History of The Periodic Table - Main Discovery Periods

Main Discovery Periods

The history of the periodic table is also a history of the discovery of the chemical elements. IUPAC suggests five "main discovery periods", and a sixth has been added here for very recently synthesised elements (discovered 2000 or later).

Timeline of chemical elements discoveries
H He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Cs Ba La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Fr Ra Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Fl Uup Lv Uus Uuo

Legend

Antiquity to Middle Ages (14 elements): unrecorded discoveries up until the Middle Ages Middle Ages – 1800 (+20 elements): discoveries during the age of enlightenment 1800–1849 (+24 elements): science and industrial revolutions 1850–1899 (+26 elements): the age of classifying elements recived the impulse of the spectral analysis Boisbaudran, Bunsen, Crookes, Kirchhoff, and others "hunting emission line signatures" 1900–1949 (+13 elements): impulse with the old quantum theory and quantum mechanics 1950–1999 (+16 elements): "post atomic bomb" issues for atomic numbers 98 and above (colliders, bombardment techniques) 2000–present (+5 elements): recent synthesis

Read more about this topic:  History Of The Periodic Table

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