The History of the Atom Theories and Models

Click to enlarge

All matter is made up of atoms. This is something we now take as a given, and one of the things you
learn right back at the beginning of high school or secondary school chemistry classes. Despite this, our
ideas about what an atom is are surprisingly recent: as little as one hundred years ago, scientists were
still debating what exactly an atom looked like. This graphic takes a look at the key models proposed for
the atom, and how they changed over time.

Though our graphic starts in the 1800s, the idea of atoms was around long before. In fact, we have to go
all the way back to Ancient Greece to find its genesis. The word atom actually comes from Ancient
Greek and roughly translates as indivisible. The Ancient Greek theory has been credited to several
different scholars, but is most often attributed to Democritus (460370 BC) and his mentor Leucippus .
Though their ideas about atoms were rudimentary compared to our concepts today, they outlined the idea
that everything is made of atoms, invisible and indivisible spheres of matter of infinite type and number.

These scholars imagined atoms as varying in shape depending on the type of atom. They envisaged iron
atoms as having hooks which locked them together, explaining why iron was a solid at room temperature.
Water atoms were smooth and slippery, explaining why water was a liquid at room temperature and could
be poured. Though we now know that this is not the case, their ideas laid the foundations for future
atomic models.
It was a long wait, however, before these foundations were built upon. It wasnt until 1803 that the English
chemist John Dalton started to develop a more scientific definition of the atom. He drew on the ideas of
the Ancient Greeks in describing atoms as small, hard spheres that are indivisible, and that atoms of a
given element are identical to each other. The latter point is one that pretty much still holds true, with the
notable exception being isotopes of different elements, which differ in their number of neutrons. However,
since the neutron wouldnt be discovered until 1932, we can probably forgive Dalton this oversight. He
also came up with theories about how atoms combine to make compounds, and also came up with the
first set of chemical symbols for the known elements.

Daltons outlining of atomic theory was a start, but it still didnt really tell us much about the nature of
atoms themselves. What followed was another, shorter lull where our knowledge of atoms didnt progress
all that much. There were some attempts to define what atoms might look like, such as Lord Kelvins
suggestion that they might have a vortex-like structure, but it wasnt until just after the turn of the 20th
Century that progress on elucidating atomic structure really started to pick up.

The first breakthrough came in the late 1800s when English physicist Joseph John (JJ) Thomson
discovered that the atom wasnt as indivisible as previously claimed. He carried out experiments using
cathode rays produced in a discharge tube, and found that the rays were attracted by positively charged
metal plates but repelled by negatively charged ones. From this he deduced the rays must be negatively
charged.

By measuring the charge on the particles in the rays, he was able to deduce that they were two thousand
times lighter than hydrogen, and by changing the metal the cathode was made from he could tell that
these particles were present in many types of atoms. He had discovered the electron (though he referred
to it as a corpuscle), and shown that atoms were not indivisible, but had smaller constituent parts. This
discovery would win him a Nobel Prize in 1906.

In 1904, he put forward his model of the atom based on his findings. Dubbed The Plum Pudding Model
(though not by Thomson himself), it envisaged the atom as a sphere of positive charge, with electrons
dotted throughout like plums in a pudding. Scientists had started to peer into the atoms innards, but
Thomsons model would not hang around for long and it was one of his students that provided the
evidence to consign it to history.

Ernest Rutherford was a physicist from New Zealand who studied at Cambridge University under
Thomson. It was his later work at the University of Manchester which would provide further insights into
the insides of an atom. This work came after he had already received a Nobel Prize in 1908 for his
investigations into the chemistry of radioactive substances.

Rutherford devised an experiment to probe atomic structure which involved firing positively charged alpha
particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. The alpha particles were so small they could pass through the gold
foil, and according to Thomsons model which showed the positive charge diffused over the entire atom,
the should do so with little or no deflection. By carrying out this experiment, he hoped to be able to
confirm Thomsons model, but he ended up doing exactly the opposite.

During the experiment, most of the alpha particles did pass through the foil with little or no deflection.
However, a very small number of the particles were deflected from their original paths at very large
angles. This was completely unexpected; as Rutherford himself observed, It was almost as incredible as
if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you. The only possible
explanation was that the positive charge was not spread throughout the atom, but concentrated in a
small, dense centre: the nucleus. Most of the rest of the atom was simply empty space.

Rutherfords discovery of the nucleus meant the atomic model needed a rethink. He proposed a model
where the electrons orbit the positively charged nucleus. While this was an improvement on Thomsons
model, it didnt explain what kept the electrons orbiting instead of simply spiralling into the nucleus.
Enter Niels Bohr. Bohr was a Danish physicist who set about trying to solve the problems with
Rutherfords model. He realised that classical physics could not properly explain what was going on at the
atomic level; instead, he invoked quantum theory to try and explain the arrangement of electrons. His
model postulated the existence of energy levels or shells of electrons. Electrons could only be found in
these specific energy levels; in other words, their energy was quantised, and couldnt take just any value.
Electrons could move between these energy levels (referred to by Bohr as stationary states), but had to
do so by either absorbing or emitting energy.

Bohrs suggestion of stable energy levels addressed the problem of electrons spiralling into the nucleus to
an extent, but not entirely. The exact reasons are little more complex than were going to discuss here,
because were getting into the complex world of quantum mechanics; and as Bohr himself said, If
quantum mechanics hasnt profoundly shocked you, you havent understood it yet. In other words, it gets
kind of weird.

Bohrs model didnt solve all the atomic model problems. It worked well for hydrogen atoms, but couldnt
explain observations of heavier elements. It also violates the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, one of the
cornerstones of quantum mechanics, which states we cant know both the exact position and momentum
of an electron. Still, this principle wasnt postulated until several years after Bohr proposed his model.
Despite all this, Bohrs is probably still the model of the atom youre most familiar with, since its often the
one first introduced during high school or secondary school chemistry courses. It still has its uses too; its
quite handy for explaining chemical bonding and the reactivity of some groups of elements at a simple
level.

At any rate, the model still required refining. At this point, many scientists were investigating and trying to
develop the quantum model of the atom. Chief amongst these was Austrian physicist Erwin Schrdinger,
who youve probably heard of before (hes the guy with the cat and the box). In 1926 Schrdinger
proposed that, rather than the electrons moving in fixed orbits or shells, the electrons behave as waves.
This seems a little weird, but you probably already recall that light can behave as both a wave and a
particle (whats known as a wave-particle duality), and it turns out electrons can too.

Schrdinger solved a series of mathematical equations to to come up with a model for the distributions of
electrons in an atom. His model shows the nucleus surrounding by clouds of electron density. These
clouds are clouds of probability; though we dont know exactly where the electrons are, we know theyre
likely to be found in given regions of space. These regions of space are referred to as electron orbitals.
Its perhaps understandable why high school chemistry lessons dont lead in straight with this model,
though its the accepted model today, because it takes a little more time to get your head around!

Schrdingers wasnt quite the last word on the atom. In 1932, the English physicist James Chadwick (a
student of Ernest Rutherford) discovered the existence of the neutron, completing our picture of the
subatomic particles that make up an atom. The story doesnt end there either; physicists have since
discovered that the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus are themselves divisible into particles
called quarks but thats beyond the scope of this post! At any rate, the atom gives us a great example of
how scientific models can change over time, and shows how new evidence can lead to new models.

Enjoyed this post & graphic? Consider supporting Compound Interest on Patreon, and get previews of
upcoming posts & more!
The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.

References & Further Reading

The development of the atomic model R Allain, Wired

Models of the atom M Fowler
History and philosophy of science through models: some challenges in the case of the atom ()
R Justi and J Gilbert
A Brief Guide to the Twenty Common Amino Acids

click to enlarge
The proteins that make up living organisms are huge molecules, but theyre composed of tinier
building blocks, known as amino acids. There are over 500 amino acids found in nature, yet, of
these, the human genetic code only directly codes for 20. Every protein in your body is made up
of some linked combination of these amino acids this graphic shows the structure of each, as
well as giving a little information on the notation used to represent them.
 Broadly, these twenty amino acids can be sorted into two groups: essential and non-essential.
Non-essential amino acids are those which the human body is capable of synthesising, whereas
essential amino acids must be obtained from the diet. The non-essential amino acids are alanine,
arginine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and
tyrosine; some of these can also be termed conditionally essential, meaning that they may be
needed from the diet during illness or as a result of health problems. This sub-category includes
arginine, glycine, cysteine, tyrosine, proline, and glutamine. The essential amino acids are
histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.
Amino acids cant be stored by the body in the same manner as fat and starch, so its important
that we obtain those that we cannot synthesise from our diet. Failure to do so can lead to
inhibition of protein synthesis in the body, which can have a wide range of subsequent health
effects. Amino acids are obtained from the breakdown of protein in the diet, so a diet deficient in
protein can impact on essential amino acid intake.
Because the proteins formed by amino acids can be incredibly large molecules, itd be very time
consuming and difficult to draw out the chemical structure of them in the same way we do for
smaller molecules. For this reason, the common amino acids that make up proteins are given
codes that can be used to represent them when they occur in molecules, to make describing the
structure of proteins easier. Both three letter and one letter codes exist; the origin of the one letter
codes was due to the requirement, back when computers were older and clunkier, to reduce the
size of files being used to describe the sequences of amino acids making up proteins. These one
letter codes were developed by Dr. Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, considered a pioneer in the field of
bioinformatics (using software and information systems to store, organise, and interpret biological
data).
Although this chart shows the 20 amino acids the human genetic code directly codes for, there
has been some debate over whether or not another amino acid should be classified as the 21st.
Selenocysteine is an amino acid which is found in a small number of human proteins; unlike the
20 pictured here, however, it is not coded for directly, but in a special manner. Yet another,
pyrrolysine, is coded for in a similar manner, and considered the 22nd amino acid.
(Note: Another manner in which the amino acids can be divided up is based upon their physical
properties. You can see a summary of this method of categorising the amino acids here.)

