--

1. In the class which I call metalloids, I shall employ the initial letter only, even when this letter is common to the metalloid and some metal.
2. In the class of metals, I shall distinguish those that have the same initials with another metal, or a metalloid, by writing the first two letters of the word.
3. If the first two letters be common to two metals, I shall, in that case, add to the initial letter the first consonant which they have not in common:

for example, S = sulphur, Si = silicium, St = stibium (antimony), Sn = stannum (tin), C = carbonicum, Co = cobaltum (cobalt), Cu = cuprum (copper), O = oxygen, Os = osmium, &c.

With some modifications, Berzelius's symbols are the ones that we use today. In the table below the names (in alphabetical order of their Latin name) and symbols are reproduced from Berzelius's article, with modifications indicated.

Element Berz. present Aluminium Al Argentum (Silver) Ag Arsenic As Aurum (Gold) Au Barium Ba Bismuth Bi Boron B Calcium Ca Carbon C Cerium Ce Chromium Ch Cr Cobalt Co Columbium Cl (Cb) Nb Cuprum (Copper) Cu Ferrum (Iron) Fe Fluoric Radicle F

Element Berz. present Glucinum Gl Be Hydrargyrum (Mercury) Hg (Hy) Hg Hydrogenium H Iridium I Ir Magnesium Ms Mg Manganese Ma (Mn) Mn Molybdenum Mo Muriatic Radicle (Chlorine) M Cl Nickel Ni Nitric Radicle N Osmium Os Oxygenium O Palladium Pa Pd Phosphorus P Platinum Pt Plumbum (Lead) Pb (P) Pb

Element Berz. present Potassium Po K Rhodium Rh (R) Rh Silicium Si Sodium So Na Stibium (Antimony)* Sb (St) Sb Strontium Sr Sulphur S Tellurium Te Tin Sn (St) Sn Titanium Ti Tungsten Tn (W) W Uranium U Yttrium Y Zinc Zn Zirconium Zr

The symbols used in his lengthy paper are not entirely consistent throughout. Between brackets are the symbols used in the text.

Further reading:

• Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Essay on the Cause of Chemical Proportions, and on Some Circumstances Relating to Them: Together with a Short and Easy Method of Expressing Them; chapter III. On the Chemical Signs, and the Method of Employing them to Express Chemical Proportions. (on-line).

Periodical system

By 1830, fifty-five different elements were recognized. The number became too great for the comfort of chemists. The elements varied widely in properties and there seemed little order about them. Why were there so many? And how many more yet remained to be found? It was tempting to search for order in the list of elements already known. Perhaps in this manner some reason for the number of elements might be found and some way of accounting for the variation of properties that existed.

Several proposals were made to arrange the elements in a table:

• 1829, Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780-1849), Model of Triads. In 1829, he noted that the newly discovered element Bromine seemed just halfway in its properties between Chlorine and Iodine. He found two other groups of three elements with the same characteristics (Ca, Sr, and Ba; and S, Se, and Te). He called these groups "triads" and searched unsuccessfully for others. (note).
• 1859, Jean-Baptiste Dumas (1800-1884) extended Döbereiner's triads into families of elements in fours (F, Cl, Br, and I; Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba).
• 1863, Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois (1820-1886), Vis Tellurique (Telluric Screw). He created a list of the elements, arranged by increasing atomic weight. The list was wrapped around a cylinder so that several sets of similar elements lined up, creating the first geometric representation of the periodic law.
• 1864, William Odling (1829-1921) was intrigued by atomic weights and the periodic occurrence of chemical properties. He proposed repeating units of 7. The table of elements he drew up bears a striking resemblance to Mendeleev’s first table.
• 1864, John Alexander Reina Newlands (1837-1898), Law of Octaves. Extending the work of Döbereiner and Dumas, he arranged the known elements by increasing atomic mass along horizontal rows seven elements long. He stated that the eighth element would have similar properties to the first from the series.
  His work failed after Ca in predicting a consistent trend.

  1H	7Li	9Be	11B	12C	14N	16O
  19F	23Na	24Mg	27Al	28Si	31P	32S
  35Cl	39K	40Ca	52Cr	48Ti	55Mn	56Fe

• 1869-71, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев (see below).
• 1870, Lothar Meyer (1830-1895). He independently developed a periodic table based on atomic masses. He found that if the atomic volumes of the elements were plotted against their atomic weight, a series of peaks were produced. The peaks were formed by the alkali metals Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, and Cesium. Each fall and rise to a peak, corresponded to a period like the waves. In each period a number of physical properties other than atomic volume also fell and rose, such as valence and melting point. Meyer was the first scientist to introduce the concept of valence as a periodic property (note).

  

• 1913, Moseley (see below).

Менделеев (Mendeleev) 1869 - 63 elements

1. The elements, if arranged according to their atomic weights, exhibit an apparent periodicity of properties.
2. Elements which are similar as regards their chemical properties have atomic weights which are either of nearly the same value (Pt, Ir, Os) or which increase regularly (K, Rb, Cs).
3. The arrangement in the order of their atomic weights corresponds to the valencies of the elements and, to some extent, to their distinctive chemical properties, e.g. Li, Be, Ba, C, N, O, F.
4. The elements which are the most widely diffused in nature 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. The discovery of many as yet unknown elements is expected, for example, elements analogous to Si and Al, whose atomic weight would be between 65 and 75.
7. Some atomic weights are expected to be corrected, for example, Te can not have the atomic weight 128, but it must lie between 123 and 126.
8. From this table new analogies between elements can be foretold. So seems Bo (?) (in the table the symbol is Ur) analogous to B and Al, which, as is known, by experiments is proven.

