The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleef

The high honour bestowed by the Chemical Society in inviting me to pay a tribute to the world-famed name of Faraday by delivering this lecture has induced me to take for its subject the Periodic Law of the Elements—this being a generalization in chemistry which has of late attracted much attention.

While science is pursuing a steady and onward movement, it is convenient from time to time to cast a glance back on the route already traversed, and especially to consider the new conceptions which aim at discovering the general meaning of the stock of facts accumulated from day to day in our laboratories. Owing to the possession of laboratories, modern science now bears a new character, quite unknown, not only to antiquity, but even to the preceding century. Bacon’s and Descartes’ idea of submitting the mechanism of science simultaneously to experiment and reasoning has been fully realized in the case of chemistry, it having not only been possible but always customary to experiment. Under the all-penetrating control of experiment, a new theory, even if crude, is quickly strengthened, provided it be founded on a sufficient basis; the asperities are removed, it is amended by degrees, and soon loses the phantom light of a shadowy form or of one rounded on mere prejudice; it is able to lead to logical conclusions, and to submit to experimental proof. Willingly or not, in science we all must submit not to do what seems to us attractive from one point of view or from another, but to what represents an agreement between theory and experiment. Is it long since many refused to accept the generalizations involved in the law of Avogadro and Ampere, so widely extended by Gerhardt? We still may hear the voices of its opponents; they enjoy perfect freedom, but vainly will their voices rise so long as they do not use the language of demonstrated facts. The striking observations with the spectroscope which have permitted us to analyze the chemical constitution of distant worlds, seemed at first applicable to the task of determining the nature of the atoms themselves; but the working out of the idea in the laboratory soon demonstrated that the characters of spectra are determined, not directly by the atoms, but by the molecules into which the atoms are packed; and so it became evident that more verified facts must be collected before it will be possible to formulate new generalizations capable of taking their place beside those ordinary ones based upon the conception of simple substances and atoms. But as the shade of the leaves and roots of living plants, together with the relics of a decayed vegetation, favour the growth of the seedling and serve to promote its luxurious development, in like manner sound generalizations—together with the relics of those which have proved to be untenable—promote scientific productivity, and insure the luxurious growth of science under the influence of rays emanating from the centers of scientific energy. Such centers are scientific associations and societies. Before one of the oldest and most powerful of these I am about to take the liberty of passing in review the twenty years’ life of a generalization which is known under the name of periodic law. It was in March, 1869, that I ventured to lay before the then youthful Russian Chemical Society the ideas upon the same subject which I had expressed in my just written "Principles of Chemistry."

Without entering into details, I will give the conclusions I then arrived at in the very words I used:—

1. The elements, if arranged according to their atomic weights, exhibit an evident periodicity of properties.

2. Elements which are similar as regards their chemical properties have atomic weights which are either of nearly the same value (e.g., platinum, iridium, osmium) or which increase regularly (e.g., potassium, rubidium, caesium).

3. The arrangement of the elements, or of groups of elements, in the order of their atomic weights, corresponds to their so-called valencies, as well as, to some extent, to their distinctive chemical properties—as is apparent, among other series, in that of lithium, beryllium, barium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and iron.

4. The elements which are the most widely diffused 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. [p.257]

6. We must expect the discovery of many yet unknown elements—for example, elements analogous to aluminum and silicon, whose atomic weight would be between 65 and 75.

7. The atomic weight of an element may sometimes be amended by a knowledge of those of the contiguous elements. Thus, the atomic weight of tellurium must lie between 123 and 126, and cannot be 128.

8. Certain characteristic properties of the elements can be foretold from their atomic weights.

The aim of this communication will be fully, attained if I succeed in drawing the attention of investigators to those relations which exist between the atomic weights of dissimilar elements, which, so far as I know, have hitherto been almost completely neglected. I believe that the solution of some of the most important problems of our science lies in researches of this kind.

To-day, twenty years after the above conclusions were formulated, they may still be considered as expressing the essence of the now well known periodic law.

Reverting to the epoch terminating with the sixties, it is proper to indicate three series of data without the knowledge of which the periodic law could not have been discovered, and which rendered its appearance natural and intelligible.

