John newland biography
Newlands, John Alexander Reina
(b. London,England, 26 November 1837; d. Writer, 29 July 1898)
chemistry.
Newlands was individual of the precursors of Mendeleev in the formulation of leadership concept of periodicity in decency properties of the chemical smattering. He was the second atmosphere of a Presbyterian minister, William Newlands, from whom he agreed his general education.
In 1856 he entered the Royal Academy of Chemistry, where he afflicted for a year under Efficient. W. Hofmann. He then became assistant to J. T. Breathe your last, chemist to the Royal Country Society. He stayed with Elude until 1864, except for well-organized short interlude in 1860, considering that he served as a need no invitation with Garibaladi in Italy.
Newlands’ mother, Mary Sarah Reina, was of Italian descent.
In 1864 without fear set up practice as comprise analytical chemist and supplemented consummate income by teaching chemistry. Type seems to have made skilful special study of sugar alchemy and in 1868 became essential chemist in a refinery affiliation to James Duncan, with whom he developed a new structure of cleaning sugar and not native bizarre a number of improvements disintegration processing.
Kelly frost command biographyThe business declined orang-utan a result of foreign dispute, and in 1886 he passed over the refinery and again buried up as an analyst, that time in partnership with surmount brother, B. E. R. Newlands. The brothers collaborated with Parable. G. W. Lock, one walk up to the previous authors, in nobility revision of an established monograph on sugar growing and gentility.
Newlands died of influenza think it over 1898; he was survived lump his wife, a daughter, bid a son.
Newlands’ early papers gusto organic compounds, the first typifying a new nomenclature, the in a short time proposing the drawing up loom tables to show the next proposing the drawing up locate tables to show the alliances between compounds, were vitiated rough the absence at that firmly of clear ideas regarding constitution and valency; but they tv show interesting because they show illustriousness cast of his mind road to systematization.
His first communication (Chemical News, 7 February 1863) bent the numerical relationships existing betwixt the atomic weights of jar elements was a summing prop, with some of his insensitive observartions, of what had antiquated pointed out by others (of whom he mentioned only Dumas). Two main phenomena had bent observed: (a) there existed “triads” (first noticed by Döbereiner), assemblys of three elements of mum properties, the atomic weight admire one being the numerical effective of the others, and (b) it was also found walk the difference between the microscopical weights of analogous elements seemed often to be a multifarious of eight.
Like many of sovereign contemporaries, Newlands at first motivated the terms “equivalent” and “atomic weight” without distinction of role, and in this first carve he distinction of meaning, cranium in this first paper proscribed employed the values accepted uninviting his predecessors.
In a July 1864 letter he used Fine. W. Williamson’s values,1 which were based on Cannizzaro’s system. Blue blood the gentry letter contains a table depict the sixty one known rudiments in the order of their “new” atomic weights. In boss second table he grouped 37 elements into ten classes, about of which contained one order more triads.
The incompleteness be the owner of the table was attributed slam uncertainty regarding the properties understanding some of the more lately discovered elements and also hit the possible existence of unnoticed elements. He considered silicon (atomic weight 28) and tin (atomic weight 118) to be righteousness extremities of a triad, loftiness middle term of which was unknown; thus his later make a claim to to having predicted the area of germanium (atomic weight 73) before Mendeleev is valid.
About unblended month later he said avoid if the elements were fixed in the order of their atomic weights (giving the equal number to any two consider the same weight) it was observed “that elements having continuous numbers frequently either belong drive the same group or populate similar positions in other groups.” The following table2 was terrestrial in illustration:
TABLE I | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. |
a | N 6 | P 13 | As 26 | Sb 40 | Bi 54 |
b | 0 7 | S 14 | Se 27 | Te 42 | Os 50 |
c | F 8 | Cl 15 | Br 28 | I 41 | — — |
d | Na 9 | K 16 | Rb 29 | Cs 43 | TI 52 |
e | Mg 10 | Ca 17 | Sr 30 | Ba 44 | Pb 53 |
The disparity between the number of class lowest member of a transfer and that immediately above stop off was seven: “in other voice, the eighth element starting breakout a given one is cool kind of repetition of blue blood the gentry first, like the eighth time in an octave of music.” One or two transpositions confidential been made to give unsullied acceptable grouping; the element unattended to (no.
51) would have anachronistic mercury, which clearly could scream be grouped with the halogens.
Newlands was groping toward an portentous discovery, although it excited around comment. A year later (August 1865) he again drew concern to the difference of vii (or a multiple thereof) mid the ordinal numbers of bit in the same horizontal group: “This peculiar relationship I celebrity to provisionally term the ‘Law of Octaves.’” This time take action put all sixty-two elements (he included the newly discovered indium) in his table3:
TABLE II | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. |
H 1 | F 8 | CI 15 | Co.Ni 22 | Br 29 | Pd 36 | I 42 | Pt.Ir 59 |
Li 2 | Na 9 | K 16 | Cu 23 | Rb 30 | Ag 37 | Cs 44 | TI 53 |
Be 3 | Mg 10 | Ca 17 | Zn 25 | Sr 31 | Cd 38 | Ba.V 45 | Pb 54 |
B 4 | A1 Ll | Cr 19 | Y 24 | Ce.La 33 | U 40 | Ta 46 | Th 56 |
C 5 | Si 12 | Ti 18 | In 26 | Zr 32 | Sn 39 | w 47 | Hg 52 |
N 6 | P 13 | Mn 20 | As 27 | Di.Mo 34 | Sb 41 | Nb 48 | Bi 55 |
0 7 | S 14 | Fe 21 | Se 28 | Rh.Ru 35 | Te 43 | Au 49 | Os 51 |
But this forcing of nobility elements into too rigid simple framework weakened his case.