			Ti = 50	Zr = 90	? = 180
			V = 51	Nb = 94	Ta = 182
			Cr = 52	Mo = 96	W = 186
			Mn = 55	Rh = 104,4	Pt = 197,4
			Fe = 56	Ru = 104,4	Ir = 198
		Ni=	Co = 59	Pl = 106,6	Os = 199
H = 1			Cu = 63,4	Ag = 108	Hg = 200
	Be = 9,4	Mg = 24	Zn = 65,2	Cd = 112
	B = 11	Al = 27,4	? = 68	Ur = 116	Au = 197?
	C = 12	Si = 28	? = 70	Sn = 118
	N = 14	P = 31	As = 75	Sb = 122	Bi = 210?
	O = 16	S = 32	Se = 79,4	Te = 128?
	F = 19	Cl = 35,5	Br = 80	I = 127
Li = 7	Na = 23	K = 39	Rb = 85,4	Cs = 133	Tl = 204
		Ca = 40	Sr = 87,6	Ba = 137	Pb = 207
		? = 45	Ce = 92
		?Er = 56	La = 94
		?Yt = 60	Di = 95
		?In = 75,6	Th = 118?

(Mendeleev uses Pl for Pd; Ur for Uranium)

In 1871 Mendeleev published an updated version of his periodical table. He turned it 90 degrees:

	I. — R2O	II. — RO	III. — R2O3	IV. RH4 RO2	V. RH3 R2O5	VI. RH2 RO3	VII. RH R2O7	VIII. — RO4
1	H = 1
2	Li = 7	Be = 9,4	B = 11	C = 12	N = 14	O = 16	F = 19
3	Na = 23	Mg = 24	Al = 27,3	Si = 28	P = 31	S = 32	Cl = 35,5
4	K = 39	Ca = 40	– = 44	Ti = 48	V = 51	Cr = 52	Mn = 55	Fe = 56, Co = 59, Ni = 59, Cu = 63
5	(Cu = 63)	Zn = 65	– = 68	– = 72	As = 75	Se = 78	Br = 80
6	Rb = 85	Sr = 87	?Yt = 88	Zr = 90	Nb = 94	Mo = 96	– = 100	Ru = 104, Rh = 104, Pd = 106, Ag = 108
7	(Ag = 108)	Cd = 112	In = 113	Sn = 118	Sb = 122	Te = 125	I= 127
8	Cs = 133	Ba = 137	?Di = 138	?Ce = 140	–	–	–	-  -  -  -
9	(–)	–	–	–	–	–	–
10	–	–	?Er = 178	??La = 180	Ta = 182	W = 184	–	Os = 195, Ir = 197, Pt = 198, Au = 199
11	(Au = 199)	Hg = 200	Tl = 204	Pb = 207	Bi = 208	–	–
12	–	–	–	Th = 231	–	U = 240	–

This table is from Mengyelejev periódusos rendszere (note).

On 29 November 1870, Mendeleev took his concept even further by stating that it was possible to predict the properties of undiscovered elements. He then proceeded to make predictions for three new elements (eka-aluminum, eka-boron and eka-silicon, red in the above table, "eka" = one (Sanskrite)) and suggested several properties of each, including density, radii, and combining ratios with oxygen, among others. The science world was perplexed, and many scoffed at Mendeleev's predictions.

It was not until November, 1875, when the Frenchman Lecoq de Boisbaudran discovered one of the predicted elements (eka-aluminum) which he named Gallium, that Mendeleev's ideas were taken seriously. The other two elements were discovered later and their properties were found to be remarkably similar to those predicted by Mendeleev. These discoveries, verifying his predictions and substantiating his law, took him to the top of the science world. He was 35 years old when the initial paper was presented

There was a problem with Mendeleev's table. If the elements were arranged according to increasing atomic masses, Tellurium and Iodine seemed to be in the wrong columns. Their properties were different from those of other elements in the same column. However, they were next to each other. Switching their positions put them in the columns where they belonged according to their properties. If the switch were made, Mendeleev's basic assumption that the properties of the elements were a periodic function of their atomic masses would be wrong. Mendeleev assumed that the atomic masses of these two elements had been poorly measured. He thought that new mass measurements would prove his hypothesis to be correct. However, new measurements simply confirmed the original masses.

Soon, new elements were discovered, and two other pairs showed the same kind of reversal. Cobalt and Nickel were known by Mendeleev, but their atomic masses had not been accurately measured. When such a determination was made, it was found that their positions in the table were also reversed.

Henry Moseley 1913

Further reading (random selection):

• J.W. van Spronsen, The Periodic System of Chemical Elements. Elsevier, 1969.
• The Mendeleev Puzzle (note).
• The Periodic Table (note).
• Classification of elements (note).
• Classification of the Elements (note).
• Mark R. Leach, The Chemogenesis Webbook, A Selection of Periodic Tables

© Peter van der Krogt