You can also download a version of the graphic which shows DNA codons for each of the amino
acids, as well as the structures at physiological (body) pH.

The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.

A Periodic Table of Rejected Element Names

 Click to enlarge

Extremium, catium, cyclonium and pandemonium: elements that you wont find in the periodic table in
classrooms and laboratories. However, theyre all names that have been suggested but rejected for
elements in years gone by. This table takes a look at some of the different names that have been
suggested or used in the past for various elements; below, we examine their origins, and the reasons for
their rejection.

The research for this post was primarily done using The Lost Elements: The Periodic Tables Shadow
Side, which details the history of erroneous element discoveries and naming controversies. Its well worth
checking out for a lot more detail on the history of some of the names featured here, as well as that of
many more.

Element 4: Glucinium (Beryllium)

The French chemist, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, examined both emerald and beryl and correctly reported
that they contained a new element in 1798. He named this element glucine, with the symbol Gl, but as
this name was very similar to that of the amino acid glycine it was criticised. When the first samples of the
element were later isolated in 1828, the acceptance of the name beryllium, suggested by another
chemist, Martin Henrich Klaproth, became more widespread. However, it wasnt until 1949 that IUPAC
ruled the element should be exclusively called beryllium.

Element 5: Boracium (Boron)

Boron was isolated at the same time by the French chemists Louis-Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis-
Jacques Thnard, as well as the English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy, in 1808. Davy proposed the name
of boracium for the element, which was eventually modified to boron.

Element 7: Azote (Nitrogen)

Antoine Lavoisier discovered element 7 in 1776, and later proposed the name azote. Other chemists
werent enamoured with this name, however, and it eventually became nitrogen.

Element 9: Fluore (Fluorine)

Though chemists didnt isolate fluorine until 1886, in 1816 Andr-Marie Ampre proposed that
hydrofluoric acid, like hydrochloric acid, was a binary compound consisting of hydrogen and another
element. He proposed the name of fluor or phtore for this element, but left the choice to the English
chemist Sir Humphrey Davy, with whom he had corresponded on the subject. This eventually became the
elements current name, fluorine.

Element 10: Novum (Neon)

Neon was discovered by the Scottish scientist Sir William Ramsay, who also discovered all of the other
elements in group 18 of the periodic table (bar the recently discovered element 118). He discovered neon
in 1898, and decided to use as the elements name the suggestion of his 13 year old son, novum.
However, Ramsay wanted the name to be derived from Greek, like the other noble gases he had
discovered, so he made the slight modification to the elements current name, neon.

Element 12: Magnium (Magnesium)

Sir Humphrey Davy isolated magnesium in 1808, and called it magnium. He named it this, rather than
magnesium after the oxide from which it had been obtained (magnesia alba), because he didnt want the
name to be confused with that of another element, manganese. However, the name magnesium
persisted, though magnium is still used in some countries. Talcinium was another suggested name, which
came later in 1828, though this wasnt a suggestion that was given serious credence.

Element 21: Gadenium (Scandium)

In 1886, a Scotsman, Alexander Pringle, claimed to have discovered four new elements, named
polymnestum, erebodium, gadenium and hesperisium. Unfortunately for Pringle, his determination of the
atomic weights of these elements was pretty poor, and additionally hed failed to describe any new
elements. Its most likely that gadenium was actually the already discovered scandium, perhaps also
contaminated with iron. The other new elements were similarly simply incorrect deductions by Pringle,
and were most likely mixtures of elements already in existence.

Element 22: Menachite (Titanium)

Englishman William Gregor discovered titanium in 1789, and gave it the name menachite after the black
sand in which he found it. Five years later, Martin Henrich Klaproth discovered the same element, naming
it titanium, and didnt realise it was identical to Gregors element until three years later. Despite Gregors
priority, titanium stuck as the name of the element, and menachite was forgotten.

Element 23: Panchromium (Vanadium)

Element 23 was discovered in 1801 by Spanish-Mexican Andrs Manuel de Ro, who named it
panchromium due to the wide variety of colours its salts exhibited. He later changed the name to
erythronium, but when his correct claim for this being a new element was erroneously challenged, he
retracted his discovery. Element 23 was rediscovered in 1831 by the Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel
Sefstrm, who chose the name vanadium for the element, whilst confirming the original discovery of Ro
to be correct.

In 1879, Arcangelo Scacchi, an Italian mineralogist, claimed the discovery of a new element in the crusts
left over by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius over two centuries earlier. He named this element vesbium
after the volcano. Later analysis showed that this element was merely vanadium.

Element 32: Neptunium (Germanium)

If youre familiar with the periodic table, youll know that neptunium is the name of an element but its
element 93, not element 32. The german chemist Clemens A. Winkler isolated element 32 in 1886, and
originally wanted to call it neptunium. However, he soon realised that this name had been used for the
erroneous claimed discovery of a new element by John Herschel 30 years or so earlier. So that the two
wouldnt be confused, he named his element germanium instead.

