The expansion of chemical space in 1826 and in the 1840s prompted the convergence to the periodic system.

ABSTRACT: The periodic system, which intertwines order and similarity among chemical elements, arose from knowledge about substances constituting the chemical space. Little is known, however, about how the expansion of the space contributed to the emergence of the system-formulated in the 1860s. Here, we show by analyzing the space between 1800 and 1869 that after an unstable period culminating around 1826, chemical space led the system to converge to a backbone structure clearly recognizable in the 1840s. Hence, the system was already encoded in the space for about two and half decades before its formulation. Chemical events in 1826 and in the 1840s were driven by the discovery of new forms of combination standing the test of time. Emphasis of the space upon organic chemicals after 1830 prompted th

SUBMITTER: Leal W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9335271 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature