![]() ![]() It went through five editions and was translated into English, French, and Russian. During his stay at Breslau, the first edition of his Die modernen Theorien der Chemie umi ihre Bedeutung fur die chemische Statik appeared (1864). He would spend the last twenty years of his life at Tübingen a respected figure throughout the world of chemistry, if a little anonymous anywhere else.īut the long journey back from anonymity could begin with a single Google Doodle.In February 1859 Meyer established himself as Privatdozent in physics and chemistry at Breslau with a critical historical work, “Uber die chemischen Lehren von Berthollet und Berzelius.” That same spring he took over the direction of the chemical laboratory in the physiological institute and lectured on organic, inorganic, physiological, and biological chemistry. Meyer was able to make some substantive contributions uniquely, with graphic demonstrations of the relationship between atomic volume and atomic weight.Ī life of steady achievement - There appears to have been no serious rivalry between the two men: content with his own contributions and his work as a professor, Meyer never challenged Mendeleev or his followers over who was “first” to the idea of a periodic table. While lacking in predictions, it showed the same breadth of Mendeleev’s work - and was published a year before Mendeleev's. As the decades and centuries passed, Mendeleev’s predictions would be proven accurate, growing his legend. Mendeleev’s work did not just organize all the world’s known elements - it predicted some as well, a stance Meyer was unwilling to take. Mendeleev’s work had substantive differences from Meyer’s, some of which would influence future fame. Working on a chemistry textbook that would eventually be published in 1871, Mendeleev published early papers relating to periodic tables in 1869. Mendeleev's moment - In Russia, Mendeleev was on a similar path. Meyer demonstrated that, as integral valence changes, the atomic weight of elements increases. The compound ammonia provides a good example-composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, with three nitrogen atoms and a singular hydrogen, nitrogen has a valence of three. ![]() Valence looks at many hydrogen atoms that can form with any given element. Modern Chemical Theory placed a special emphasis on valence or combining power. The textbook included Meyer’s version of periodic table, including 28 elements split into 6 families, based on similarities in physical and chemical composition. Looking at how atomic weights and how they related to the properties of the elements, Modern Chemical Theory proved to be popular in Germany and was revised several times. Julius Lothar Meyer's periodic table, published in "Die modernen Theorien de Chemie." Here, Meyer worked out ideas that both science and industry were craving: how to map out and identify the properties of elements, in hopes of understanding them and creating new mixtures. In 1864, he released his own textbook, Die modernen Theorien der Chemie, or Modern Chemical Theory, which he dedicated to Bunsen. The big breakthrough - Meyer spent this time as an educator, working at the University of Tübingen in southern Germany. The next year, Bunsen would help make breakthroughs in the field of spectral analysis.Īs discoveries progressed, a need came to help organize them. The 1850s and 1860s were decades of vast, exciting scientific discoveries: Just a year before Karlsruhe, Charles Darwin had published his seminal On the Origin of Species, shattering old concepts with the idea of evolution. GoogleĪt Karlsruhe, Meyer was introduced to the concept of measuring atomic weights. Googled honored German chemist, professor, and author Julius Lothar Meyer on August 19, 2020. ![]()
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