Element 33: Polymnestum (Arsenic)

A name given by Alexander Pringle to another of his erroneously claimed new elements (see element
21). Polymnestums proposed atomic weight and description corresponds most closely to that of arsenic,
which was already known.

Element 34: Hesperisium (Selenium)

Another of Alexander Pringles failed elements. His description of hesperisium corresponds closely to that
of selenium, already known at the time.

Element 35: Muride (Bromine)

Element 35 was discovered by a Frenchman, Antoine-Jrme Balard, and he suggested the name
muride. However, the French Academy of Sciences proposed brome, which eventually became bromine.

Element 36: Eosium (Krypton)

Element 36, another noble gas, was of course discovered by Sir William Ramsey, who discovered the
whole family. A friend with whom he worked on the discovery, Marcellin Berthelot, suggested the name of
eosium, derived from the Greek for dawn. However, this clearly wasnt a suggestion that Ramsay took
on board, as he gave the element the name krypton.

Element 39: Lucium (Yttrium)

In 1896 a French chemist, Prosper Barrire, claimed the discovery of a new element which he named
lucium. However, later spectral analysis of the samples showed them to be nothing more than impure
yttrium. Oddly, this represented the only article Barrire ever published, and it was supposedly endorsed
by several renowned chemists at the time, who later denied their involvement.

Element 41: Columbium (Niobium)

The English chemist, Charles Hatchett, claimed the discovery of a new element that he called columbium
in 1801. After the discovery of tantalum a year later, it was thought that columbium and tantalum were
one and the same. However, subsequently, another chemist, Heinrich Rose, suggested that the mineral
in which columbium was found actually contained tantalum and two other elements. These he named
niobium and pelopium. Later, columbium and niobium were actually shown to be the same element not
columbium and tantalum.

This confusion is reflected in periodic tables from the time. Both columbium and niobium were used to
refer to element 41 up until 1949, when IUPAC ruled that niobium should be the official name of the
element.

Element 42: Erebodium (Molybdenum)

Another of Alexander Pringles failed elements (see element 21), which most closely corresponded to the
already known molybdenum.

Element 43: Masurium (Technetium)

Element 43 doesnt occur naturally outside of uranium deposits, where it is created in very small amounts
as a fleeting byproduct of spontaneous fission, before it too decays. German chemists Walter & Ida
Noddack claimed the discovery of element 43 in 1925, at the same time they discovered rhenium, and
named it masurium after a region of modern-day Poland. However, other chemists cast doubt on their
discovery of the element, and it was never corroborated by independent experiments. It was later created
artificially by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segr in 1936, and named technetium.

Element 43s naming history doesnt stop there though it also has links with rhenium, as well discover
when we evaluate the history of element 75s name.

Element 44: Polinium (Ruthenium)

Ruthenium was discovered in 1844 by Karl Ernst Klaus, born in present-day Tartu, Estonia (then part of
Russia). Polinium was the name proposed by Gottfried Wilhelm Osann, who claimed he had discovered it
back in 1828. However, his element is thought to have been merely impure iridium and Osann had
previously as much as admitted this himself, scuppering his claim.

Element 46: Ceresium (Palladium)

Palladium was discovered by William John Hyde Wollaston in 1803. He originally proposed calling the
element ceresium, but as the very similar name cerium was proposed for the first of the lanthanide
elements before he published his results, he changed the name to palladium instead.

Element 48: Melinum (Cadmium)

Cadmium was discovered by two chemists, Friedrich Stromeyer and Karl Hermann, simultaneously.
Later, another chemist, Karl Karsten, thought he had discovered a new element in zinc deposits that he
named melinum; later, this was shown to be merely cadmium.

Element 52: Pilsum (Tellurium)

Element 52 was originally discovered in 1782 by a Hungarian scientist, Ferenc Mller von Reichenstein,
who gave it the catchy name of metallicum problematicum. It was later rediscovered in 1789 by another
Hungarian, Pl Kitaibel, who named it pilsum. The German Martin Heinrich Klaproth also isolated it in
1798, and it was he who gave it its present name of tellurium.

Element 56: Plutonium (Barium)

In 1812, Edward Daniel Clarke claimed the discovery of element 56, and proposed the name plutonium.
However, this was rejected by other chemists who had also isolated the element, who preferred barium.
Plutonium, of course, eventually made it to the periodic table as element 94 instead.

Element 58: Ochroite (Cerium)

Martin Heinrich Klaproth (yes, him again) discovered element 58 in 1803, at the same time as Jns Jakob
Berzelius. Klaproth proposed the name ochroite, but Berzelius won out with his suggestion of cerium.

Element 60: Didymium (Neodymium)

Neodymium and praseodymium (element 61) were once mistaken to be just one element, didymium.
Discovered in 1842, it was over 40 years before its dual nature was eventually realised.

Element 61: Florentium (Promethium)

Florentium was the name given to element 61 in 1924 when its discovery was claimed by Italian scientists
Luigi Rolla and Lorenzo Fernandes. The name was after the Italian city of Florence. However, their
findings were later shown to be erroneous.

