His legacy...
[On learning about the table] For the first time I saw a medley of haphazard facts fall into line and order. All the jumbles and recipes and hotchpotch of the inorganic chemistry of my boyhood seemed to fit themselves into the scheme before my eyes — as though one were standing beside a jungle and it suddenly transformed itself into a Dutch garden.
— C.P. Snow [Link]
Mendeleev's determination and success in creating his version of the periodic table has enormously benefited the study of not only chemistry, but the whole of science, whether it be in the fields of physics, biology, engineering, medicine, geology, or in industry. This useful tool also helps students of today think and look at science in a whole new way; what would usually have been a difficult and confusing subject was made understandable and even interesting, thanks to Mendeleev's table. It is still used by present-day scientists as a way of increasing their understanding of the chemistry of the elements and using this knowledge to identify elements, carry out experiments and classify newly-discovered elements. But this wasn't all that the table could do; it could also help predict new facts and find mistakes in supposedly true facts about elements.
Benefits of the Periodic Table
"Prior to the periodic table, scientists had no way to relate one element to another. Understanding the way elements react with each other was now comprehensible. It has [also] increased the rate by which elements in business manufacturing could be used, such as uranium for atomic bombs, copper for wiring, and many more available only because of the periodic table" (Dr. David Livingston)
"The periodic table is arguably the most important concept in chemistry, both in principle and practice. It is the everyday support for students, it suggests new avenues of research for professionals, and it provides a succinct organization of the whole of chemistry" (Unknown)
"Mendeleev's original periodic table helped future chemists create a more modern version. Today the elements are listed by their atomic number" (Unknown)
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"The periodic table is used primarily by scientists and engineers. The periodic table is critical to chemists who may work on developing new pharmaceuticals, new plastics, construction materials, computer chips, or adhesives. Atomic physicists also rely on the periodic table as do materials scientists. Biochemists, molecular biologists, and many geoscientists would also use the periodic table or be very familiar with it" (Unknown)
"We use nearly all the elements for one job or another in industry, medicine, agriculture, and science" (Unknown)
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Websites used to make this page:
Impact and Change, http://61831565.nhd.weebly.com/impact-and-change.html, accessed 19th February, 2013
#76: Dmitri Mendeleyev (1834-1907), http://www.westerncultureglobal.org/mendeleyev.html, accessed 15th February, 2013
Images:
1. The Principles of Chemistry, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476892/The-Principles-of-Chemistry, accessed 20th February. 2013
2. Mendeleyev, Dmitry Ivanovich: Mendeleyev’s Periodic Table, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/15479/Mendeleyevs-periodic-table-1869, accessed 21st February, 2013
Impact and Change, http://61831565.nhd.weebly.com/impact-and-change.html, accessed 19th February, 2013
#76: Dmitri Mendeleyev (1834-1907), http://www.westerncultureglobal.org/mendeleyev.html, accessed 15th February, 2013
Images:
1. The Principles of Chemistry, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476892/The-Principles-of-Chemistry, accessed 20th February. 2013
2. Mendeleyev, Dmitry Ivanovich: Mendeleyev’s Periodic Table, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/15479/Mendeleyevs-periodic-table-1869, accessed 21st February, 2013