﻿NEWLY 
  DISCOVERED 
  CHEMICAL 
  ELEMENTS 
  

  

  By 
  N. 
  M. 
  Bligh, 
  A. 
  R. 
  C. 
  Sc; 
  A. 
  I. 
  C. 
  

  

  The 
  discovery 
  of 
  a 
  new 
  chemical 
  element 
  can 
  hardly, 
  with 
  scien- 
  

   tific 
  knowledge 
  at 
  its 
  present 
  advanced 
  stage, 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  a 
  fun- 
  

   damental 
  or 
  epoch-making 
  achievement, 
  nor 
  indeed 
  as 
  one 
  exerting 
  

   a 
  revolutionary 
  influence 
  on 
  scientific 
  thought 
  as 
  a 
  whole. 
  Never- 
  

   theless, 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  four 
  new 
  elements 
  have 
  been 
  discovered 
  within 
  

   the 
  last 
  six 
  years, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  to 
  take 
  their 
  place 
  

   in 
  the 
  accepted 
  scheme 
  of 
  chemical 
  classification 
  patiently 
  evolved 
  

   mth 
  advancing 
  knowledge, 
  is 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  considerable 
  satisfaction 
  

   and 
  importance, 
  and 
  one 
  liable 
  to 
  receive 
  less 
  than 
  its 
  due 
  share 
  of 
  

   attention 
  and 
  recognition. 
  It 
  happens 
  that 
  occasionally 
  an 
  out- 
  

   standing 
  scientific 
  discovery 
  is 
  made 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  chance, 
  as 
  was 
  

   to 
  some 
  extent 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  Rontgen 
  radiations; 
  or 
  again, 
  a 
  perfectly 
  

   obvious 
  line 
  of 
  research 
  may, 
  in 
  some 
  inexplicable 
  way, 
  be 
  entirely 
  

   overlooked 
  over 
  a 
  long 
  period 
  of 
  years. 
  The 
  opportunity 
  is 
  at 
  length 
  

   recognized 
  by 
  some 
  astute 
  investigator 
  who, 
  following 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  

   reasoning 
  to 
  its 
  logical 
  conclusion, 
  adds 
  an 
  important 
  result 
  or 
  dis- 
  

   covery 
  to 
  the 
  annals 
  of 
  science. 
  As 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  such 
  may 
  be 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  the 
  isolation 
  of 
  argon 
  and 
  the 
  rare 
  gases 
  of 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  by 
  

   Rayleigh 
  and 
  Ramsay, 
  who 
  happily 
  developed 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  Caven- 
  

   dish 
  over 
  a 
  century 
  previously. 
  In 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  cases, 
  however, 
  

   the 
  achievements 
  of 
  science 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  carefully 
  and 
  

   logically 
  following 
  up 
  a 
  lengthy 
  train 
  of 
  reasoning 
  and 
  research, 
  in 
  

   which 
  due 
  regard 
  is 
  paid 
  to 
  contemporary 
  advances 
  and 
  modifica- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  thought, 
  and 
  to 
  a 
  skillful 
  coordination 
  of 
  progressive 
  theory 
  

   and 
  improved 
  practical 
  technique. 
  In 
  such 
  a 
  category 
  may 
  be 
  placed 
  

   the 
  recent 
  discoveries 
  of 
  new 
  chemical 
  elements, 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  pro- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  consider 
  shortly 
  in 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  the 
  foregoing 
  remarks. 
  

  

  A 
  periodic 
  classification 
  of 
  the 
  known 
  chemical 
  elements 
  had 
  grad- 
  

   ually 
  been 
  evolved, 
  in 
  which, 
  however, 
  there 
  were 
  numerous 
  and 
  fully 
  

   recognized 
  difficulties, 
  not 
  the 
  least 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  certain 
  anomalies 
  

   and 
  irregularities 
  in 
  the 
  values 
  of 
  the 
  atomic 
  weights 
  of 
  the 
  elements, 
  

  

  • 
  Reprinted, 
  with 
  minor 
  changes, 
  by 
  permission 
  of 
  the 
  editor 
  of 
  Scientia, 
  from 
  Scientia, 
  Internationa 
  

   Review 
  of 
  Scientific 
  Synthesis, 
  vol. 
  XLIII, 
  No. 
  CXII-4, 
  Apr. 
  I, 
  1928. 
  Publishers, 
  Q. 
  E. 
  Stechert 
  and 
  

   Co., 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  245 
  

  

  