In the first place, it was at that time that the numerical value of atomic weights became definitely known. Ten years earlier such knowledge did not exist, as may be gathered from the fact that in 1860 chemists from all parts of the world met at Karlsruhe in order to come to some agreements, if not with respect to views relating to atoms, at any rate as regards their definite representation. Many of those present probably remember how vain were the hopes of coming to an understanding, and how much ground was gained at that congress by the followers of the unitary theory so brilliantly represented by Cannizzaro. I vividly remember the impression produced by his speeches, which admitted of no compromise, and seemed to advocate truth itself, based on the conceptions of Avogadro, Gerhardt, and Regnault, which at that time were far from being generally recognized. And though no understanding could be arrived at, yet the objects of the meeting were attained, for the ideas of Cannizzard proved, after a few years, to be the only ones which could stand criticism, and which represented an atom as—"the smallest portion of an element which enters into a molecule of its compound." Only such real atomic weights—not conventional ones—could afford a basis for generalization. It is sufficient, by way of example, to indicate the following cases in which the relation is seen at once and is perfectly clear:

xyzK=39      Rb=85      Cs=133Ca=40      Sr=87      Ba=137

whereas with the equivalents then in use—

K=39      Rb=85      Cs=133Ca=20      Sr=43.5      Ba=68.5

the consecutiveness of change in atomic weight, which with the true values is so evident, completely disappears.

Secondly, it had become evident during the period 1860–70, and even during the preceding decade, that the relations between the atomic weights of analogous elements were governed by some general and simple laws. Cooke, Cremers, Gladstone, Gmelin, Lenssen, Pettenkofer, and especially Dumas, had already established many facts bearing on that view. Thus Dumas compared the following groups of analogous elements with organic radicles—

xyz       Diff.               Diff.               Diff.               Diff

                         Mg=12]—8           P=31]—44
     Li=7]—16           Ca=20]—3x8         As=75]               O=8]—8
     Na=23                                   Sb=119]—44         S=16
     K=39]—16           Sr=44]—3x8         Bi=207]—2x44       Se=40]—3x8
                         Ba=68                                   Te=64]—3x8

and pointed out some really striking relationships, such as the following

F=19.
Cl=35.5=19+16.5
Br=80=19+2x16.5+28
I=127=2x19+2x16.5+2x.28.

A. Strecker, in his work, "Theorien und Experimente zur Bestimmung der Atomgewichte der Elemente" (Braunschweig, 1859), after summarizing the data relating to the subject, and pointing out the remarkable series of equivalents—

Cr=26.2   Mn=27.6   Fe=28   Ni=29   Co=30   Cu=31.7   Zn=32.5

remarks that: It is hardly probable that all the above-mentioned relations between the atomic weights (or equivalents) of chemically analogous elements are merely accidental. We must, however, leave to the future the discovery of the law of the relations which appears in these figures.

In such attempts at arrangement and in such views are to be recognized the real forerunners of the periodic law; the ground was prepared for it between 1860 and 1870, and that it was not expressed in a determinate form before the end of the decade may, I suppose, be ascribed to the fact that only analogous elements had been compared. The idea of seeking for a relation between the atomic weights of all the elements was foreign to the ideas then current, so that neither the vis tellurique of De Chancourtois, nor the law of octaves of Newlands like Dumas and Strecker, more than Lenssen and Pettenkofer, had made an approach to the periodic law and had discovered its germs. The solution of the problem advanced but slowly, because the facts, but not the law, stood foremost in all attempts; and the law could not awaken a general interest so long as elements, having no apparent connection with each other, were included in the same octave, as, for example:—

1st octave of Newlands, H, F, Cl, Co&Ni, Br, Pd, I, Pt&Ir.

7th ditto, O, S, Fe, Se, Rh&Ru, Te, Au, Os or Th.

Analogies of the above order seemed quite accidental, and the more so as the octave contained occasionally ten elements instead of eight, and when two such elements as Ba and V, Co and Ni, or Rh and Ru, occupied one place in the octave. Nevertheless the fruit was ripening, and I now see clearly that Strecker, De Chancourtois, and Newlands stood foremost in the way towards the discovery of the periodic law, and that they merely wanted the boldness necessary to place the whole question at such a height that its reflection on the facts could be clearly seen.

A third circumstance which revealed the periodicity of chemical elements was the accumulation, by the end of the sixties, of new information respecting the rare elements, disclosing their many-sided relations to the other elements and to each other. The researches of Marignac on niobium, and those of Roscoe on vanadium, were of special moment. The striking analogies between vanadium and phosphorus on the one hand, and between vanadium and chromium on the other, which are so apparent in the investigations connected with that element, naturally induced the comparison of V=51 with Cr=52, Nb=94 with Mo=96, Ta=192 with W=194; while, on the other hand, P=31 could be compared with S=32, As=75 with Se=79, and Sb=120 with Te=125. From such approximations there remained but one step to the discovery of the law of periodicity. [p.260]

The law of periodicity was thus a direct outcome of the stock of generalizations and established facts which had accumulated by the end of the decade 1860–70: it is an embodiment of those data in a more or less systematic expression. Where, then, lies the secret of the special importance which has since been attached to the periodic law, and has raised it to the position of a generalization which has already given to chemistry unexpected aid, and which promises to be far more fruitful in the future and to impress upon several branches of chemical research a peculiar and original stamp? The remaining part of my communication will be an attempt to answer this question.

In the first place, we have the circumstance that, as soon as the law made its appearance, it demanded a revision of many facts which were considered by chemists as fully established by existing experience. I shall return later on, briefly to this subject, but I wish now to remind you that the periodic law, by insisting on the necessity for a revision of supposed facts, exposed itself at once to destruction in its very origin. Its first requirements, however, have been almost entirely satisfied during the last twenty years; the supposed facts have yielded to the law, thus proving that the law itself was a legitimate induction from the verified facts. But our inductions from data have often to do with such details of a science so rich in facts, that only generalizations which cover a wide range of important phenomena can attract general attention. What were the regions touched on by the periodic law? This is what we shall now consider.

The most important point to notice is, that periodic functions, used for the purpose of expressing changes which are dependent on variations of time and space, have been long known. They are familiar to the mind when we have to deal with motion in closed cycles, or with any kind of deviation from a stable position, such as occurs in pendulum oscillations. A like periodic function became evident in the case of the elements, depending on the mass of the atom. The primary conception of the masses of bodies, or of the masses of atoms, belongs to a category which the present state of science forbids us to discuss, because as yet we have no means of dissecting or analyzing the conception. All that was known of functions dependent on masses derived its origin from Galileo and Newton, and indicated that such functions either increase or decrease with the increase of mass, like the attraction of celestial bodies. The numerical expression of the phenomena was always found to be proportional to the mass, and in no case was an increase of mass followed by a recurrence of properties such as is disclosed by the periodic law of the elements. This constituted such a novelty in the study of the phenomena of nature that, although it did not lift the veil which conceals the true conception of mass, it nevertheless indicated that the explanation of that conception must be searched for in the masses of the atoms; the more so, as all masses are nothing but aggregations, or additions of chemical atoms which would be best described as chemical individuals. Let me remark, by the way, that though the Latin word "individual" is merely a translation of the Greek word "atom," nevertheless history and custom have drawn a sharp distinction between the two words, and the present chemical conception of atoms is nearer to that defined by the Latin word than by the Greek, although this latter also has acquired a special meaning which was unknown to the classics. The periodic law has shown that our chemical individuals display a harmonic periodicity of properties dependent on their masses. Now natural science has long been accustomed to deal with periodicities observed in nature, to seize them with the vise of mathematical analysis, to submit them to the rasp of experiment. And these instruments of scientific thought would surely long since have mastered the problem connected with the chemical elements, were it not for a new feature which was brought to light by the periodic law and which gave a peculiar and original character to the periodic function.

If we mark on an axis of abscissae a series of lengths proportional to angles, and trace ordinates which are proportional to sines or other trigonometrical functions, we get periodic curves of a harmonic character. So it might seem, at first sight, that with the increase of atomic weights the function of the properties of the elements should also vary in the same harmonious way. But in this case there is no such continuous change as in the curves just referred to, because the periods do not contain the infinite number of points constituting a curve, but a finite number only of such points. An example will better illustrate this view. The atomic weights—

xyzAg=108   Cd=112   In=113   Sn=118   Sb=120
Te=125   I=127

steadily increase, and their increase is accompanied by a modification of many properties, which constitutes the essence of the periodic law. Thus, for example, the densities of the above elements decrease steadily, being respectively—

