Questions tagged [chemistry]
For questions about the study of chemical reactions, dynamics and related phenomena
103
questions
6
votes
1
answer
157
views
How did the concept of pH originate and develop?
Background & My research
To begin I did some research to find a few articles on the history of pH namely "The Symbol for pH" - William B. Jensen, "One-Hundred Years of pH" - ...
- 161
0
votes
0
answers
60
views
In JJ Thomson's cathode ray experiment I need values for the electric field and magnetic field when net force on the cathode beam = 0
I asked here as well https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/177889/in-jj-thomsons-cathode-ray-experiment-why-is-effects-of-gravity-on-electron-not
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
107
views
A summary of Major events in Pre-Modern Atomist Philosophy of Chemistry [closed]
When I started learning about Laws related to "constant proportions" and other hypothesis like "all matter is composed of smallest indivisible particles", I didn't notice it was ...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
45
views
What substances from the body did Boyle try when attempting to produce phosphorus?
According to Wikipedia, Hennig Brand discovered phosphorous. Later, Robert Boyle desired to replicate Brand's discovery, but didn't know that urine was used - only that it involved something that &...
- 101
1
vote
0
answers
22
views
Is there info on how Mayans invented hard rubber?
I know they had balls from the rubber trees mixed with morning glory flowers. A technology that was lost when the European colonizers came. But was there any info on who made this discovery and how?
user18836
2
votes
1
answer
119
views
What values of Avogadro's Number did Jean Perrin come up with?
I am currently plundering the contents of the $1969$ reprint of the 2nd edition of Data and Formulae for Engineering Students published by Pergamon International (authors J.C. Anderson, D.M. Hum, B.G. ...
- 1,237
1
vote
1
answer
65
views
What is the iodine fax process mentioned in Vannevar Bush's "As we may think"?
What is the iodine fax process mentioned in Vannevar Bush's "As we may think"?
Another process now in use is also slow, and more or less clumsy. For fifty years impregnated papers have been ...
1
vote
0
answers
84
views
First time equilibrium notation was used
I was wondering when was the first time that a chemist wrote a chemical equilibrium with the $\rightleftharpoons$ symbol. And if it was before or after Arrhenius's dissociation theory.
- 111
3
votes
1
answer
160
views
Are there substances that were initially thought to be elements but are actually compounds?
I am wondering what are good examples of substances that were initially thought to be elements but then were found out to be compounds. How exactly were these substances found to be compounds?
- 393
2
votes
1
answer
200
views
Were scientific discoveries ever inspired by art?
We can often see art that is influenced by science, be it in paintings, music, novels or movies. But has any idea from the arts ever influenced a scientist to come up with a new discovery or idea?
1
vote
0
answers
50
views
When was the hydrogen's absolute mass found first in history?
When was hydrogen's absolute mass i.e, in Kg, was found for the first time.
What method was used and what information from earlier researches were used for it?
Also was there any method at that time ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
122
views
How did Thomson claim that charge on hydrogen ion was equal to charge on electron without knowing charge on electron?
From "The Electron" by J. J. Thomson, published in The Scientific Monthly Vol. 20, No. 2 (Feb., 1925), pp. 113-115
https://www.jstor.org/stable/7115
[Continued discussion] previously ...
- 121
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
Were oxocarbons other than carbon monoxide/dioxide always classified as organic compounds?
The simplest and most common oxocarbons are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The general consensus is that they are inorganic (see: Is carbon dioxide organic or inorganic?). The other ...
- 260
3
votes
1
answer
143
views
How and when did scientists first determine that hydrogen was the lightest element?
Cavendish first isolated hydrogen and recognized it for what it was; Lavoisier realized that water consisted of hydrogen and oxygen; Dalton used hydrogen as the basis for relative atomic weights by ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
300
views
Naturally occurring elements in other planets and their natural satellites other than earth [closed]
Naturally occurring elements
Is it possible to find natural elements in other planets and their natural satellites other than planet earth?
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
91
views
Who coined the term "sulphuretted hydrogen"?
Hydrogen sulfide was previously named "sulphuretted hydrogen" but I can't find the person who named/coined it. Although Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited to have discovered and isolated the ...
- 260
0
votes
0
answers
81
views
When Was The Leidenfrost Effect First Demonstrated By Touching Molten Metal?
The Leidenfrost Effect is a described as follows on Wikipedia:
The Leidenfrost effect is a physical phenomenon in which a liquid,
close to a surface that is significantly hotter than the liquid's
...
- 101
2
votes
0
answers
383
views
When was the term "Sparingly soluble" first introduced in chemistry?
This question is inspired from: Why do we call salts such as AgCl sparingly soluble?
The extent of solubility can be expressed as descriptive terms. U.S. Pharmacopoeia has made the following ...
- 260
3
votes
0
answers
130
views
How did they explain the radiation from hot objects at different wavelengths before the concept of atom was widely accepted?
I was reading about blackbody radiation and came across the following quote.
Planck did not believe in atoms, nor did he think the second law of
thermodynamics should be statistical because ...
- 377
7
votes
1
answer
389
views
When was the geometric structure of a water molecule discovered?
How and when was water the structure of a water molecule (specifically the angles) discovered?
Was it discovered by using a specific type of spectroscopy?
I know you can derive these angles ...
- 181
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
What molecule's models might Linus Pauling be holding up in this photo? Perhaps something akin to pentagonal dodecahedrane, or could they be viruses?
The Chemistry SE question What dodecahedral molecule is Linus Pauling likely holding in this photograph? Does it have 40 carbon atoms? begins:
The video Quasicrystals ; Prof. Daniel Shechtman ; Nobel ...
- 2,098
2
votes
1
answer
123
views
Element classification by Döbereiner and Newland (law of octaves)
I have been recently studying periodic classification. I am having some confusion regarding old periodic classification.
Newland's law of octaves
In that you can see, in the 4th horizontal line, ...
5
votes
1
answer
268
views
Were Michael Sendivogius findings in Chemistry considered by him to be Alchemy?
According to Michael Sendivogius
Michael Sendivogius (/ˌsɛndɪˈvoʊdʒiəs/; Polish: Michał Sędziwój; 2
February 1566 – 1636) was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, and medical
doctor.
A pioneer of ...
- 247
3
votes
1
answer
474
views
Did the medieval Islamic scholar al-Tusi state the principle of conservation of mass?
This article: Farid Alakbarli, A 13th-Century Darwin? Tusi's Views on Evolution, Azerbaijan International (2001) claims that Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (13th century) stated an early version of the law of ...
- 2,678
2
votes
1
answer
187
views
History of word gram-atom / gram-molecule?
The terms "gram-atom / gram-molecule" are obsolete nowadays in chemistry and got replaced by the concept of "mole/ Avogadro Number". But recently, I encountered a question that can ...
- 23
6
votes
1
answer
459
views
What rule or rules did Madelung discover, exactly?
There are two widely used rules of thumb to determine which subshells are filled in a neutral atom in its ground state:
Electrons are assigned to subshells in order of increasing value of $n + \ell$.
...
- 311
1
vote
1
answer
103
views
Why didn't Boyle made a correlation between V and T of a gas (and similarly between P and T)?
I was just reading about The Gas Laws of Boyle, Charles and Avogadro from a general college book Chemistry (7th edition, Zumdahl&Zumdahl).
Boyle was the one who discovered a correlation between ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
104
views
What books did Lavoisier read?
I am interested in Antoine Lavoisier's intellectual formation/background.
Is there any available list of the books which Antoine Lavoisier read, especially ones on science/mathematics/philosophy (even ...
- 11
4
votes
2
answers
570
views
What is the evidence for the existence of Geber?
In an unrelated question, some users started arguing about the existence of Geber (Jabir ibn Hayyan - جابر بن حيّان) from 806−816 AD and pseudo-Geber (probably from 13th-14th century). This ...
- 2,678
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
When was mercury given its name?
The Wikipedia page for mercury says that it was named after the Roman god because of his speed and mobility. When did the name mercury start to be used to designate the metal?
- 281
1
vote
0
answers
132
views
Books on history of biochemistry
I am looking for books on the history of biochemistry. Searching online there are some short articles that can be found, which just mention a few highlights, but I haven't really found more ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
141
views
Did tobacco smoke confound the results of an experiment by entering a reaction with the subject of study?
I dimly remember watching a popular sciencie movie that mentioned an experiment conducted by a pair of great physisicists (Einstein was one of them, unless my memory is playing tricks on me) that had ...
- 131
6
votes
2
answers
350
views
How did Meyer know atomic volumes to plot them just before Mendeleev's periodic table?
Back to 1868, Mendeleev's periodic table has not been published yet, but we are quite there.
As a scientist, you're still struggling to identify very clearly these elements with limited means.
...
- 161
0
votes
0
answers
230
views
How is it possible that Pierre and Marie Curie's daughter Ève was so healthy?
I know that problems caused by radiation are pretty much random and unexpected at low levels of exposition but this randomness begins to be more probable when the exposition grows and this makes me ...
- 109
1
vote
0
answers
154
views
How did Faraday determine the Faraday's constant?
Here is the reference. I'm wondering how he experimentally proceeded to derive the fact the if we pass 96485 Coulombs through a solution, then 1 gram equivalent of substance is electrolyzed.
- 223
7
votes
2
answers
229
views
When was nicotine identified as an addictive substance?
I was watching a TV series (Godless) which is set in the Wild West in 1884. At some point they sing Don't forget the girls of LaBelle, which includes the following verses:
The Creole girl is a one-...
- 173
3
votes
3
answers
446
views
Did C.S Peirce make any noteworthy contributions to physics or chemistry?
According to this article
Peirce was the first to experimentally tie a unit, the meter, to an
absolute standard, the wavelength of a spectral line
Did C.S Peirce make any other noteworthy ...
- 1,516
0
votes
1
answer
178
views
Fritz Haber and nitrogen fixing: Was there a movement to increase the population?
I read a dramatic statistic something like 3 out of 5 living humans owe their existence to food that could be grown due to Haber's work. But was there a time when anyone said, we need to be able to ...
- 1,101
3
votes
0
answers
86
views
Was the wide use of mercury in experiments in the 19th century related to alchemy?
We know that Newton's hair samples showed high level of mercury and of course he used mercury like crazy in his alchemy experiments (as did many/all alchemists not just in the west but also China) and ...
- 1,101
5
votes
1
answer
144
views
Was Joseph Priestley "isolated"
Joseph Priestley is often said to have discovered Oxygen, or not due to calling it Dephlogisticated air - depending on one's preference. However, regardless of this, it is often said in popular ...
- 171
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Who was the first to weigh chemical reaction products?
It is said that Lavoisier and Lomonosov both discovered that the cumulated mass of reactants is conserved. My question is simple: who (and when) started weighing chemical products before and after ...
- 352
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
When did stoichiometry begin to be taught in U.S. high schools?
Stoichiometry, "the quantitative relationship between two or more substances especially in processes involving physical or chemical change" (Merriam-Webster), is currently a major part of the U.S. ...
- 472
1
vote
1
answer
547
views
Hydrogen electrode and its electrode potential
In electrochemistry, all electrode potentials are quoted with reference to the standard hydrogen electrode. Its value is assigned to be 0 volts. I have been searching for the origin of this convention ...
- 3,949
5
votes
1
answer
126
views
Looking for references to an experiment on the evaporation rate of water in sunlight
I remember reading a long time ago about some experiments measuring evaporation rate of water in large open containers (tubs) sitting on open ground. It was a simple experiment, each day the water ...
- 2,098
7
votes
0
answers
252
views
How did early physicists experimentally assign electronic transitions in atoms?
The spectrum of hydrogen was very well studied by the mid-19th century. However, if one were doing experimental spectroscopy for more complex atoms, one would see plenty of spectral lines in the ...
- 3,949
1
vote
0
answers
106
views
Is it a historical coincidence that relative atomic weights by chemical methods and mass spectrometry are very close?
The concept of relative atomic weight originated from measuring the combining weight of hydrogen with a certain element. In the simplification process H was taken as unity (18th, 19th and 20th century)...
- 3,949
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How did the early chemists determine the atomic weight of hydrogen?
In early history, the relative atomic weight of hydrogen was assigned as 1 (exactly) and all other elements were compared against hydrogen. What is difficult to find who determined the absolute atomic ...
- 3,949
3
votes
2
answers
582
views
How did the early chemists make a connection between gram formula weight with 1 mole and Avogadro's number?
According to one historian Mustafa Sarikaya's article in Foundations of Chemistry DOI 10.1007/s10698-011-9128-7, the mole concept was introduced to chemistry earlier than Avogadro’s number. The mole ...
- 3,949
1
vote
1
answer
410
views
Was the value of the mole invented or discovered in chemistry?
For example, $\pi$ is not an invention, it is a discovery which was natural, that is ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. But when we define a meter it is not a natural value it is ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Origins of molecular orbital diagrams?
Does anyone remember who proposed molecular diagrams for simple molecules as taught today in most general chemistry texts? I cannot access Hund's original article, however, Mulliken's early articles ...
- 3,949