Lothar Meyer (jan 1, 1868 – jan 1, 1870)

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Content & Description : Lothar Meyer, a German chemist, independently developed a periodic table of the elements around the same time as Dmitri Mendeleev. While Mendeleev's table is more widely recognized, Meyer's contributions were equally significant. Meyer's periodic table was based on a graphical representation of the atomic volumes of the elements. He plotted the atomic volume (the volume occupied by one mole of an element) against the atomic weight. This plot revealed a periodic pattern, with elements of similar properties appearing at regular intervals. Meyer's table was organized in a similar way to Mendeleev's, with elements arranged in groups based on their shared properties.


Importance: Meyer's periodic table was crucial in establishing the concept of periodicity in the properties of elements. His work, along with Mendeleev's, provided a fundamental framework for understanding the relationships between elements and their chemical behavior. Meyer's contributions were particularly valuable in demonstrating the periodicity of atomic volumes, which helped to reinforce the idea that the properties of elements are related to their atomic structure.


Resource: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lothar-Meyer

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0172

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