Chemists and physicists behaving badly: The shadow side of two elemental discoveries

Abstract

It is appropriate to recall that 2019 was the year dedicated to the Periodic Table. But when we speak about false elements-in the aftermath of the celebrations marking this year,-we are greeted most warmly, but with some puzzlement, as to how it came to mind to celebrate "Mendeleev's creature" in such a peculiar way, that is, by commemorating elements that never existed. In the course of many years, we have discovered and collected a great number of discoveries of simple bodies that sooner or later turned out to be detours or false tracks. Résumé. Il convient de rappeler que 2019 a été l'année consacrée au tableau périodique. Mais quand nous parlons de faux éléments-au lendemain des célébrations de cette année-nous sommes accueillis très chaleureusement, mais avec un peu de perplexité quant à l'idée de célébrer la "créature de Mendeleïev" d'une manière si particulière, c.-à-d., en commémorant des éléments qui n'ont jamais existé.

The Uncertain Role of Nominations for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry†

“…Table 1 lists several chemists who were nominated frequently but never received a NP as of 1970. One of these is the much‐discussed Lise Meitner [11–13] who was nominated in 24 different years and actually received more nominations in physics (30, receiving four nominations in the 1960s) than in chemistry (14, the last being in 1948). Figure 2 displays the nomination chronological profile of the two chemists who received the greatest number of nominations without receiving the Nobel Prize (Christopher K. Ingold and Walter Reppe) and two chemists who received many nominations (Linus Pauling, 65 in 13 years; R. B. Woodward, 112 in 16 years) and did receive the Nobel Prize, Pauling in 1953 and Woodward in 1965.…”

“…Total number of nominations is not necessarily controlling Table 1 lists several chemists who were nominated frequently but never received a NP as of 1970. One of these is the muchdiscussed Lise Meitner [11][12][13] who was nominated in 24 different years and actually received more nominations in physics (30, receiving four nominations in the 1960s) than in chemistry (14, the last being in 1948). Figure 2 What is particularly interesting about Woodward and Pauling is both the number of nominations and the number of years.…”

Understanding chemistry: from “heuristic (soft) explanations and reasoning by analogy” to “quantum chemistry”

“…Also in the mid-1860s, even more basic studies of structure determination were under way: the accomplishments of Dmitri Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer. [47][48][49][50] The periodic system of the elements was based on experimental observations and insightful intuition but not on any fundamental theory. As such, the pre-quantum chemical periodic system is a so theory.…”