Elements and the Periodic Table

Vasiliki Christopoulou and Theodore Arabatzis

Nov 55 min read

Control strategies in the discovery of Argon

Control strategies were integral parts of the research that led to the discovery of Argon.

K. Brad Wray

Aug 28, 20235 min read

Kuhn, the Discovery of Chemical Elements, and the Social Nature of Scientific Inquiry

Thomas Kuhn discusses the Chemical Revolution in some detail in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, that is, the great changes in...

Jonathon Hricko

Jan 20, 20224 min read

The True Story of How a False Theory Led to the Discovery of Boron

Can false theories successfully predict previously unknown phenomena? This post discusses one such example: the discovery of boron.

Sarah Hijmans

Nov 9, 20216 min read

How to identify simple substances: chlorine vs. oxymuriatic acid

How are simple substances identified when it is difficult to tell whether a substance has been decomposed or not?

Sarah Hijmans

Nov 2, 20206 min read

Who Discovered Aluminium - and why is that such a difficult question?

Starting from the history of aluminium, this piece reflects on the nature of scientific discovery.

Sarah Hijmans

Sep 21, 20206 min read

Andrés Manuel del Rio and the Two Discoveries of Vanadium

How come an element was forgotten for 30 years? This article tells the exciting story of the discovery, loss and rediscovery of vanadium.

Chris Campbell

Aug 28, 20204 min read

Josiah Parsons Cooke (1827-1894): the forgotten American precursor to the periodic table

Following the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, Chris Campbell highlights the forgotten work of Josiah Parsons Cooke (1827-1894).

Karoliina Pulkkinen

Jul 20, 20204 min read

What’s the point of looking into values in chemistry?

In his 1991 book Inference to the Best Explanation, Peter Lipton argued that identification of the best explanation out of a pool of...

Sarah Hijmans

Jul 1, 20204 min read

The Short History of (the Element) Jargonium

From 1869 to 1870, a new element was the object of a heated priority debate. Who deserved to be called the discoverer of jargonium?

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