The Disappearing Spoon Chp.3

The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 3

Summary:

Chapter 3 of the “Disappearing Spoon” book starts off by continuing after what the ending of chapter 2 was talking about: the people that got credit that they didn’t deserve, the people that deserved to have more credit than they got, and the people that didn’t any credit at all. It first starts off by saying that the German chemist, Robert Bunsen, that supposedly invented the Bunsen Burner didn’t actually invent it. Robert Bunsen only improved the design of the original bunsen burner and it got much more popular than the one that was originally invented. After giving this information, it then starts giving the history of what and who Robert Bunsen was like when he was alive. Bunsen’s first love was arsenic and had always been interested in the possibilities he could create with it; this was the fuze that set off the dangers into his life. Element 33, otherwise known as arsenic, had been known of since ancient times and only very few people actually knew much information on what it was and what it could possibly be used for. Nobody knew very much about arsenic until Bunsen started experimenting on it. Bunsen primarily worked with arsenic-based cacodyls, or nicknamed in Greek as “Stinky”. Cacodyls have a very foul smell and even had hallucinogenic effects on Bunsen; they gave him “...instantaneous tingling of the hands and feet, even giddiness and insensibility.”. He then created an antidote to prevent himself from getting arsenic poisoning, but still couldn’t prevent the dangers that was arsenic and became half-blind from an explosion and died 60 years later.

After the accident that put him half-blind, Bunsen put experiments on arsenic aside and continued his passion for natural explosions. He then investigated geysers, volcanoes, and pretty much anything that spewed out from the ground. Several years later, Bunsen then invented a scientific tool that could use light to study elements: the spectroscope. The creation of the spectroscope was a powerful breakthrough because it was the first way scientists would have been able to look inside compounds without having to disintegrate or boil them. Since the spectroscope is able to identify an element based of the color it emits, it helped to further advance the periodic table by discovering more elements. After so, scientists started to organize the elements into a family tree of a sort and Bunsen then made a group of scientists to work on an early version of the periodic law. The group that Bunsen created also included the person that is said to have created the periodic table: Dmitri Mendeleev. Although Mendeleev didn’t work on his own to create the periodic table, he was indeed the person that gave the idea on how to group the elements in the periodic table.

Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Siberia and was the youngest in a family of 14 children; he lost his father at the age of 13 and his mother had to support everybody by working at a glass factory. The glass factory burned down not much later and forced Mendeleev’s mother to ride on horseback a total of 16 thousand miles so that Mendeleev could have an education. Soon after Mendeleev enrolled at the St. Petersburg University, his mother died and it was up to Mendeleev to become the person that his mother worked so hard for. Mendeleev was a brilliant student and many years later he started to study the nature of elements to find a way to organize the periodic table. Mendeleev and his rival, Julius Lothar Meyer, later on then publish their versions of the periodic table at the same time and end up having to split the pre-Nobel Prize called the “Davy Medal” in 1882. After obtaining the Nobel Prize, Meyer continued to show his value by proving several scientific theories to be correct and Mendeleev refused to believe that things like atoms and radioactivity existed. If you were to compare which of the two based on these achievements, you’d probably say that Meyer is better when really Mendeleev is a better choice later on.

Reasons as to why Mendeleev is a better choice is then explained in detail in the following paragraphs. Mendeleev understood certain traits about elements better, he realized that mercuric oxide didn’t actually contain a gas or metal like others believed, and also had a very deep knowledge as to how elements were supposed to be like. His deep knowledge on elements are the main reason as to how knew where to place the elements and eventually was able to place all 62 known elements in a spot. He then tried predicting the atomic weight and densities that the elements would have and ended up having several of them being correct. Later on, noble gases are said to have been discovered and were added to periodic table by placing them in a new column. Later on Darwin, Mendeleev, and Einstein are then said to have done most of their work, but not all of it. It then gives the history as to how six of the seven elements that were discovered in Ytterby were some of Mendeleev’s missing elements

Reflection:

Once again I enjoyed reading this chapter and I saw nothing wrong with what I had read. I enjoyed reading the stories that the several people in this chapter had and how many people used and organized the elements. If I had to say which story I enjoyed hearing the most, then it would be the story that Mendeleev had because of how he grew up from just a child in a struggling family to becoming somebody that his mother would be proud of. When it comes to the things that I learned, I’d say that I learned a lot from this chapter because I read a lot of information that I haven’t heard of before about the main people in this chapter. I also never noticed before just how much of a competition trying to becoming successful scientist just is; reading also made me wonder if there exists a scientist that created something that changed the world without the need of help. Overall, I once again enjoyed reading the chapters in this book.

Guided Questions:

1. Pre-reading: For some of the elements, it’s easy to see where their symbol and name comes from. Others have an interesting origin. Find out why lead has the symbol Pb. How is it related to the word plumber?

Lead has the symbol Pb because until not so long ago, water pipes were manufactured of lead and plumbers deal with water pipe problems. And Pb is another way to say “Plumber”.

2. Summarize the story of Robert Bunsen. What did he invent?

Robert Bunsen had always been interested in arsenic and had always wondered what possibilities he could create with it. One day he is experimenting and becomes half-blind due to an explosion that makes him put arsenic aside. He then creates a new tool called the spectroscope and advances the research on the periodic table.

3. In Chemistry, it’s often taught that Dmitri Mendeleev invented the periodic table and that’s all that is said, when in reality 6 people independently developed one. This happens often throughout history, as it is rare that only one person in the world has an idea all by themselves. Discuss another invention or discovery that is typically credited to one individual, when in reality the actual story is more complicated. Why does Mendeleev get the credit for the periodic table?

One person that is always credited for an amazing invention would be Thomas Edison. Although it is true that Edison did create the light bulb, Nikola Tesla also did too. The reason why Mendeleev got the main credit for the periodic table would be because he was able to place the elements while having them organized and because he was able to guess the atomic # and density of several elements.

4. How does thinking about the elements of the table relate to pieces of a puzzle, especially with his accomplishments?

The periodic table could relate itself with puzzle pieces because every single element in the periodic table is supposed to be in its own rightful position. If one part of the periodic table is messed, then everything in the periodic table is messed up.

5. We rarely hear about the mistakes of geniuses, just their accolades. What were some mistakes that Mendeleev made?

First of all, Mendeleev couldn’t explain the cause of periodicity in the elements; second of all, he placed elements according to their similarities in properties and not by the order of the atomic mass; and third of all, the position for the actinides and lanthanides were not shown in his version of the table.

6. A man named Antoine Lavoisier is often called the father of modern Chemistry, helping push to make Chemistry a more exact science. He also proved The Law of Conversion of Mass, showing that matter is neither gained nor lost during a chemical reaction. What was at least one thing that Lavoisier was incorrect about? How did Lavoisier die?

Antoine Lavoisier’s theory on acids was incorrect because “Hydro-halic” acids don’t contain oxygen and he sadly died on 1794 during the French Revolution by beheading.

7. Why is a little town  named Ytterby, Sweden probably the most significant place related to a periodic table?

Ytterby may be the most significant place related to the periodic table because a quarry in Ytterby had been hiding several different elements that had not been seen before.