Essay On The Periodic Table

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The Periodic Table is one of the most recognisable and valuable scientific resources. With over 100 elements, each with different physical and chemical properties, the discovery of the periodic system has been one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. The first element, phosphorus, was discovered in the 17th century1. There have been numerous discoveries that have developed the Periodic Table. Humans have been aware of elements for thousands of years; the ancient elements were fire, water, earth and air. Aristotle related these four elements to two of the four sensible qualities or those things perceived by sense, fire is primarily hot and secondarily dry, air is primarily wet and secondarily hot, water is primarily cold and secondarily wet and earth is primarily dry and secondarily cold2. Matter exists in four states, solid, liquid, gas and plasma. Plasmas are only found in the cores of stars2. The first major discovery in the atomic theory was Democritus in the ancient Greek era. The next major discovery was John Dalton in 1803; he was the person who actuall...

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