Element 62: Decipium (Samarium)

The name decipium was given to element 62 by Swiss chemist Marc Delafontaine in 1878, who later
realised hed actually had a mixture of several elements including element 62. Before he realised this,
French chemist Paul mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran had isolated the elements oxide in 1879, and he
named it samarium. After the mineral in which it was found. This in turn was named after an obscure
Russian mining engineer, Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, making him technically the first person to have an
element named after them.

Element 67: Philippium (Holmium)

Element 67 was also discovered by Marc Delafontaine in 1878, and he named it philippium. It was later
rediscovered, and named holmium; this name had already passed into common usage by the time
Delafontaines priority was established.

Element 70: Aldebaranium (Ytterbium)

Elements 70 and 71 were discovered at similar times by two different chemists: Frenchman Georges
Urbain and Austrian Carl Auer von Welsbach. Welsbach wanted to name element 70 Aldebaranium,
though Urban was credited wit the discovery of both, and chose neb-ytterbium (later changed to simply
ytterbium).

Element 71: Cassiopeium (Lutetium)

See above; Welsbachs chosen name for lutetium was cassiopeium. Urbains was lutecium, later changed
to present-day lutetium.

Element 72: Celtium (Hafnium)

Element 72s discovery was initially claimed in 1911 by Georges Urbain, who named it celtium. However,
he later realised that his claim was erroneous. Despite this, there was still debate over this name, and the
name later given to the element, hafnium. IUPAC ruled in favour of hafnium in 1930.
Element 74: Scheelium (Tungsten)

Scheelium was the name proposed by Martin Heinrich Klaproth to honour Carl Wilhem Scheele, who had
first identified the element in mineral deposits. However, this name was rejected.

Element 75: Nipponium (Rhenium)

Rhenium was discovered and named by German chemists Walter & Ida Noddack, but may actually have
been discovered in 1908 by Japanese chemist Masataka Ogawa. However, he thought he had
discovered element 43. He proposed the name nipponium, after Japan, but his findings were not
confirmed to be element 43, and as such his claim was unsuccessful. Later analysis suggests that he had
actually discovered element 75, rhenium, immediately below element 43 (technetium) in the table.

This still goes down as an erroneous discovery, simply because Ogawa never realised hed isolated a
different element. Its an interesting one though, because Japanese scientists might want to name
element 113 nipponium, having been credited with its discovery. IUPAC rules state that elements cant
take a name previously suggested for another element, however. That said, well find that IUPAC dont
exactly stick rigidly to that rule

Element 85: Anglo-Helvetium (Astatine)

Astatine was the victim of a number of false discoveries, and hence has a range of fleetingly used names.
These include dor, viennium, alabamine, and leptine. Anglo-helvetium was another claimed discovery,
from a collaboration between the Swiss Walter Minder and the English Alice Leigh-Smith. They named
their proposed element anglo-helvetium after their collaboration, but when their experiments were
repeated no evidence of the element was found.

Element 86: Niton (Radon)

Niton was one of the names proposed by Sir William Ramsay for element 86. This name was accepted by
the International Committee of Atomic Weights in 1912, but later its name was later changed to that
suggested by the German Friedrich Ernst Dorn, Radon. Radon was also commonly known as emanation,
even as late as the 1960s.

Element 87: Catium (Francium)

Francium has had a range of proposed names over the years: alkalinium, russium, virginium, and
moldavium have all been proposed as a consequence of claimed discoveries. Catium was the name
proposed by its eventual genuine discoverer, Margeurite Perey, a French physicist. However, it was
rejected by one of her supervisors, Irne Joliot-Curie (Marie Curies daughter), who thought it would just
bring the image of cats to the minds of English chemists, instead of the word cation which was intended.
Perry subsequently suggested Francium instead.

Element 88: Masrium (Radium)

In 1892, chemists Henry Droop Richmond and Hussein Off claimed to have found a new element in a
mineral found in remote Egypt. They named the element masrium after Egypt. The atomic weight of the
element they reported would have been that of radium, unknown at the time, but there is no doubt that
their analyses were flawed, and they had not, in fact, discovered a new element.

Element 89: Emanium (Actinium)

Element 89 was discovered twice: first by Andr-Louis Debierne in 1899, who named it actinium, and
independently by Friedrich Oskar Giesel in 1902, who named it emanium. As Debierne had priority, his
name stuck.

Element 91: Brevium (Protactinium)

An isotope of protactinium was first discovered by Kasimir Fajans and Oswald Helmuth Ghring in 1913;
they named it brevium due to the fact that it had a very short half life. Later in 1917, Lise Meitner and Otto
Hahn discovered a more stable isotope, naming it protactinium, and it is this name that the element
carries today.

Element 92: Klaprothium (Uranium)

Martin Friedrich Klaproth isolated the element uranium in 1789. He originally named it uranit, after the
recently discovered planet uranus, and later changed this to uranium. Later, it was proposed by some that
the element should be named klaprothium after its discover, but this suggestion was rejected.

