GEXETIC CONNEXIONS BETWEEN THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. ]?8r,^ 



the same thing, the unit is He/4 : (2) that atomic weights- 

 may sometimes be variable with valency ; thus when oxygen 

 becomes tetravalent its atomic weight is 16.036, the increase 

 having been taken from" the other element which made it 

 tetravalent ; again NH3 + HCI contain 8^/, but NH4 CI by analogy 

 with NaCl requires iOf.t. This scheme, however, does not include 

 more than half the well-known elements, but when applied to 

 the others gives the curious result that their atomic weights be- 

 come reduced to whole numbers plus exact tenths. These elements- 

 therefore have a different parentage, probably most simply ex- 

 plicable by assuming the existence of two farther sub-atoms| oi 

 atomic Vv^eight 0-5 and o'l. Thus Cl = 35J- + f<, Ba = i37-| + 2/(- 

 Gl = 9-i+2/(, Mg = 24-3+2/( and so on. One of these is probably 

 identical with coronium, the extraterrestrial element known tr> 

 be lighter than h^^drogen. 



This reduction of the atomic weights to whole numbers (with 

 or without exact tenths) simplifies the problem considerably — 

 in fact, if any non-arbitrary relationship between the occurrence?- 

 of the tenths could be discovered, the problem might be said to be- 

 solved. 



I therefore pass on to discuss the inter-relationship amongst 

 the whole numbers, in which I have the aid of much calculative 

 research, done in the last hundred years. An excellent summary 

 of this appears in F. H. Loring's paper in the Chemical Nen's.^' 

 The most important point is of course well known, 7,'^-., the occur- 

 rence of numbers of the forms 4)1 and 4W — i. I have also noticed 

 that nearl}' all the numbers of the form yn occur. These three 

 classes, if taken to exclude all fractions, will account for all the- 

 atomic v/eight numbers except 13 : and these 13 themselves are not- 

 erratic, being classifiable into {a) 3 monads (H, Rb, Au), {b) 3 dyads- 

 (Gl, Zn, Ba), (c) 3 from group VHI. (Ni, Ru, Ir), (d) 2 pentads '{Cb. 

 Ta) and (e) 2 rai-e-earths (Y, Gd). We thus appear to have two 

 main families of elements, and six small deviations in addition :. 

 thus, the apparent polymers of helium are C, O, Ne, Mg. Si.. 

 S, A, Sc, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ge,^Br, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Te, Ce, Nd, Eu. Tb,. 

 Er, Yb, W, Hg, TL Bi and Th : those of the form 411 — i (or 

 4/.' +3, helium plus zoikon*) are Li, B, F. Na, Al, P, CI, K. \ , 

 Mn, Co, Cu, As, Se, Kr, Sr, Zr ?, Rh, Pd, In, Sn. I, X, La. Sa. 

 Lu ?, Os, Pt, Pb, and Ra : again, those of the form yn (when 

 not included in 4// — i) are N, Ga, Cs, Dy, Tm, Em (217) and 

 U. Calcium and praseodymium have not been placed in the 4W 

 series, their places being taken by the nearly isomeric argon and 

 cerium : they themselves probably belong to classes {b) and {e) 

 above respectively. These minor families seem to be of the form 

 4;i-|-i, 4«-fi|, and 411 +2. 



The occurrence of exact relationships between atomic weights- 

 has been noticed — see Loring's paper, for example. The following 

 are new : some are so striking as to exclude coincidence : (i) 



(Br=Cl2+9-oo=79-92, (2) ICl2=Fo Br,,=i97-84, (3) Hg=Cd Sr=200-c> 



(l = Clo + 56-00 = 126-92 



*26th Rlarch, 1909, p. 148. 



f Journ. Chemical, r\Ietallurgical and Mining Soc. of S.A., May igug. 