10.5     8.6     7.4     7.2     6.7     6.4     4.9

while their oxides contain an increasing quantity of oxygen—

xyzAg2O     Cd2O2     In2O3     Sn2O4     Sb2O5     Te2O6     I2O7

But to connect by a curve the summits of the ordinates expressing any of these properties would involve the rejection of Dalton’s law of multiple proportions. Not only are there no intermediate elements between silver, which gives AgCl, and cadmium, which gives CdCl2, but according to the very essence of the periodic law, there can be none: in fact a uniform curve would be inapplicable in such a case, as it would lead us to expect elements possessed of special properties at any point of the curve. The periods of the elements have thus a character very different from those which are so simply represented by geometers. They correspond to points, to numbers, to sudden changes destitute of intermediate steps or positions, in the absence of elements intermediate between, say silver and cadmium, or aluminum and silicon, we must recognize a problem to which no direct application of the analysis of the infinitely small can be made. Therefore, neither the trigonometrical functions proposed by Ridberg and Flavitzky, nor the pendulum oscillations suggested by Crookes, nor the cubical curves of the Rev. Mr. Haughton, which have been proposed for expressing the periodic law, from the nature of the case, can represent the periods of the chemical elements. If geometrical analysis is to be applied to this subject, it will require to be modified in a special manner. It must find the means of representing in a special way, not only such long periods, as that comprising—

xyzK   Ca   Sc   Ti   V   Cr   Mn   Fe   Co   Ni   Cu   Zn
Ga   Ge   As   Se   Br,

but short periods like the following:—

Na   Mg   Al   Si   P   S   Cl.

In the theory of numbers only do we find problems analogous to ours, and two attempts at expressing the atomic weights of the elements by algebraic formulae seem to be deserving of attention, although none of them can be considered as a complete theory, nor as promising finally to solve the problem of the periodic law. The attempt of E. J. Mills (1886) does not even aspire to attain this end. He considers that all atomic weights can be expressed by a logarithmic function,

15 (n—0.9375t),

in which the variables n and t are whole numbers. Thus, for oxygen, n=2, and t=1, whence its atomic weight is =15.94; in the case of chlorine, bromine, and iodine, n has respective values of 3, 6, and 9, whilst t=7, 6, and 9; in the case of potassium, rubidium, and caesium, n=4, 6, and 9, and t=14, 18. and 20.

Another attempt was made in 1888 by B. N. Tchitcherin. Its author places the problem of the periodic law in the first rank, but as yet he has investigated the alkali metals only. Tchitcherin first noticed the simple relations existing between the atomic volumes of all alkali metals; they can be expressed, according to his views, by the formula

A(2–0.00535An),

where A is the atomic weight, and n is equal to 8 for lithium and sodium, to 4 for potassium, to 3 for rubidium, and to 2 for caesium. If n remained equal to 8 during the increase of A, the volume would become zero at A=46 2–3, and it would reach its maximum at A=23 1–3. The close approximation of the number 46 2–3 to the differences between the atomic weights of analogous elements (such as Cs-Rb, I-Br, and so on); the close correspondence of the number 23 1–3 to the atomic weight of sodium; the fact of n being necessarily a whole number, and several other aspects of the question, induce Tchitcherin to believe that they afford a clue to the understanding of the nature of the elements; we must, however, await the full development of his theory before pronouncing judgment on it. What we can at present only be certain of is this: that attempts like the two above named must be repeated aid multiplied, because the periodic law has clearly shown that the masses of the atoms increase abruptly, by steps, which are clearly connected in some way to Dalton’s law of multiple proportions; and because the periodicity of the elements finds expression in the transition from RX to RX2, RX3, RX4, and so on till RX8, at which point, the energy of the combining forces being exhausted, the series begins anew from RX to RX2, and so on.

While connecting by new bonds the theory of the chemical elements with Dalton’s theory of multiple proportions, or atomic structure of bodies, the periodic law opened for natural philosophy a new and wide field for speculation. Kant said that there are in the world "two things which never cease to call for the admiration and reverence of man: the moral law within ourselves, and the stellar sky above us. But when we turn our thoughts towards the nature of the elements and the periodic law, we must add a third subject, namely, "the nature of the elementary individuals which we discover everywhere around us." Without them the stellar sky itself is inconceivable; and in the atoms we see at once their peculiar individualities, the infinite multiplicity of the individuals, and the submission of their seeming freedom to the general harmony of nature.

Having thus indicated a new mystery of nature, which does not yet yield to rational conception, the periodic law, together with the revelations of spectrum analysis, have contributed to again revive an old but remarkably long-lived hope—that of discovering, if not by experiment, at least by a mental effort, the primary matter—which had its genesis in the minds of the Grecian philosophers, and has been transmitted, together with many other ideas of the classic period, to the heirs of their civilization. Having grown, during the times of the alchemists up to the period when experimental proof was required, the idea has rendered good service; it induced those careful observations and experiments which later on called into being the works of Scheele, Lavoisier, Priestley, and Cavendish. It then slumbered awhile, but was soon awakened by the attempts either to confirm or to refute the ideas of Prout as to the multiple proportion relationship of the atomic weights of all the elements. And once again the inductive or experimental method of studying Nature gained a direct advantage from the old Pythagorean idea: because atomic weights were determined with an accuracy formerly unknown. But again the idea could not stand the ordeal of experimental test, yet the prejudice remains and has not been uprooted, even by Stas; nay, it has gained new vigor, for we see that all which is imperfectly worked out, new and unexplained, from the still scarcely studied rare metals to the hardly perceptible nebulae, have been used to justify it. As soon as spectrum analysis appears as a new and powerful weapon of chemistry, the idea of a primary matter is immediately attached to it. From all sides we see attempts to constitute the imaginary substance helium, the so much longed for primary matter. No attention is paid to the circumstance that the helium line is only seen in the spectrum of the solar protuberances, so that its universality in Nature remains as problematic as the primary matter itself; nor to the fact that the helium line is wanting amongst the Fraunhofer lines of the solar spectrum, and thus does not answer to the brilliant fundamental conception which gives its real force to spectrum analysis.

And finally, no notice is even taken of the indubitable fact that the brilliancies of the spectral lines of the simple substances vary under different temperatures and pressures; so that all probabilities are in favor of the helium line simply belonging to some long since known element placed under such conditions of temperature, pressure, and gravity as have not yet been realized in our experiments. Again, the idea that the excellent investigations of Lockyer of the spectrum of iron can be interpreted in favor of the compound nature of that element, evidently must have arisen from some misunderstanding. The spectrum of a compound certainly does not appear as a sum of the spectra of its components; and therefore the observations of Lockyer can be considered precisely as a proof that iron undergoes no other changes at the temperature of the sun than those which it experiences in the voltaic arc—provided the spectrum of iron is preserved. As to the shifting of some of the lines of the spectrum of iron while the other lines maintain their positions, it can be explained, as shown by M. Kleiber (Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, 1885, 147) by the relative motion of the various strata of the sun’s atmosphere, and by Zollner’s laws of the relative brilliancies of different lines of the spectrum. Moreover, it ought not to be forgotten that if iron were really proved to consist of two or more unknown elements, we should have an increase in the number of our elements—not a reduction, and still less a reduction of all of them to one single primary matter.

Feeling that spectrum analysis will not yield a support to the Pythagorean conception, its modern promoters are so bent upon its being confirmed by the periodic law, that the illustrious Berthellot, in his work, "Les Origines de l’ Alchimie," 1885, 313, has simply mixed up the fundamental idea of the law of periodicity with the ideas of Prout, the alchemists, and Democritus about primary matter. But the periodic law, based as it is on the solid and wholesome ground of experimental research, has been evolved independently of any conception as to the nature of the elements; it does not in the least originate in the idea of a unique matter, and it has no historical connection with that relic of the torments of classical thought, and therefore it affords no more indication of the unity of matter or of the compound character of our elements, than the law of Avogadro, or the law of specific heats, or even the conclusions of spectrum analysis. None of the advocates of a unique matter have ever tried to explain the law from the standpoint of ideas taken from a remote antiquity when it was found convenient to admit the existence of many gods—and of a unique matter.

When we try to explain the origin of the idea of a unique primary matter, we easily trace that in the absence of inductions from experiment it derives its origin from the scientifically philosophical attempt at discovering some kind of unity in the immense diversity of individualities which we see around. In classical times such a tendency could only be satisfied by conceptions about the immaterial world. As to the material world, our ancestors were compelled to resort to some hypothesis, and they adopted the idea of unity in the formative material, because they were not able to evolve the conception of any other possible unity in order to connect the multifarious relations of matter. Responding to the same legitimate scientific tendency, natural science has discovered throughout the universe a unity of plan, a unity of forces, and the convincing conclusions of modern science compel everyone to admit these kinds of unity. But while we admit unity in many things, we none the less must also explain the individuality and the apparent diversity which we cannot fail to trace everywhere. It has been said of old, "Give us a fulcrum, and it will become easy to displace the earth." So also we must say, "Give us something that is individualised, and the apparent diversity will be easily understood." Otherwise, how could unity result in a multitude?

After a long and painstaking research, natural science has discovered the individualities of the chemical elements, and therefore it is now capable not only of analysing, but also of synthesising: it can understand and grasp generality and unity, as well as the individualised and the multifarious. The general and universal, like time and space, like force and motion; vary uniformly; the uniform admit of interpolations, revealing every intermediate phase. But the multitudinous, the individualized—such as ourselves, or the chemical elements, or the members of a peculiar periodic function of the elements, or Dalton’s multiple proportions—is characterized in another way: we see in it, side by side with a connecting general principle, leaps, breaks of continuity, points which escape from the analysis of the infinitely small—an absence of complete intermediate links. Chemistry has found an answer to the question as to the causes of multitudes; and while retaining the conception of many elements, all submitted to the discipline of a general law, it offers an escape from the Indian Nirvana—the absorption in the universal, replacing it by the individualised. However, the place for individuality is so limited by the all-grasping, all-powerful universal, that it is merely a point of support for the understanding of multitude in unity.

Having touched upon the metaphysical bases of the conception of a unique matter which is supposed to enter into the composition of all bodies, I think it necessary to dwell upon another theory, akin to the above conception-theory of the compound character of the elements now admitted by some—and especially upon one particular circumstance which, being related to the periodic law, is considered to be an argument in favour of that hypothesis.

Dr. Pelopidas, in 1883, made a communication to the Russian Chemical and Physical Society on the periodicity of the hydrocarbon radicles, pointing out the remarkable parallelism which was to be noticed in the change of properties of hydrocarbon radicles and elements when classed in groups. Professor Carnelley, in 1886, developed a similar parallelism. The idea of M. Pelopidas will be easily understood if we consider the series of hydrocarbon radicles which contain, say, 6 atoms of carbon:—

xyzI.        II.       III.      IV.       V.        VI.       VII.      VIII.
C6H13     C6H12     C6H11     C6H10     C6H9      C6H8      C6H8      C6H7

The first of these radicles, like the elements of the first group, combines with Cl, OH, and so on, and gives the derivatives of hexyl alcohol, C6H13 (OH); but, in proportion as the number of hydrogen atoms decreases, the capacity of the radicles, of combining with, say, the halogens, increases. C6H12 already combines with 2 atoms of chlorine; C6H11 with 3 atoms, and so on. The last members of the series comprise the radicles of acids: thus C6H8, which belongs to the sixth group, gives, like sulphur, a bibasic acid, C6H8O2 (OH)2, which is homologous with oxalic acid. The parallelism can be traced still further, because C6H5 appears as a monovalent radicle of benzine, and with it begins a new series of aromatic derivatives, so analogous to the derivatives of the fat series. Let me also mention another example from among those which have been given by M. Pelopidas. Starting from the alkaline radicle of monomethylammonium, N(CH3)H3, or NCH6, which presents many analogies with the alkaline metals of the first group, he arrives, by successively diminishing the number of atoms of hydrogen, at a 7th group which contains cyanogen, Cn, which has long since been compared to the halogens of the seventh group.

The most important consequence which, in my opinion, can be drawn from the above comparison is that the periodic law, so apparent in the elements, has a wider application than might appear at first sight; it opens up a new vista of chemical evolutions. But, while admitting the fullest parallelism between the periodicity of the elements and that of the compound radicles, we must not forget that in the periods of the hydrocarbon radicles we have a decrease of mass as we pass from the [p.268] representatives of the first group to the next, while in the periods of the elements the mass increases during the progression. It thus becomes evident that we cannot speak of an identity of periodicity in both cases, unless we put aside the ideas of mass and attraction, which are the real corner—stones of the whole of natural science, and even enter into those very conceptions of simple substances which came to light a full hundred years later than the immortal principles of Newton.

