Robert BOYLE
He was born on January 25, 1627 in Lismore (Ireland), and was educated at Eton College (1635-1638) and at the Academy of Geneva (1639-1644). After that, he lived almost without a break on his estate in Stolbridge, where he conducted his chemical research for 12 years. In 1656 Boyle moved to Oxford, and in 1668 he moved to London.
The scientific activity of Robert Boyle was based on the experimental method both in physics and in chemistry, and developed the atomistic theory. In 1660 he discovered the law of changes in the volume of gases (in particular, air) with a change in pressure. He later received the name boyle-Mariotte law: independently of Boyle, this law was formulated by the French physicist Edm Marriott.
Boyle studied a lot of chemical processes - for example, those occurring during the roasting of metals, dry distillation of wood, the transformation of salts, acids and alkalis. In 1654 he introduced the concept of body composition analysis... One of Boyle's books was called The Skeptic Chemist. It defined the elements as " original and simple, completely unmixed bodies, which are not composed of each other, but are the constituent parts of which all the so-called mixed bodies are composed and into which the latter can ultimately be decomposed".
And in 1661 Boyle formulates the concept of " primary corpuscles "as elements and" secondary corpuscles "like complex bodies.
He also gave the first explanation for the differences in the state of aggregation of bodies. In 1660 Boyle received acetone, distilling potassium acetate, in 1663 discovered and applied an acid-base indicator in research litmus in the litmus lichen, which grows in the highlands of Scotland. In 1680, he developed a new method of obtaining phosphorus made of bones, got orthophosphoric acid and phosphine...
At Oxford, Boyle took an active part in the founding of a scientific society, which in 1662 was transformed into Royal Society of London (in fact, this is the English Academy of Sciences).
Robert Boyle died on December 30, 1691, leaving a rich scientific legacy for future generations. Boyle wrote many books, some of them were published after the death of the scientist: some of the manuscripts were found in the archives of the Royal Society ...
AVOGADRO Amedeo
(1776 – 1856)
Italian physicist and chemist, member of the Turin Academy of Sciences (since 1819). Born in Turin. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Turin (1792). Since 1800 he independently studied mathematics and physics. In 1809 - 1819. taught physics at the Lyceum in Vercelli. In 1820 - 1822 and 1834 - 1850. - Professor of Physics at the University of Turin. Scientific works relate to various areas of physics and chemistry. In 1811 he laid the foundations of the molecular theory, generalized the experimental material accumulated by that time on the composition of substances and brought into a single system the conflicting experimental data of J. Gay-Lussac and the basic principles of atomism by J. Dalton.
He discovered (1811) the law according to which in the same volumes of gases at the same temperatures and pressures there are the same number of molecules ( avogadro's law). Named after Avogadro universal constant Is the number of molecules in 1 mole of an ideal gas.
He created (1811) a method for determining molecular masses, through which, according to the experimental data of other researchers, he was the first to correctly calculate (1811-1820) the atomic masses of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, chlorine and a number of other elements. He established the quantitative atomic composition of the molecules of many substances (in particular, water, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, chlorine, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony), for which it had previously been determined incorrectly. He indicated (1814) the composition of many compounds of alkali and alkaline earth metals, methane, ethyl alcohol, ethylene. He was the first to draw attention to the analogy in the properties of nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic and antimony - the chemical elements that later made up the VA group of the Periodic Table. The results of Avogadro's work on molecular theory were recognized only in 1860 at the I International Congress of Chemists in Karlsruhe.
In the years 1820-1840. studied electrochemistry, studied the thermal expansion of bodies, heat capacity and atomic volumes; at the same time, he received conclusions that are coordinated with the results of later studies conducted by D.I. Mendeleev on specific volumes of bodies and modern concepts of the structure of matter. He published the work "Physics of Weight Bodies, or a Treatise on the General Construction of Bodies" (vols. 1-4, 1837-1841), which, in particular, outlined the ways to ideas about the non-stoichiometry of solids and about the dependence of the properties of crystals on their geometry.
Jens-Jakob Berzelius
(1779-1848)
Swedish chemist Jens-Jakob Berzelius was born into the family of a school director. The father died shortly after his birth. Jacob's mother remarried, but after the birth of her second child, she fell ill and died. The stepfather did everything for Jacob and his younger brother to get a good education.
Jakob Berzelius became interested in chemistry only at the age of twenty, but already at the age of 29 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and two years later - its president.
Berzelius experimentally confirmed many of the chemical laws known by that time. Berzelius's performance is amazing: he spent 12-14 hours a day in the laboratory. During his twenty years of scientific activity, he investigated more than two thousand substances and accurately determined their composition. He discovered three new chemical elements (cerium Ce, thorium Th and selenium Se), for the first time isolated silicon Si, titanium Ti, tantalum Ta, and zirconium Zr in a free state. Berzelius did a lot of theoretical chemistry, compiled annual reviews of the successes of physical and chemical sciences, was the author of the most popular chemistry textbook in those years. Perhaps this made him introduce convenient modern designations of elements and chemical formulas into chemical use.
Berzelius married only 55 years old, twenty-four-year-old Johanna Elizabeth, daughter of his old friend Poppius, the State Chancellor of Sweden. Their marriage was happy, but there were no children. In 1845, Berzelius's health deteriorated. After one particularly severe attack of gout, both legs were paralyzed. In August 1848, at the age of seventies, Berzelius died. He is buried in a small cemetery near Stockholm.
Vladimir I. VERNADSKY
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, while studying at St. Petersburg University, attended lectures by D.I. Mendeleev, A.M. Butlerov and other famous Russian chemists.
Over time, he himself became a strict and attentive teacher. Almost all mineralogists and geochemists of our country are his students or students of his students.
The outstanding natural scientist did not share the point of view that minerals are something unchanging, part of an established "system of nature." He believed that in nature there is a gradual mutual transformation of minerals... Vernadsky created a new science - geochemistry... Vladimir Ivanovich was the first to note the huge role living matter - all plant and animal organisms and microorganisms on Earth - in the history of movement, concentration and dispersion of chemical elements. The scientist drew attention to the fact that some organisms are able to accumulate iron, silicon, calcium and other chemical elements and can participate in the formation of deposits of their minerals, which microorganisms play a huge role in the destruction of rocks. Vernadsky argued that " the clue to life cannot be obtained only by studying a living organism. To resolve it, one must also turn to its primary source - the earth's crust.".
Studying the role of living organisms in the life of our planet, Vernadsky came to the conclusion that all atmospheric oxygen is a product of the vital activity of green plants. Vladimir Ivanovich paid exceptional attention to environmental issues... He considered global environmental issues affecting the biosphere as a whole. Moreover, he created the very doctrine of biosphere - Areas of active life, covering the lower part of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the upper part of the lithosphere, in which the activity of living organisms (including humans) is a factor on a planetary scale. He believed that the biosphere, under the influence of scientific and industrial achievements, gradually passes into a new state - the sphere of reason, or noosphere... The decisive factor in the development of this state of the biosphere should be a reasonable human activity, harmonious interaction of nature and society... This is possible only when taking into account the close relationship of the laws of nature with the laws of thinking and socio-economic laws.
John DALTON
(Dalton J.)
John Dalton was born into a poor family, had great modesty and an extraordinary thirst for knowledge. He did not hold any important university position, he was a simple teacher of mathematics and physics at school and college.
Basic scientific research up to 1800-1803 belong to physics, the later ones to chemistry. Conducted (since 1787) meteorological observations, investigated the color of the sky, the nature of heat, refraction and reflection of light. As a result, he created the theory of evaporation and mixing of gases. Described (1794) a visual defect called color blind.
Opened three laws, which constituted the essence of his physical atomistics of gas mixtures: partial pressures gases (1801), dependencies gas volume at constant pressure from temperature (1802, regardless of J.L. Gay-Lussac) and dependence solubility gases from their partial pressures (1803). These works led him to solve the chemical problem of the ratio of the composition and structure of substances.
Put forward and substantiated (1803-1804) theory of atomic structure, or chemical atomistics, which explained the empirical law of constancy of composition. Theoretically predicted and discovered (1803) law of multiple relations: if two elements form several compounds, then the masses of one element corresponding to the same mass of the other are referred to as whole numbers.
Compiled (1803) the first table of relative atomic masses hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur and phosphorus, taking the atomic mass of hydrogen as a unit. Proposed (1804) chemical sign system for "simple" and "complex" atoms. Conducted (since 1808) work aimed at clarifying individual provisions and clarifying the essence of the atomistic theory. He is the author of the work "New System of Chemical Philosophy" (1808-1810), which is world famous.
Member of many academies of sciences and scientific societies.
Svante ARRENIUS
(b. 1859)
Svante-August Arrhenius was born in the old Swedish city of Uppsala. In the gymnasium, he was one of the best students, it was especially easy for him to study physics and mathematics. In 1876, the young man was admitted to Uppsala University. And two years later (six months ahead of schedule), he passed the exam for a PhD in philosophy. However, he later complained that education at the university was conducted according to outdated schemes: for example, "it was impossible to hear a single word about the Mendeleev system, and it was already more than ten years old" ...
In 1881, Arrhenius moved to Stockholm and went to work at the Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences. There he began to study the electrical conductivity of highly dilute aqueous solutions of electrolytes. Although Svante Arrhenius is a physicist by education, he is famous for his chemical research and became one of the founders of a new science - physical chemistry. Most of all he was engaged in the study of the behavior of electrolytes in solutions, as well as the study of the rate of chemical reactions. For a long time, Arrhenius's works were not recognized by his compatriots, and only when his conclusions were highly appreciated in Germany and France, he was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences. For development electrolytic dissociation theory Arrhenius was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize.
The cheerful and good-natured giant Svante Arrhenius, a true "son of the Swedish countryside", has always been the soul of society, attracted colleagues and acquaintances. He was married twice; his two sons were named Olaf and Sven. He became widely known not only as a physicochemist, but also the author of many textbooks, popular science and simply popular articles and books on geophysics, astronomy, biology and medicine.
But the path to world recognition for Arrhenius the chemist was not at all easy. The theory of electrolytic dissociation in the scientific world had very serious opponents. So, D.I. Mendeleev sharply criticized not only the very idea of \u200b\u200bArrhenius about dissociation, but also a purely "physical" approach to understanding the nature of solutions, which does not take into account chemical interactions between a solute and a solvent.
Subsequently, it turned out that both Arrhenius and Mendeleev were each right in their own way, and their views, complementing each other, formed the basis of the new - proton - the theory of acids and bases.
CAVENDISH Henry
English physicist and chemist, member of the Royal Society of London (since 1760). Was born in Nice (France). Graduated from the University of Cambridge (1753). He conducted scientific research in his own laboratory.
His works in the field of chemistry are related to pneumatic (gas) chemistry, of which he is one of the founders. He isolated (1766) pure carbon dioxide and hydrogen, taking the latter for phlogiston, established the basic composition of the air as a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. Received nitrogen oxides. By burning hydrogen, he obtained (1784) water, having determined the ratio of the volumes of gases interacting in this reaction (100: 202). The accuracy of his research was so great that it allowed him, when receiving (1785) nitrogen oxides by passing an electric spark through humidified air, to observe the presence of "deflogisticated air", making up no more than 1/20 of the total volume of gases. This observation helped W. Ramsay and J. Rayleigh to discover (1894) the noble gas argon. He explained his discoveries from the perspective of the phlogiston theory.
In the field of physics, in many cases he anticipated later discoveries. The law, according to which the forces of electrical interaction are inversely proportional to the square of the distance between charges, was discovered by him (1767) ten years earlier than the French physicist C. Coulomb. He experimentally established (1771) the influence of the medium on the capacitance of capacitors and determined (1771) the value of the dielectric constants of a number of substances. Determined (1798) the forces of mutual attraction of bodies under the influence of gravity and calculated at the same time the average density of the Earth. About Cavendish's works in the field of physics became known only in 1879 - after the English physicist J. Maxwell published his manuscripts, which had been in the archives until that time.
The physics laboratory at Cambridge University, founded in 1871, is named after Cavendish.
KEKULE Friedrich August
(Kekule F.A.)
The German chemist is organic. Was born in Darmstadt. Graduated from the University of Giessen (1852). He listened to lectures in Paris by J. Dumas, C. Wurtz, C. Gerapa. In 1856-1858 taught at the University of Heidelberg, in 1858-1865. - Professor at the University of Ghent (Belgium), since 1865 - at the University of Bonn (in 1877-1878 - rector). Scientific interests were mainly concentrated in the field of theoretical organic chemistry and organic synthesis. Received thioacetic acid and other sulfur compounds (1854), glycolic acid (1856). For the first time, by analogy with the type of water, he introduced the type of hydrogen sulfide (1854). Expressed (1857) the idea of \u200b\u200bvalence as a whole number of units of affinity that an atom possesses. He pointed to the "dibasic" (bivalence) of sulfur and oxygen. Divided (1857) all elements, with the exception of carbon, into one-, two- and tri-basic; carbon is assigned to the tetrabasic elements (simultaneously with L.V.G.Kolbe).
Put forward (1858) the provision that the constitution of compounds is determined by "basicity", that is valence, elements. For the first time (1858) showed that the number of hydrogen atoms associated with n carbon atoms is 2 n + 2. On the basis of the theory of types, he formulated the initial provisions of the theory of valence. Considering the mechanism of double exchange reactions, he expressed the idea of \u200b\u200ba gradual weakening of the initial bonds and presented (1858) a scheme that is the first model of an activated state. He proposed (1865) a cyclic structural formula of benzene, thereby extending Butlerov's theory of chemical structure to aromatic compounds. Kekulé's experimental work is closely related to his theoretical research. In order to test the hypothesis about the equivalence of all six hydrogen atoms in benzene, he obtained its halogen-, nitro-, amino- and carboxy-derivatives. Carried out (1864) a cycle of acid transformations: natural malic - bromosuccinic - optically inactive malic. Discovered (1866) the rearrangement of diazoamino to aminoazobenzene. He synthesized triphenylmethane (1872) and anthraquinone (1878). To prove the structure of camphor, he undertook work on converting it into oxycymol, and then into thiocymol. Studied the crotonic condensation of acetaldehyde and the reaction of obtaining carboxytartronic acid. He proposed methods for the synthesis of thiophene based on diethyl sulfide and succinic acid anhydride.
President of the German Chemical Society (1878, 1886, 1891). One of the organizers of the I International Congress of Chemists in Karlsruhe (1860). Foreign Corresponding Member Petersburg Academy of Sciences (since 1887).
Antoine-Laurent LAVOISIER
(1743-1794)
French chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier a lawyer by training, he was a very rich man. He was a member of the "Company of otkupov" - an organization of financiers that took over state taxes. From these financial transactions, Lavoisier acquired a huge fortune. The political events that took place in France had sad consequences for Lavoisier: he was executed because he worked in the "General otkup" (joint-stock company for the collection of taxes). In May 1794, along with other accused taxpayers, Lavoisier was brought before a revolutionary tribunal and the next day was sentenced to death "as an instigator or complicit in a conspiracy, seeking to promote the success of the enemies of France through extortion and illegal extortion from the French people." On the evening of May 8, the sentence was carried out, and France lost one of the most brilliant heads ... Two years later, Lavoisier was recognized unjustly convicted, however, this could no longer return France to a remarkable scientist. 
While still studying at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris, the future general tax collector and an outstanding chemist studied natural sciences at the same time. Part of his fortune Lavoisier invested in the arrangement of a chemical laboratory, equipped with excellent equipment at that time, which became the scientific center of Paris. In his laboratory, Lavoisier conducted numerous experiments in which he determined the changes in the masses of substances during their calcination and combustion.
Lavoisier was the first to show that the mass of the combustion products of sulfur and phosphorus is greater than the mass of the burnt substances, and that the volume of air in which the phosphorus burned decreased by 1/5. By heating mercury with a certain volume of air, Lavoisier obtained "mercury scale" (mercury oxide) and "suffocating air" (nitrogen), unsuitable for combustion and breathing. By igniting the mercury scale, he decomposed it into mercury and "vital air" (oxygen). With these and many other experiments, Lavoisier showed the complexity of the composition of atmospheric air and for the first time correctly interpreted the phenomena of combustion and roasting as a process of combining substances with oxygen. The English chemist and philosopher Joseph Priestley and the Swedish chemist Karl-Wilhelm Scheele, as well as other naturalists who reported the discovery of oxygen earlier, failed to do this. Lavoisier proved that carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) is a combination of oxygen with "carbon" (carbon), and water is a combination of oxygen with hydrogen. He showed by experience that oxygen is absorbed during breathing and carbon dioxide is formed, that is, the breathing process is similar to the combustion process. Moreover, the French chemist found that the formation of carbon dioxide during respiration is the main source of "animal warmth". Lavoisier was one of the first to try to explain complex physiological processes in a living organism from the point of view of chemistry.
Lavoisier became one of the founders of classical chemistry. He discovered the law of conservation of substances, introduced the concepts of "chemical element" and "chemical compound", proved that respiration is similar to the process of combustion and is a source of heat in the body. Lavoisier was the author of the first classification of chemicals and the textbook "Elementary Course of Chemistry". At the age of 29, he was elected a full member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.
Henri-Louis LE-CHATELIER
(Le Chatelier H. L.)
Henri-Louis Le Chatelier was born on October 8, 1850 in Paris. After graduating from the Ecole Polytechnique in 1869, he entered the National High School of Mines. The future discoverer of the famous principle was a widely educated and erudite person. He was interested in technology, natural sciences, and social life. He devoted a lot of time to the study of religion and ancient languages. At the age of 27, Le Chatelier became a professor at the Higher School of Mines, and thirty years later - at the University of Paris. Then he was elected a full member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.
The most important contribution of the French scientist to science was associated with the study chemical equilibrium, research balance shifts under the influence of temperature and pressure. Sorbonne students who listened to Le Chatelier's lectures in 1907-1908 wrote in their notes: " A change in any factor that can affect the state of chemical equilibrium of a system of substances causes a reaction in it that tends to counteract the change being made. An increase in temperature causes a reaction tending to lower the temperature, that is, going with the absorption of heat. An increase in pressure causes a reaction tending to cause a decrease in pressure, that is, accompanied by a decrease in volume...".
Unfortunately, Le Chatelier was not awarded the Nobel Prize. The reason was that this prize was only awarded to authors of work completed or recognized in the year the prize was received. Le Chatelier's most important works were completed long before 1901, when the first Nobel Prizes were awarded.
LOMONOSOV Mikhail Vasilievich
Russian scientist, academician of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences (since 1745). Born in the village of Denisovka (now the village of Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk region). In 1731-1735. studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. In 1735 he was sent to St. Petersburg to the academic university, and in 1736 - to Germany, where he studied at the University of Marburg (1736-1739) and in Freiberg at the School of Mining (1739-1741). In 1741-1745. - Adjunct of the Physics class of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, since 1745 - Professor of Chemistry of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, since 1748 he worked in the Chemical Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences established on his initiative. Simultaneously, from 1756, he conducted research at the glass factory he founded in Ust-Ruditsy (near St. Petersburg) and in his home laboratory.
Lomonosov's creative activity is distinguished by both an exceptional breadth of interests and a depth of penetration into the secrets of nature. His research relates to mathematics, physics, chemistry, earth sciences, astronomy. The results of these studies laid the foundations of modern natural science. Lomonosov drew attention (1756) to the fundamental importance of the law of conservation of mass of matter in chemical reactions; outlined (1741-1750) the foundations of his corpuscular (atomic-molecular) doctrine, which was developed only a century later; put forward (1744-1748) the kinetic theory of heat; substantiated (1747-1752) the need to involve physics to explain chemical phenomena and proposed the name "physical chemistry" for the theoretical part of chemistry, and "technical chemistry" for the practical part. His works became a borderline in the development of science, delimiting natural philosophy from experimental natural science.
Until 1748 Lomonosov was engaged mainly in physical research, and in the period 1748-1757. his work is mainly devoted to the solution of theoretical and experimental problems of chemistry. Developing atomistic ideas, he was the first to express the opinion that bodies consist of "corpuscles", and those, in turn, of "elements"; this is in line with modern concepts of molecules and atoms.
He pioneered the use of mathematical and physical research methods in chemistry and was the first to teach an independent "course of true physical chemistry" at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. A wide program of experimental research was carried out in the Chemical Laboratory of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences headed by him. Developed accurate weighing methods, applied volumetric methods of quantitative analysis. Carrying out experiments on firing metals in sealed vessels, he showed (1756) that their weight does not change after heating and that R. Boyle's opinion about the addition of thermal matter to metals is wrong.
He studied liquid, gaseous and solid states of bodies. Determined the expansion coefficients of gases quite accurately. Studied the solubility of salts at different temperatures. Investigated the effect of electric current on salt solutions, established the facts of lowering the temperature during the dissolution of salts and lowering the freezing point of the solution in comparison with a pure solvent. Drew a distinction between the process of dissolution of metals in acid, accompanied by chemical changes, and the process of dissolution of salts in water, which occurs without chemical changes in the substances being dissolved. He created various devices (viscometer, vacuum filtration device, hardness tester, gas barometer, pyrometer, boiler for the study of substances at low and high pressures), calibrated thermometers quite accurately.
He was the creator of many chemical industries (inorganic pigments, glazes, glass, porcelain). He developed the technology and formulation of colored glasses, which he used to create mosaic paintings. He invented the porcelain mass. He was engaged in the analysis of ores, salts and other products.
In the work "The first foundations of metallurgy, or ore affairs" (1763), he considered the properties of various metals, gave their classification and described the methods of production. Along with other works in chemistry, this work laid the foundations of the Russian chemical language. Considered the formation of various minerals and nonmetallic bodies in nature. He expressed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe biogenic origin of soil humus. He proved the organic origin of oils, coal, peat and amber. He described the processes of obtaining ferrous sulfate, copper from copper sulfate, sulfur from sulfur ores, alum, sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids.
He was the first of the Russian academicians to start preparing textbooks on chemistry and metallurgy ("A course in physical chemistry", 1754; "The first foundations of metallurgy, or ore affairs", 1763). He is credited with the creation of Moscow University (1755), the project and curriculum of which he personally compiled. According to his project, the construction of the Chemical Laboratory of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was completed in 1748. From 1760 he was a trustee of the gymnasium and university at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He created the foundations of the modern Russian literary language. He was a poet and artist. He wrote a number of works on history, economics, philology. Member of several academies of sciences. Moscow University (1940), the Moscow Academy of Fine Chemical Technology (1940), the city of Lomonosov (formerly Oranienbaum) are named after Lomonosov. Academy of Sciences of the USSR established (1956) the Gold Medal. M.V. Lomonosov for outstanding work in the field of chemistry and other natural sciences.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
(1834-1907)
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev - the great Russian encyclopedic scientist, chemist, physicist, technologist, geologist and even a meteorologist. Mendeleev had amazingly clear chemical thinking, he always clearly understood the ultimate goals of his creative work: foresight and benefit. He wrote: "The closest subject of chemistry is the study of homogeneous substances, from the addition of which all the bodies of the world are composed, their transformations into each other and the phenomena accompanying such transformations."
Mendeleev created the modern hydration theory of solutions, the equation of state for an ideal gas, developed a technology for obtaining smokeless powder, discovered the Periodic Law and proposed the Periodic System of Chemical Elements, wrote the best chemistry textbook for its time.