Element 93: Ausonium (Neptunium)

Enrico Fermi, the famous Italian physicist, claimed the discovery of element 93 and element 94 in 1934.
He proposed the name Ausonium for element 93, and the name Hesperium for element 94 both were
based on ancient names for Italy. Several days after winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry, for both his
research on uranium and his discovery of the two new elements, it was shown that the uranium decay
series he claimed produced the elements only produced uranium isotopes. Element 93 was later
produced in 1940, and named neptunium.

Element 94: Extremium (Plutonium)

Extremium was reportedly one of the names considered by US chemists on their discovery of element 94
in 1940. However, the eventually settled on Plutonium (with Seaborgs little joke of its symbol being Pu
instead of Pl) in order to continue the series of planet-based element names.

Element 95: Pandemonium (Americium)

The discovery of elements 95 and 96 in 1945 spurred a host of suggestions for their names. Glenn
Seaborg reportedly related that his colleague, Tom Morgan, referred to elements 95 and 96 as
pandemonium and delirium. Supposedly, he considered proposing these names to IUPACs naming
committee. Though a large number of names were suggested, Seaborg eventually plumped for
americium for element 95.

Element 96: Bastardium (Curium)

Bastardium was one of the suggestions to Glenn Seaborg for element 96s name, supposedly alluding to
the mythical tale of plutos rape of persephone, and presumably therefore providing a tenuous link to
plutonium. Unsurprisingly, it wasnt selected to be the elements official name!

Element 97: Mendelevium (Berkelium)

Although element 97 was discovered in 1949, Soviet Union scientists also claimed its discovery shortly
after, and proposed the name mendelevium. Although their claim was rejected, they eventually got their
wish for an element named after the father of the modern periodic table, as element 101 was named
mendelevium.
Element 98: Cyclonium (Californium)

One of the many proposed names for element 98, after the cyclotrons used to create the superheavy
elements.

Element 99: Losalium (Einsteinium)

Element 99 was discovered by a number of laboratories simultaneously in the early 1950s. Losalium was
the name suggested by a team in Los Alamos, but it eventually ended up being named Einsteinium by
Glenn Seaborg.

Element 100: Phoenicium (Fermium)

One of the proposed names for element 100 was phoenicium, suggested by scientists at Argonne
National Laboratory near Chicago. However, this was rejected in favour of its eventual name, Fermium.
Other suggested names included centurium, uclasium, and arconium.

Element 102: Joliotium (Nobelium)

The elements after fermium were involved in the transfermium wars arguments between different
teams of scientists who claimed to have discovered the elements first, and therefore had the right to
propose their names. Element 102s discovery was claimed in the early 1960s by various teams from
Sweden, the USA, and Russia, but it is now widely accepted that the Russian teams work had priority,
and they are officially recognised as the discoverers of the element.

The Russian team proposed the name of Joliotium for the element, but the Swedish team had also
claimed priority, and named the element Nobelium. However, their results could not be replicated, and
they later retracted their claim. Despite this, their name suggestion had been immediately approved by
IUPAC, and the name was again ratified in 1994, on the basis that it had passed into common usage.

Element 104: Kurchatovium (Rutherfordium)

Element 104s discovery was claimed by both Russian and US scientists. The Russians wanted to name
it kurchatovium, after their former head of nuclear research. The Americans, however, won out with their
claim for priority, and named the element Rutherfordium.

Element 105: Nielsbohrium (Dubnium)

Another disputed discovery between Russian and US scientists. The Russian scientists proposed
nielsbohrium, after the Danish scientist Niels Bohr, whereas the US scientists proposed hahnium after
German chemist Otto Hahn. The dispute wasnt resolved until 1997, when dubnium was agreed on as a
compromise name, after Dubna in Russia.

Element 106: Alvarezium (Seaborgium)

Alberto Ghiorso, in charge of research into new elements at Berkeley, wanted to name element 106
alvarezium, after physicist Luis Walter Alvarez. However, his team werent enamoured with the
suggestion, and eventually they suggested seaborgium, after Glenn Seaborg. This caused some
controversy, as Seaborg was still alive at the time, and IUPAC rules state that elements cant be named
after living people. As such, the name was rejected, and rutherfordium was the name given to the
element by IUPAC instead. This didnt go down well with the American Chemical Society, who essentially
complained until IUPAC reconsidered the decision. The name rutherfordium was instead given to element
104.
Element 109: Hahnium (Meitnerium)

Another of the disputed elements, hahnium was the name suggested for element 109 by Russian
scientists, after German chemist Otto Hahn. That it ended up being named meitnerium instead, after Lise
Meitner, is seen by many to be a fair reflection of the snubbing of Meitner for a Nobel Prize. Hahn
received a Nobel Prize for his on nuclear fission, despite the fact that she was also instrumental in the
work. Its perhaps fitting then, that Meitner gets an element named after her, whereas Hahns name cant
be suggested as an element name again due to IUPAC rules that state a rejected name cant be reused.

Element 114: Russium (Flerovium)

Russium was a suggested name for element 114 but was rejected due to it having previously been
suggested for a false discovery of element 43. However, the eventual name given to the element,
flerovium, had also been previously suggested and rejected for element 102. Under IUPAC rules, this
should mean that the name doesnt get another shot at being used for another element; its unclear why
IUPAC overlooked their own rule in this particular case.

Element 116: Leosium (Livermorium)

Leosium had already been suggested as the name of element 43 after an unconfirmed discovery, so
IUPAC rules stated that it could not be used again. Element 116 was eventually named livermorium, after
the laboratory in which it was discovered.

Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118

These elements are the most recently discovered in the periodic table. Though a multitude of names have
been suggested for these elements, they arent included here as no final name has yet been decided for
them. You can see a selection of the suggestions here.

Enjoyed this post & graphic? Consider supporting Compound Interest on Patreon, and get previews of
upcoming posts & more!

The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.

References & Further Reading

The lost elements: the periodic tables shadow side () M Fontani & others
Names that didnt make it P van der Krogt

The chemistry of Giant Hogweed and how it causes skin burns

 Click to enlarge

Brushing past a plant in the undergrowth whilst out walking might sound fairly innocuous. In the case of
Giant Hogweed, however, its anything but. This plants sap can cause burns and blistering after contact,
and thereve been an increasing number of articles warning of the danger it poses over the past few
months. Here, we take a look at the chemical compounds behind the saps unpleasant effects.

Giant Hogweed is a plant that was originally native to Central Asia. However, it made its way to the UK as
a result of it being brought over for display in ornamental gardens, and it has subsequently reached a
number of other countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada. Unlike some other
imported plants, such as Rhododendrons, it doesnt pose much of a threat to indigenous plants, but it can
have some nasty consequences for humans if we come into contact with its sap.

Giant Hogweed sap contains, amongst other constituents, a family of compounds known as
furanocoumarins (sometimes also referred to as furocoumarins). These compounds are the key to the
effects of Giant Hogweed sap. They are found throughout the entire plant: the flowers, the stems, the
roots, the seeds; but they are found at their highest concentrations in the leaves.

Their phototoxic effects are due to their interaction with DNA when they absorb UV light of a specific
wavelength. The sun gives off UV radiation as well as visible light which is the reason we have to slap
on the sunscreen in the summer and UV radiation with a wavelength between 320-380 nanometres can
trigger the effects of furanocoumarins. This falls into the band of UV radiation referred to as UV-A
radiation (320-400 nm) which accounts for 95% of the UV radiation from the sun that reaches the Earths
surface.

Furanocoumarins can react with our DNA when exposed to UV-A radiation. DNA is made up of several
components (theres more detail on its composition here), and one set of components are the bases that
help hold DNA strands together. Furanocoumarins can react with these bases to form adducts, damaging
it. These adducts can then go on to react with other bases in the DNA strands on exposure to further UVA
radiation, resulting in crosslinks between strands. Ultimately, this can cause cell death, and results in the
characteristic skin reddening and blisters seen on exposure to Giant Hogweed sap.

Some cases of exposure to the sap have been so severe that those exposed to it have required
hospitalisation. The blistering can take up to 48 hours to appear, and so measures can be taken if contact
with the sap is suspected. Its advised that any affected areas should be washed thoroughly with soap
and water, and any skin that has been exposed to the sap should be protected from sunlight for several
days. Its advisable to seek medical treatment if any skin inflammation subsequently occurs.

In the UK it is illegal to plant or facilitate the spread of Giant Hogweed and councils take active measures
to remove it when its presence is reported. Despite this its numbers appear to have increased over the
past few years, with increasing numbers of articles citing cases of Giant Hogweed burns. The Botanical
Society of Britain and Ireland has a map showing where Giant Hogweed has been reported. A similar
map for the USA and Canada appears here, though it is only based on site and county level reports so is
by no means exhaustive.

If you happen to find Giant Hogweed growing in your garden, its a good idea to seek a professional
exterminator to remove it rather than try to remove it yourself. If you come across it out in the wild, in the
UK at least you can contact your local council to notify them of its presence.

Enjoyed this post & graphic? Consider supporting Compound Interest on Patreon, and get previews of
upcoming posts & more!

The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.

References & Further Reading

Polyphenols and polyphenol-derived compounds and contact dermatitis () L P Christensen

Giant Hogweed factsheet Ontario Invasive Plant Council
Skin photosensitizing furocoumarins photochemical interaction between DNA and bergapten ()
L Musajo and others
Seasonal variations in the content of phototoxic compounds in Giant Hogweed () E A Knudsen

The Smelly Chemistry of the Titan Arum Corpse Flower

 Click to enlarge

Usually, youd want to stay as far away as possible from a smell described variously as like dead rat,
mouldy bath mat, or cabbages and death. However, the residents of Cambridge, UK, have been
flocking to the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens over the past two days to sample this unpleasant
sounding aroma for themselves. The explanation lies in the source of the smell: the rare occurrence of a
Titan Arum plant flowering.

