The geography of the names of the elements from the periodic system of D. I. Mendeleev is quite extensive. In some cases, their names come from the corresponding Latin or Greek names. We will open the question of what chemical elements are named after countries and parts of the world.
Elements of the parts of the world
The largest land areas on our planet are continents or parts of the world. Let us dwell on the question of what chemical elements are named after parts of the world.
Europium got its name in honor of part of the world Europe. It was first discovered by the Frenchman Lecock de Bois Baudoran in 1890, and obtained in its pure form in 1901 by Lecock's compatriot Eugene Demarcet.
The radioactive element of americium is named after the American continent. There are two explanations for this fact:
- In 1944, in the metallurgy laboratory of a university in Chicago, a group of scientists led by Glenn Seaborg first isolated this element in its purest form.
- If we follow the logic of the names of a separate group of elements of the periodic system - lanthanides, then americium actinoid is an analogue of europium lanthanide.
Elements of European countries: polonium, France and gallium
What chemical elements are named after the countries of Europe? There are four of them: polonium, France, gallium, and also Germany.
Polonium is an element of the periodic table, which stands at number 84. It owes its name to the famous scientist of the late 19th century, Maria Skłodowska Curie, who is a Polish national. Maria later adopted French citizenship, and together with her husband Pierre Curie in 1898 in France they discovered this element.
Despite the fact that polonium was discovered in the country of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees, its name was determined by political reasons. The fact is that at the time of the discovery of the element, Poland was not an independent country, but was ruled by the powerful powers of that time: Prussia, the Russian Empire and Austria. Maria Skłodowska-Curie believed that the name of the chemical element in honor of her homeland would serve as a manifesto for the independence and independence of Poland.
But France did not remain offended, because it has as many as two elements, which are named after its territory. The first is France at number 87 in the periodic table. It got its name in honor of a European country due to the fact that it was first received in pure form in 1939 by the Frenchwoman Margaret Perey.
Secondly, gallium has a historical connection with the territory of France. This 31st element of the table got its name in honor of Gaul - that was the name of this territory during the Roman Empire. Regarding gallium, there is another version: the annals of history indicate that the French scientist Lecock de Bois Baudoran, the same chemist who discovered europium for the first time, also discovered gallium in 1878. The name Lecock in French means "rooster", and the Latin name of this poultry sounds like gallus, so the element of gallium immortalized the name of the scientist who discovered it. Which version is correct is not known for certain.
Germanium and the predictions of D. I. Mendeleev
Further revealing the question of what chemical elements are named after countries, let us dwell on Germany. As its name says, this 32 element of the periodic table is named after Germany. The existence of the element itself and its properties were first predicted by the creator of the table, D. I. Mendeleev, who, based on an analysis of periodic properties, gave it the name ecosilicon.
In 1886, the German chemist Clemens Alexander Winkler discovered this element and gave it a name in honor of his country. As a result, everyone was satisfied: both Germany itself and Mendeleev, whose predictions strengthened the success of his brainchild and once again confirmed the correctness of the properties.
Ruthenium and indium
In conclusion, when answering the question about which chemical elements are named after countries, ruthenium and indium should be mentioned.
In 1828, a German chemist Gottfried Wilhelm Ozann, analyzing the rocks of the Urals, discovered a new metal, which he named ruthenium in honor of Russia (the Latin name of the country sounds like Ruthenia). However, the amount of open metal was so small that Ozanne could not isolate it in its pure form. Later, in 1844, the Russian chemist Karl Karlovich Klaus rediscovered this element, which took 44th place in the periodic table. Therefore, it is Klaus who is considered the discoverer of ruthenium.
The answer to the question about what chemical elements are given the names of the countries, an element of the periodic table of the Mendeleev Indium completes the answer. The connection of this name with the country of India is indirect and has historical reasons: the distinguishing feature of India is its rich blue or indigo color, and it was dyes of this color that the ancient Romans and Greeks imported from distant and hot India.