He was born in 1834 in Tobolsk and was the last, seventeenth child in the family of the director of the Tobolsk gymnasium Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev and his wife Maria Dmitrievna. By the time of his birth in the Mendeleev family, two brothers and five sisters remained alive. Nine children died in infancy, and three of them were not even named by their parents.
Studying Dmitry Mendeleev in St. Petersburg at the Pedagogical Institute was not easy at first. In his first year, he managed to get unsatisfactory grades in all subjects except mathematics. But in the senior years, things went differently - the average annual score of Mendeleev was four and a half (out of five possible). He graduated from the institute in 1855 with a gold medal, receiving a senior teacher's diploma.
Life was not always favorable to Mendeleev: there was a break with the bride, and ill will of colleagues, an unsuccessful marriage and then a divorce ... Two years (1880 and 1881) were very difficult in Mendeleev's life. In December 1880, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences refused to elect him as an academician: nine were voted for, and ten were against. A particularly unseemly role was played by the secretary of the academy, a certain Veselovsky. He frankly stated: "We do not want university ones. If they are better than us, then we still do not need them."
In 1881, Mendeleev's marriage with his first wife, who did not understand her husband at all and reproached him for lack of attention, was dissolved with great difficulty.
In 1895 Mendeleev went blind, but continued to lead the Chamber of Weights and Measures. Business papers were read to him aloud, he dictated orders to the secretary, and at home he blindly continued to glue suitcases. Professor I.V. Kostenich removed the cataract in two operations, and soon his vision returned ...
In the winter of 1867-68, Mendeleev began to write the textbook "Fundamentals of Chemistry" and immediately faced difficulties in systematizing the factual material. By mid-February 1869, pondering the structure of the textbook, he gradually came to the conclusion that the properties of simple substances (and this is a form of existence of chemical elements in a free state) and the atomic masses of elements are connected by a certain pattern.
Mendeleev did not know much about the attempts of his predecessors to arrange chemical elements according to the increase in their atomic masses and about the incidents arising from this. For example, he had almost no information about the work of Shancourtois, Newlands and Meyer.
Mendeleev had an unexpected idea: to compare the close atomic masses of various chemical elements and their chemical properties.
Without thinking twice, on the back of Khodnev's letter he wrote down the symbols chlorine Cl and potassium K with fairly close atomic masses of 35.5 and 39, respectively (the difference is only 3.5 units). In the same letter, Mendeleev sketched the symbols of other elements, looking for similar "paradoxical" pairs among them: fluorine F and sodium Na, bromine Br and rubidium Rb, iodine I and cesium Cs, for which the mass difference increases from 4.0 to 5.0, and then to 6.0. Mendeleev then could not have known that the "undefined zone" between the explicit non-metals and metals contains elements - noble gases, the discovery of which will further significantly modify the Periodic Table. Gradually, the appearance of the future Periodic Table of Chemical Elements began to take shape.
So, first he put a card with the element beryllium Be (atomic mass 14) next to the element card aluminum Al (atomic mass 27.4), according to the then tradition, taking beryllium for an analogue of aluminum. However, then, comparing the chemical properties, he placed beryllium over magnesium Mg. Having doubted the then generally accepted value of the atomic mass of beryllium, he changed it to 9.4, and changed the formula of beryllium oxide from Be 2 O 3 to BeO (like magnesium oxide MgO). By the way, the "corrected" value of the atomic mass of beryllium was confirmed only ten years later. He acted just as boldly on other occasions.
Gradually, Dmitry Ivanovich came to the final conclusion that the elements, located in the increasing order of their atomic masses, show an obvious periodicity of physical and chemical properties.
Throughout the day, Mendeleev worked on the system of elements, taking a short break to play with his daughter Olga, have lunch and dinner.
On the evening of March 1, 1869, he rewrote the table he had compiled, and under the title "Experience of a system of elements based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity," he sent it to the printing house, making notes for the typesetters and setting the date "February 17, 1869" (this is the old style). So was opened Periodic law...
In the XIX century. there were several chemical schools known far beyond the borders of Russia and which had a significant impact on the development of Russian pharmacy.
First, the Kazan school had the championship (Zinin, Butlerov, Markovnikov, Zaitsev).
The second and most important center of chemical thought, which soon attracted the main forces from Kazan, was Petersburg. Voskresensky, Sokolov, Mendeleev, Menshutkin worked here; in Kharkov - Beketov worked, in Kiev - Abashev.
At Moscow University, the teaching of chemistry almost until the end of the period under review was not put on a modern basis, and only with the appearance of Markovnikov in Moscow did Moscow University become the second center of chemical activity after Petersburg.
Great Russian chemist Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov (1828-1886) creator of the theory of chemical structure, head of the largest Kazan school of Russian organic chemists, public figure. A.M. Butlerov created a school of Russian chemists, which included V.V. Markovnikov, A.M. Zaitsev, E.E. Wagner, A.E. Favorsky, I.L. Kondakov. Butlerov was the chairman of the Department of Chemistry of the Russian Physicochemical Society from 1878 to 1886.
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) -“An ingenious chemist, a first-class physicist, a fruitful researcher in the field of hydrodynamics, meteorology, geology, in various departments of chemical technology ... and other disciplines adjacent to chemistry and physics, a deep expert in the chemical industry in general, especially Russian, an original thinker in the field of the doctrine of folk economy "- this is how Professor L.А. Chugaev.
The significance of D.I. Mendeleev for pharmacy is difficult to overestimate. In 1869-1871. he first outlined the foundations of the doctrine of periodicity, discovered the periodic law and developed the periodic system of chemical elements. Mendeleev's law and system underlie the modern theory of the structure of matter, play a leading role in the study of the whole variety of chemicals and chemical reactions, including in pharmacy.