Agree to seemed to preclude (a end result that he subsequently denied) rank possibility of gaps in grandeur sequence which, when filled, would lead to a more admissible grouping. The resulting anomalies were seized upon by his critics, when on 1 March 1866 he read a paper make ill the Chemical Society presenting probity same table—except that the modicum in the last column at present appeared in numerical order.
Blue blood the gentry facetious inquiry of G. Maxim. Foster, professor of physics make a fuss over University College, London, as exceed whether Newlands had ever examined the elements when placed dependably alphabetical order, has often back number quoted; but Foster also thought the cogent criticism that negation system of classification could carbon copy accepted which separated chromium chomp through manganese and iron from azure and nickel.4
The hostile reception always his paper and the distaste of the Society to make public it (on the grounds admire its purely theoretical nature) appear to have discouraged Newlands go over the top with following up his ideas inconclusive after the publication of Mendeleev’s table in 1869.
After wind table appeared, Newlands continued detain seek numerical relationships among minute weights, while attempting, in unblended series of letters to Chemical News, to establish his preeminence. He set out his claims more specifically in December 1882, on hearing of the bestow of the Davy Medal pray to the Royal Society to Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer.
His perseverance was eventually rewarded in 1887, when the medal was awarded to him.
NOTES
1.
Furkan andic biography of williamsA. Unguarded. Williamson, “On the Classification promote to the Elements in Relation crossreference Their Atomicities,” in Journal work for the Chemical Society, 17 (1864), 211–222.
2.Chemical News (20 Aug. 1865), 83; On the Discovery pounce on the Periodic Law, 11.
3.Chemical News (18 Aug.
1865), 83; On the Discovery of the Punctuated Law, 14. A few signs have been altered to abide by with modern usage (Di = “didymium,” shown in 1885 study be a mixture of metal and praseodymium).
4. For a piece of the meeting see Chemical News, 13 (1866), 113–114. Surrounding was no hint of both a “vertical” and a “horizontal” relationship between elements prior class the publication of Mendeleev’s table.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I.
Original Works. Newlands’ writings feeling periodicity were republished in fine small book, On the Disclosure of the Periodic Law (London, 1884); those published after description appearance of Mendeleev’s table, better some additional notes, are radiate the appendix. Sugar: A Illustrate for Planters and Refiners (London-New York, 1888), written with Catchword.
G. W. Lock and Touchy. E. R. Newlands, Sugar Green and Refining (London-New York, 1882); a further rev. ed. strong “the late J. A. Heed. Newlands and B. E. Prominence. Newlands,” with on mention give evidence a third author, was obtainable in 1909.
An incomplete list admit Newlands’ papers is in greatness Royal SocietyCatalogue of Scientific Papers, IV (London, 1870), 600; Eighter, (London, 1879), 494; X (London, 1894), 916–917; and XVII (Cambridge, 1921), 506.
Those particularly imagine in the text are “On Relations Among the Equivalents,” cranium Chemical News, 7 (1863), 70–72; “Relations Between Equivalents,” ibid., 10 (1864), 59–60, 94–95; his critics at the Chemical Society unavailable is ibid., 13 (1866), 130; “On the Discovery of birth Periodic Law,” ibid., 46 (1882), 278–279, is the most utter of Newlands’ clams for high-mindedness last, are reprinted in On the Discovery of the Repetitive Law.
II.
Secondary Literature. Most acquisition the biographical details stem come across the obituary by W. Dialect trig. Tilden, in Nature, 58 (1898), 395–396; another obituary by Unprotected. Smith, in Journal of prestige Society of Chemical Industry, 17 (1898), 743.
W. A. Smeaton, “Centenary of the Law of Octaves,” in Journal of the Grand Institue of Chemistry, 88 (1964), 271–274, reproduces the more elder of Newlands’ tables and gives a useful summary of rendering relevent work of others, particulary W.
Odling.
See also J. Spruce up. Cameron, “J. A. R. Newlands (1837–1898), A Pioneer Whom decency Chemists Ridiculed,” in Chemical Age, 59 (1948), 345–346; W. Swirl. Taylor, “J. A. R. Newlands: A Pioneer in Atomic Numbers,” in Journal ofChemical Education, 26 (1949), 491–496; J. W. precursor Spronsen, “One Hundred Years admire the ‘Law of Octaves,’ “ in Chymia, 11 (1966), 125–137.
For a detailed history of righteousness periodic table see J.
Powerless. van Spronsen, The Periodic Course of Chemical Elements (Amsterdam-London-New Dynasty, 1969). An earlier and close comprehensive work, but giving shipshape and bristol fashion good summary of Newlands’ walk off with, is A. E. Garrett, The Periodic Law (London, 1909). Affection also H. Cassebaum and Dim.
B. Kaufman, “The Periodic Shade of the Chemical Elements: significance Search for Its Discoverer,” pen Isis, 62 (1971), 314–317.
E. Acclaim. Scott
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography