History of the periodic table

The periodic table is an arrangement of the chemical elements, organized on the basis of their atomic numbers, electron configurations and recurring chemical properties. Elements are presented in order of increasing atomic number. The standard form of the table consists of a grid of elements, with rows called periods and columns called groups.

The history of the periodic table reflects over a century of growth in the understanding of chemical properties. The most important event in its history occurred in 1869, when the table was published by Dmitri Mendeleev, who built upon earlier discoveries by scientists such as Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier and John Newlands, but who is nevertheless generally given sole credit for its development.

A number of physical elements (such as platinum, tin and zinc) have been known from antiquity, as they are found in their native form and are relatively simple to mine with primitive tools. Around 330 BCE, the Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that everything is made up of a mixture of one or more roots, an idea that had originally been suggested by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles. The four roots, which were later renamed as elements by Plato, were earth, water, air and fire. Similar ideas about these four elements also existed in other ancient traditions, such as Indian philosophy. While Aristotle and Plato understood the concept of an element, their ideas did nothing to advance the understanding of the nature of matter.

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