In his works, Mendeleev has repeatedly advocated the development of pharmaceutical science. So, in 1890, he spoke out in support of the development of organotherapy. Presiding at the I Scientific Congress on Pharmacy in March 1902 in St. Petersburg, he made a speech that pharmacists should strengthen the chemical quality control of medicines coming from factory production. In this regard, he emphasized the importance of knowledge of chemistry for the development of pharmaceutical science. Working in the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures, Mendeleev significantly contributed to the development of metric business in pharmacies. He said: “For my part, I consider it my duty to express, firstly, that in the hostel it is customary to call pharmacy weighings a model of accuracy (they often say:“ True, like in a pharmacy ”), and therefore the regulation of pharmaceutical weighings should be put on one of the first plans for combining weights and measures. "
DI. Mendeleev was a member and honorary member of more than 90 academies of sciences, scientific societies (including the St. Petersburg Pharmaceutical Society), universities and institutes around the world. He was one of the founders (1868) of the Russian Chemical Society and its president (1883-1884, 1891, 1892, 1894). The name of D.I. Mendeleev wear chemical element No. 101, a mineral, a crater on the far side of the Moon, one of the underwater mountain ranges. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1962 established the Prize and the Gold Medal named after DI. Mendeleev for the best work in the field of chemistry and chemical technology.
In February 1869, the Department of Chemistry was created at Kazan University, the head of which was Alexander Mikhailovich Zaitsev (1841-1910), the creator of a universal method for producing tertiary alcohols with an allyl radical. With the help of this synthesis, chemists have obtained a large number of organic compounds, including terpenes, vitamins, hormones and other complex physiologically active compounds. In 1879 Zaitsev discovered an important new class of compounds, which was named lactones. In 1885, Academician Zaitsev first obtained dioxystearic acids. This was followed by a number of other works on the oxidation of unsaturated acids, which led to the development of syntheses of the most complex in structure and most interesting in practical terms representatives of organic compounds. Zaitsev created his own school of chemists, and their number is huge. In this regard, Zaitsev occupied one of the first places in the history of Russian chemistry (S.N. and A.N. Reformatskiy, A.A.Albitsky, A.E. Arbuzov, E.E. Wagner, and others).
Let us list the most significant names in the history of the development of pharmacy in the 19th and early 20th centuries: E.E. Wagner, V.V. Shkatelov, L.A. Chugaev, P.G. Golubev, L. Ya. Karpov, N.I. Kursanov, S.P. Langovoi, N.N. Lyubavin, N. D. Zelinsky AND I. Danilevsky , AND I. Gorbachevsky, A.I. Khodnev, K.G. Schmidt.
Laid the foundations of quantum theory. Clemens Winkler and R. Knitsch developed the foundations for the industrial synthesis of sulfuric acid by the contact method.
1901 - Eugene Demarcay discovered the rare earth element europium.
1903 - Mikhail Stepanovich Tsvet laid the foundations for the method of adsorption chromatography. Emil Fischer found that proteins are built from alpha amino acids; carried out the first syntheses of peptides.
1905 - Alfred Werner proposed a modern version (long-period) of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
1907 - Georges Urbain discovered the rare earth element lutetium, the last of the stable rare earth elements.
1908 - Wilhelm Ostwald (1909 Nobel Prize Laureate) developed the fundamentals of the technology for the production of nitric acid by catalytic oxidation of ammonia.
1909
- Seren Sørensen introduced the pH value of the acidity of the medium.
Irving Langmuir (Nobel laureate 1932) developed the foundations of the modern theory of adsorption.
1910 - Sergey Vasilevich Lebedev received the first sample of synthetic butadiene rubber.
1911 - Ernest Rutherford (1908 Nobel laureate) proposed a nuclear (planetary) model of the atom.
1913
- Nils Boron (Nobel laureate 1922) formulated the basic postulates of the quantum theory of the atom, according to which the electrons in the atom have a certain energy and, as a result, can rotate in the electron shell only at certain energy levels.
Casimir Fajans and Frederic Soddy (Nobel laureate 1921) formulated the law of radioactive shifts (thereby, the structure of radioactive families was linked to the structure of the Periodic Table of Elements).
A. Van den Brook suggested that the number of an element in the Periodic Table is numerically equal to the charge of its atom.
1914 - R. Meyer proposed to place all rare earth elements in a secondary subgroup of group III of the Periodic Table.
1915 - I. Shtark introduced the concept of "valence electrons"
1916
- Walter Kossel and Gilbert Lewis developed the theory of atomic bond and ionic bond.
Nikolay Dmitrievich Zelinsky designed a gas mask.
1919 - Ernest Rutherford (1908 Nobel Prize laureate) carried out the first nuclear reaction of artificial transformation of elements.
1920 - The most important studies of the structure of the atom, leading to modern concepts of the atomic model. Louis De Broglie (1929 Nobel laureate) (the wave nature of the electron), Erwin Schrödinger (1933 Nobel laureate) (introduced the basic equation of quantum mechanics), Werner Heisenberg (1932 Nobel laureate), Paul Dirac (1933 Nobel laureate).
1923
- Gyorgy Hevesi and D. Koster discovered hafnium.
Johannes Bronsted proposed to consider substances that donate protons as acids, and substances that add protons as bases.
1925
- Wolfgang Pauli formulated the exclusion principle.
G. Uhlenbeck and S. Goudsmit introduced the concept of the electron spin.
1931 - Erich Hückel laid the foundations of the quantum chemistry of organic compounds. Formulated (4 n + 2) - the rule of aromatic stability, which establishes the belonging of a substance to the aromatic series. Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev solved the problem of industrial production of synthetic rubber.
1932
- J. Chadwick (Nobel laureate in 1935) discovered the neutron.
D. D. Ivanenko proposed a proton-neutron model of the atomic nucleus.
Linus Pauling (1954 Nobel Prize laureate) quantified the concept of electronegativity, proposed a scale of electronegativity and expressed the relationship between electronegativity and chemical bond energy.
1933 - P. Blackett and G. Occhialini discovered the positron.
1934 - Irene and Joliot Curie (Nobel laureates in 1935) discovered the phenomenon of artificial radioactivity.
