How elements were discovered with rudimentary methods?

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nene_mataro
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How elements were discovered with rudimentary methods?

Post by nene_mataro »

Hi,

Sorry for this stupid question, I know little about chemistry, I'm a programmer. My question is very simple, but I have been unable to find a proper answer on internet.

Most elements were discovered hundreds of years ago. I have lots of questions regarding how they could discover all that with simple experiments, such as:

1. How did they know what they had found was an element and not a compound?
2. How they could distinguish between elements such as oxygen and hydrogen? Do they have different colors or properties? How do you know that a gas is an element and not a compound?
3. How did they know that calcium was an element and sault was a compound?
4. How did they know that eg. H had an atomic number of 1 and not another number?
5. How could they know that Potassium chloride was a compound? How they could distinguish this from another substance with the same appearance?

I feel like an idiot, but I really wonder how they could know any stuff related to atom structure with rudimentary methods so many years ago. Looking at Google images for different substances all of them are white and look the same to me, like sault or medicines hahaha. I hope the overall idea about the doubts I have is understood from my question examples.

I appreciate a lot your replies!!! Thaaaanks
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ChenBeier
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Re: How elements were discovered with rudimentary methods?

Post by ChenBeier »

1. How did they know what they had found was an element and not a compound?
2. How they could distinguish between elements such as oxygen and hydrogen? Do they have different colors or properties? How do you know that a gas is an element and not a compound?
3. How did they know that calcium was an element and sault was a compound? Most of the substances are white and look the same to me.
4. How did they know that eg. H had an atomic number of 1 and not another number?
1. They tried to cut the material more and more until they reached a point that the stuff wasn't to cut anymore. So it was an element or also an Atom. This is valid for all materials solid, liquid or gas.
2. Oxygen has different behaviour as hydrogen. It supports burning, where hydrogen is burning itself and forms water.
Regarding Oxygen, look for the Phlogiston theory and the work of Mr. Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier.
Of course they researched the properties.
3. The same as above Calcium can not cut anymore in smaller compounds by chemistry methods.
4. Hydrogen is the simplest element and also the lightest one, so they gave them the number 1.
Developing of the table periodic System of elements by Mendelejew.
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