Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2019.008
Chemistry in Education:
Elements and Elementary Substances
Nenad Raos
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health Ksaverska c. 2 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Nenad Raos (ur.)
Abstract
The concept of element in the broader sense has two meanings. The first is quite practical: the product of chemical analysis which cannot be further decomposed (elementary or simple substance). The second is speculative: the part of a compound which remains unchanged by chemical reaction. However, the concept of element has been operative even before the advent of modern chemistry, finding its representation in classical Greek elements (water, earth, air, and fire) and tria prima of iatrochemists (mercury, salt, and sulphur). A short history of the concept of element is presented, with special emphasis on the natural philosophy of Empedocles, Aristotle, Paracelsus, Petrus Bonus, as well as on the more modern views on the nature of elements contemplated by Boyle, Lavoisier, and Mendeleev. The concept of element in the light of atomic theory is briefly discussed, especially regarding the large number of carbon alotrophs.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
chemistry education; history of chemistry; philosophy of chemistry; periodic system of the elements
Hrčak ID:
222489
URI
Publication date:
30.7.2019.
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