1937 - Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre discovered a new element - the first artificially synthesized element technetium with Z \u003d 43.
1939 - Margaret Perey discovered francium - an element with Z \u003d 87. Technologies for industrial production of artificial fibers (nylon, perlon) were developed
1940
- D. Corson, K. Mackenzie, E. Segre synthesized astatine (Z \u003d 85). E. Macmillan (Nobel laureate 1951), F. Ableson synthesized the first transuranic element neptunium with Z \u003d 93.
Glenn Seaborg, E. Macmillan (1951 Nobel laureates), J. Kennedy, A. Wahl synthesized plutonium with Z \u003d 94.
1944
- Glenn Seaborg (Nobel laureate 1951), R. James, Albert Ghiorso synthesized curium with Z \u003d 96.
Glenn Seaborg put forward the actinoid concept of the placement of transuranic elements in the Periodic Table.
1945 - Glenn Seaborg (Nobel Prize Laureate 1951), R. James, P. Morgan, A. Giorso synthesized americium with Z \u003d 95.
1947 - E. Chargaff for the first time received pure DNA preparations.
1949 - Glenn Seaborg (Nobel laureate 1951), S. Thompson, Albert Gyorso synthesized berkelium (Z \u003d 97) and californium (Z \u003d 98).
1951
- Linus Pauling (1954 Nobel laureate) developed a model of a polypeptide helix.
V.M. Klechkovsky formulated the rule ( n + l) - filling of electron shells and subshells of atoms with increasing Z.
T. Keely, P. Poson synthesized a non-benzoic aromatic compound of a "sandwich" structure - ferrocene (C 5 H 5) 2 Fe.
1952 - Glenn Seaborg (Nobel laureate 1951), Albert Ghiorso and others discovered einsteinium (Z \u003d 99) and fermi (Z \u003d 100).
1953
- J. Watson and F. Crick (1962 Nobel laureates) proposed a model of DNA - a double helix made of polynucleotide strands linked by hydrogen "bridges".
A. Todd and D. Brown developed a diagram of the structure of RNA.
1954 - K. Ziegler, J. Nutt (Nobel laureates in 1963) discovered mixed organometallic catalysts for industrial synthesis of polymers.
1955
- Glenn Seaborg (Nobel laureate 1951) and others synthesized Mendelevium (Z \u003d 101)
NN Semenov and S. Hinshelwood (Nobel laureates in 1962) carried out fundamental studies of the mechanism of radical chemical reactions.
1958 - A. Kornberg and S. Ochoa discovered the mechanism of RNA and DNA biosynthesis (laureates of the Nobel Prize in 1959).
1961 - A new International scale of atomic masses has been established - 1/12 of the mass of the isotope 12 C is taken as a unit. Albert Ghiorso, T. Sikkeland, A. Laroche, R. Latimer synthesized lawrencium (Z \u003d 103).
1962 - The first compounds of noble gases were obtained.
1963 - R. Merrifield developed a solid-phase method of peptide synthesis; complete synthesis of insulin - the first chemical synthesis of a protein -
1964 - 1984 - Georgy Nikolaevich Flerov and his co-workers synthesized new elements - curchatovium (Z \u003d 104) (1964) and nilsborium (Z \u003d 105) (1970). Yuri Tsolakovich Oganesyan and his co-workers obtained elements with Z \u003d 106 (1974), Z \u003d 107 (1976), Z \u003d 108 (1982), Z \u003d 110 (1986). Peter Armbruster and co-workers synthesized the element with Z \u003d 109 (1984).
1974 - A.S. Khokhlov established the sequence of amino acids in the antibiotic actinoxanthin.
1975 - I.V. Berezin discovered the phenomenon of bioelectrocatalysis. D. Demarto obtained a compound with a xenon-nitrogen bond: FeXeN (SO 2 F) 2.
1975-1980 - R.Z. Sagdeev and his collaborators established the influence of magnetic fields on chemical processes.
1976 - J. Wayne discovered a new prostaglandin - prostacyclin and established its chemical structure.
1977-1980 - W. Gilbert proposed a method for decoding the primary structure of DNA, based on the principle of base localization by the size of DNA fragments. E.A. Shilov carried out research into the photocatalytic production of hydrogen and oxygen from water. The first "organic metals" were obtained - polyacetylene (H. Shirakawa), polypyrrole (A. Diaz).
1978-1980 - MV Alfimov created the theoretical foundations of non-silver photographic processes.
1980-1990 - the beginning of the application of methods of supramolecular chemistry - the synthesis of various products using macrocyclic compounds such as crown ethers and cryptands. Development of methods for producing "organic metals" - derivatives of tetrathiofulvalene, metal phthalocyanines, etc.
1984 - S. Hannessian has synthesized a new effective antibiotic Quantamycin. At the same time and independently, German (Darmstadt, G. Munzenberg et al.) And Russian scientists (Dubna, Yu.Ts. Oganesyan et al.) Obtained the 108th element.
1985 - H. Kroto, R. Smalley discovered fullerene C 60 - a new modification of carbon. 1986 - K. Bednorz and A. Müller obtained samples of superconducting (at 90 K) ceramics based on barium, copper and yttrium oxides. S. Satpazi and R. Disch proved the stability of the C 60 fullerene.
1987 - For the first time, iron (VIII) oxide was obtained by anodic dissolution of iron (VI Spitsyn and colleagues). K. Gu et al. Obtained modified lanthanum cuprite LaCu 2 O 4, superconducting at 93 K. German scientists (Darmstadt, G. Munzenberg et al.) Obtained the 109th element.
1991 - Synthesis of compounds related to fullerene - carbon nanotubes.
1996 - 1997 - Development of a molecular layering method for precision synthesis of solid substances of regular structure. Obtaining lyotropic and thermotropic liquid crystal polymers.
1999 - The first organic laser based on tetracene derivatives. Synthesis and the beginning of the study of protonium (an atom consisting of a proton and an antiproton).
1990-2000 - Obtaining by nuclear synthesis of chemical elements with numbers 110, 111, 112, 114 and 116. Chemical synthesis of proteins and nucleotides by genetic engineering.
Russia is a country with a rich history. Many noble pioneers have glorified a great power for their achievements. Some of these are the great Russian chemists.
Chemistry is today called one of the sciences of natural science, which studies the internal composition and structure of matter, decomposition and changes in substances, the regularity of the formation of new particles and their changes.
Russian chemists who glorified the country
If we talk about the history of chemical science, then we cannot fail to recall the greatest people who definitely deserve everyone's attention. The list of famous personalities is headed by the great Russian chemists:
- Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov.
- Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev.
- Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov.
- Sergey Vasilievich Lebedev.
- Vladimir Vasilievich Markovnikov.
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Semyonov.
- Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov.
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin.
- Alexander Nikolaevich Nesmiyanov.
And many others.
Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilievich
Russian chemists could not work in the absence of Lomonosov's work. Mikhail Vasilievich was from the village of Mishaninskaya (St. Petersburg). The future scientist was born in November 1711. Lomonosov is a founding chemist who gave the correct definition of chemistry, a natural scientist with a capital letter, a world physicist and a famous encyclopedist.
The scientific work of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov in the middle of the 17th century was close to the modern program of chemical and physical research. The scientist deduced the theory of molecular kinetic heat, which in many respects surpassed the then ideas about the structure of matter. Lomonosov formulated many fundamental laws, among which was the law on thermodynamics. The scientist founded the science of glass. Mikhail Vasilyevich was the first to discover the fact that the planet Venus has an atmosphere. He became professor of chemistry in 1745, three years after he received a similar title in physical science.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
Outstanding chemist and physicist, Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born at the end of February 1834 in the city of Tobolsk. The first Russian chemist was the seventeenth child in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, the director of schools and gymnasiums in the Tobolsk region. A metric book with a record of the birth of Dmitry Mendeleev has survived to this day, where the names of the scientist and his parents appear on the old page.
Mendeleev was called the most brilliant chemist of the 19th century, and this was the correct definition. Dmitry Ivanovich is the author of important discoveries in chemistry, meteorology, metrology, physics. Mendeleev was engaged in research on isomorphism. In 1860, a scientist discovered the critical temperature (boiling point) for all types of liquids.
In 1861, the scientist published the book "Organic Chemistry". He studied gases and deduced the correct formulas. Mendeleev designed a pycnometer. The great chemist became the author of many works in metrology. He was engaged in research of coal, oil, developed systems for irrigation of land.
It was Mendeleev who discovered one of the main natural axioms - the periodic law of chemical elements. We use it now. He gave characteristics to all chemical elements, theoretically determining their properties, composition, size and weight.
Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov
A.M.Butlerov was born in September 1828 in the city of Chistopol (Kazan province). In 1844 he became a student at Kazan University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, after which he was left there to receive a professorship. Butlerov was interested in chemistry and created a theory of the chemical structure of organic substances. Founder of the School of Russian Chemists.
Markovnikov Vladimir Vasilievich
The list of "Russian chemists" undoubtedly includes another famous scientist. Vladimir Vasilievich Markovnikov, a native of the Nizhny Novgorod province, was born on December 25, 1837. Chemist in the field of organic compounds and the author of the theory of the structure of oil and the chemical structure of matter in general. His works played an important role in the development of science. Markovnikov laid down the principles of organic chemistry. He did a lot of research at the molecular level, establishing certain patterns. Subsequently, these rules were named after their author.
At the end of the 60s of the 18th century, Vladimir Vasilyevich defended his thesis on the interaction of atoms in chemical compounds. Soon thereafter, the scientist synthesized all the isomers of glutaric acid, and then cyclobutanedicarboxylic acid. Markovnikov discovered naphthenes (a class of organic compounds) in 1883.
For his discoveries he was awarded a gold medal in Paris.
Sergey Vasilievich Lebedev
S. V. Lebedev was born in November 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod. The future chemist received his education at the Warsaw gymnasium. In 1895 he entered the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University.
In the early 20s of the 19th century, the Council of National Economy announced an international competition for the production of synthetic rubber. It was proposed not only to find an alternative method for its manufacture, but also to provide the result of the work - 2 kg of finished synthetic material. The raw materials for the production process also had to be cheap. Rubber needed to be of high quality, not worse than natural, but cheaper than the latter.
Needless to say, Lebedev took part in the competition, in which he became the winner? He developed a special chemical composition of rubber, accessible and cheap for everyone, winning the title of a great scientist.
Nikolay Nikolaevich Semyonov
Nikolai Semenov was born in 1896 in Saratov in the family of Elena and Nikolai Semenov. In 1913, Nikolai entered the St. Petersburg University at the Department of Physics and Mathematics, where, under the guidance of the famous Russian physicist Ioffe Abram, he became the best student on the stream.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Semyonov studied electric fields. He carried out research on the passage of electric current through gases, on the basis of which the theory of thermal breakdown of a dielectric was developed. Later, he put forward the theory of thermal explosion and combustion of gas mixtures. According to this rule, the heat generated by a chemical reaction, under certain conditions, can lead to an explosion.
Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin
On August 25, 1812, Nikolai Zinin, the future organic chemist, was born in the city of Shushi (Nagorno-Karabakh). Nikolai Nikolaevich graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. Became the first president of the Russian Chemical Society. which was blown up on August 12, 1953. This was followed by the development of the RDS-202 thermonuclear explosive, the power of which was 52,000 kilotons.
Kurchatov was one of the founders of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Famous Russian chemists then and now
Modern chemistry does not stand still. Scientists from all over the world are working on new discoveries every day. But do not forget that the important foundations of this science were laid back in the 17-19th centuries. Outstanding Russian chemists became important links in the subsequent chain of development of chemical sciences. Not all contemporaries use in their research, for example, the laws of Markovnikov. But we still use the principles of organic chemistry, the conditions of the critical temperature of liquids, and so on. Russian chemists of the past have left an important mark on world history, and this fact is undeniable.