From the foregoing, as well as from the failures of so many attempts at finding in experiment and speculation a proof of the compound character of the elements, and of the existence of primordial matter, it is evident, in my opinion, that this theory must be classed among mere utopias. But utopias can only be combated by freedom of opinion, by experiment, and by new utopias. In the republic of scientific theories freedom of opinions is guaranteed. It is precisely that freedom which permits me to criticise openly the widely-diffused idea as to the unity of matter in the elements. Experiments and attempts at confirming that idea have been so numerous that it really would be instructive to have them all collected together, if only to serve as a warning against the repetition of old failures. And now as to new utopias which may be helpful in the struggle against the old ones, I do not think it quite useless to mention a phantasy of one of my students who imagined that the weight of bodies does not depend upon their mass, but upon the character of the motion of their atoms. The atoms, according to this new utopian, may all be homogeneous or heterogeneous, we know not which; we know them in motion only, and that motion they maintain with the persistence as the stellar bodies maintain theirs. The weights of atoms differ only in consequence of their various modes and quantity of motion; the heaviest atoms may be much simpler than an atom of hydrogen—the manner in which it moves causes it to be heavier. My interlocutor even suggested that the view which attributes the greater complexity to the lighter elements finds confirmation in the fact that the hydrocarbon radicles mentioned by Pelopidas, while becoming lighter as they lose hydrogen, change their properties periodically in the same manner as the elements change theirs, according as the atoms grow heavier.

The French proverb, La critique est facile, mais l’art est difficile, however, may well be reversed in the case of all such ideal views, as it is much easier to formulate than to criticise them. Arising from the virgin soil of newly-established facts, the knowledge relating to the [p.269] elements, to their masses, and to the periodic changes of their properties has given a motive for the formation of utopian hypotheses, probably because they could not be foreseen by the aid of any of the various metaphysical systems, and exist, like the idea of gravitation, as an independent outcome of natural science, requiring the acknowledgment of general laws, when these have been established with the same degree of persistency as is indispensable for the acceptance of a thoroughly established fact. Two centuries have elapsed since the theory of gravitation was enunciated, and although we do not understand its cause, we still must regard gravitation as a fundamental conception of natural philosophy, a conception which has enabled us to perceive much more than the metaphysicians did or could with their seeming omniscience. A hundred years later the conception of the elements arose; it made chemistry what it now is; and yet we have advanced as little in our comprehension of simple substances since the times of Lavoisier and Dalton as we have in our understanding of gravitation. The periodic law of the elements is only twenty years old; it is not surprising, therefore, that, knowing nothing about the causes of gravitation and mass, or about the nature of the elements, we do not comprehend the rationale of the periodic law. It is only by collecting established laws—that is, by working at the acquirement of truth—that we can hope gradually to lift the veil which conceals from us the causes of the mysteries of Nature and to discover their mutual dependency. Like the telescope and the microscope, laws founded on the basis of experiments are the instruments and means of enlarging our mental horizon.

In the remaining part of my communication I shall endeavour to show, and as briefly as possible, in how far the periodic law contributes to enlarge our range of vision. Before the promulgation of this law the chemical elements were mere fragmentary, incidental facts in Nature; there was no special reason to expect the discovery of new elements, and the new ones which were discovered from time to time appeared to be possessed of quite novel properties. The law of periodicity first enabled us to perceive undiscovered elements at a distance which formerly was inaccessible to chemical vision; and long ere they were discovered new elements appeared before our eyes possessed of a number of well-defined properties. We now know three cases of elements whose existence and properties were foreseen by the instrumentality of the periodic law. I need but mention the brilliant discovery of gallium, which proved to correspond to eka-aluminum of the periodic [p.270] law, by Lecoq de Boisbaudran, of scandium, corresponding to ekaboron, by Nilson; and of germanium, which proved to correspond in all respects to ekasilicon, by Winkler. When, in 1871, I described to the Russian Chemical Society the properties, clearly defined by the periodic law, which such elements ought to possess, I never hoped that I should be able to mention their discovery to the Chemical Society of Great Britain as a confirmation of the exactitude and the generality of the periodic law. Now that I have had the happiness of doing so, I unhesitatingly say that, although greatly enlarging our vision, even now the periodic law needs further improvements in order that it may become a trustworthy instrument in further discoveries.