A plant flowering might not seem like a particularly special occasion, but the Titan Arum is no ordinary
plant. Native to the rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia, its lifecycle is a curious and patient one. It starts
with a seed germinating; this seed develops into an underground corm, which pushes out a single leaf.
What it lacks in numbers of leaves it makes up for in size, as this leaf can reach the height of a small tree,
and branches into numerous leaflets which allow the corm to collect energy. At this stage, for many years
its lifecycle will consist of this single leaf growing, then dying away after several months, then a new one
growing in its place.

On rare occasions, this cycle is broken by the emergence of the plants flowering structure when the corm
has accumulated enough energy. This doesnt happen until the plant is at least 7-10 years old; after this,
it can happen slightly more frequently, with some plants managing to flower every 2-3 years. Others, on
the other hand, can take another 7-10 years Cambridges Botanical Gardens arent expecting another
flowering event for ten years after this weeks.
Titan Arum is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the largest flower in the world. This title is actually held
by Rafflesia arnoldii, another type of corpse flower. The Titan Arum loses out because it isnt a single
giant flower, as the flowers themselves form in a small cluster (known as an inflorescence) at the base of
the flowering structures spike. It is, however, the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world the
unbranched qualifier is needed as the talipot palm boasts the largest (branched) inflorescence.

Though the Titan Arum has to wait years to flower, when it does its over very quickly. On the first day of
flowering the spathe (the frilly adapted leaf around the base of the spike, or spadix) unfurls, revealing its
blood red inner colouring. The spadix then starts to self-generate heat, a process known as
thermogenesis. As well as heating up, its the spadix that starts to produce foul-smelling compounds, a
carrion cologne designed to lure pollinating carrion beetles towards the flowers at the base of the spadix.

The first night of flowering offers the most intense odour. The lured carrion beetles scurry to female
flowers which have opened inside the flowering structure, hopefully bringing pollen from other Titan Arum
flowers with them. By the end of the second day of flowering, the odour is much less intense, and the
plants male flowers then open; as the carrion beetles depart, they pick up pollen from these flowers,
which may eventually find its way to another Titan Arum.

The odour of the Titan Arum is contributed to by several compounds. The key odorants are sulfides;
dimethyl trisulfide lends a rotting, animal-like sulfury odour, while dimethyl disulfide has a garlic-like smell,
but likely doesnt contribute as much to the overall odour due to its higher odour threshold. Other
compounds present include isovaleric acid, a compound which is also make a significant contribution to
the smell of sweaty feet, and methylthiol acetate, which smells like an unsavoury blend of garlic and
cheese. Finally, as the flowerings structure collapses, trimethylamine delivers a final blow to your olfactory
senses, carrying with it a waft of dead fish.

The Cambridge Botanic Gardens specimen already started wilting after just over a day of flowering, its
spadix drooping to one side. Some flowers can last for a few days more, but in this case theres likely a
reason for its premature flaccidity. Workers at the gardens were hoping to pollinate their Titan Arum using
pollen obtained from the Eden Projects Titan Arum, which flowered earlier in the year. They suggest that
the spadix sagging so quickly may mean that pollination was a success, though theyll have a wait to find
out.

Finally, theres also an amusing story behind the Titan Arums common name. Its Latin name
is Amorphophalus titanum, which loosely translates as giant misshapen penis. Unsurprisingly, when
covering the plant in a documentary, David Attenborough wasnt overly keen to use a literal translation of
its name, as it was deemed too rude for a TV audience, so he gave it the common name that it still bears
today.

Though the Cambridge Titan is on the wane, you can still see it through their live webcam here. If you
missed it this time, better luck in ten years!

Enjoyed this post & graphic? Consider supporting Compound Interest on Patreon, and get previews of
upcoming posts & more!

The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.

References & Further Reading

Titan Arum stinks, and so did Kew S Cotton, Education in Chemistry

Chemical identity of a rotting animal-like odour from Titan Arum M Shirasu and others
Studies on the floral anatomy and scent chemistry of Titan Arum V Raman and others
Titan Arum FAQs Biological Sciences Greenhouse, Ohio State University

Whats the new 12-sided 1 coin made of?

Today the new 1 coin is released in the UK. I threw a quick graphic together to take a look at whats
known about its composition and why its being introduced.

The new 1 coin is being introduced primarily as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Its estimated that one in
thirty of the current 1 coins are counterfeits, and the new coin has a number of security features to help
prevent this, including a latent image that changes when viewed from different angles.

Though the new coin is often described as bimetallic, thats not really the case chemically speaking. Both
the outer and inner ring are formed from alloys (mixtures of metals): the outer ring is made of nickel-
brass, a combination of nickel, copper, and zinc, while the inner ring is described simply as a nickel-
plated alloy. There doesnt yet seem to be any information on the identity of this alloy, though my guess
would be that its nickel-plated steel, as this is currently used for ten pence and five pence coins.
The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the sites content usage guidelines.