Solving the puzzle of the periodic table - Eric Rosado

Ķīmisko elementu puzles salikšana — Ēriks Rosado

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

Translator: Kristaps Kadiķis Reviewer: Ilze Garda

Our Earth is a collection of puzzle pieces that make up the universe.

Mūsu Zeme ir puzles gabaliņu kopums, kas veido Visumu.

In the vast darkness of space,

Izplatījuma tumsas plašumos

the universe is lit by stars,

Visumu izgaismo zvaigznes,

which could one day become a supernova

kas kādudien varētu kļūt par pārnovām

and create all the puzzle pieces that we know today

un radīt visus puzles gabaliņus, ko šodien pazīstam

as the elements.

kā ķīmiskos elementus.

All elements were formed and released

Visus elementus radīja un izplatījumā izsvieda

into space by exploding stars.

sprāgstošas zvaigznes.

For centuries, humans have tried to discover

Gadsimtiem ilgi cilvēki ir centušies atklāt,

what makes up the world around them.

kas veido apkārtējo pasauli.

Little did they know that all the pieces they needed

Viņi pat nenojauta, ka atbilde

were right under their noses.

bija turpat degungalā.

The discovery of these pieces revolutionized

Šo gabaliņu atklāšana pilnībā mainīja

our understanding of the world

mūsu izpratni par pasauli

and allowed for the creation of what might be

un ļāva radīt, iespējams,

the greatest gift to science:

visu laiku lieliskāko dāvanu zinātnei:

the periodic table.

periodisko tabulu.

So, where are these elements,

Kur tad ir šie elementi,

and how do we find a means to order them?

un pēc kāda principa mēs tos sakārtojam?

Well, believe it or not,

Ticiet vai nē,

ancient civilizations were very much aware

senās civilizācijas zināja

of many elements around them,

par daudziem apkārt esošajiem elementiem,

but they did not identify them as the pieces of our universe.

taču viņi tos neuztvēra kā mūsu Visuma gabaliņus.

Elements like gold, silver, and copper

Senās kultūras ātri vien ievēroja tādus elementus

were easily spotted by ancient cultures,

kā zelts, sudrabs un varš

and were used for multiple purposes like jewelry and tools.

un izmantoja tos dažādiem nolūkiem, piemēram, dārglietām un darbarīkiem.

Why were these elements spotted so easily?

Kāpēc gan šos elementus bija tik viegli ievērot?

Think of the periodic table as a puzzle.

Iedomājieties periodisko tabulu kā puzli.

The corner pieces are edges of a puzzle,

Gabaliņi stūros ir puzles malas,

are generally the easiest to find and place

un tos parasti ir visvieglāk atrast un novietot,

because they stand out with their smooth edges,

jo tie ir izceļas savu gludo malu dēļ

and clearly don't interlock with other puzzle pieces.

un acīmredzami nav savietojami ar citiem puzles gabaliņiem.

Like puzzle pieces, elements can be choosy on who they interact with.

Tāpat kā puzles gabaliņi arī elementi var būt izvēlīgi tajā, ar ko tie reaģē.

Some like to react with other elements,

Dažiem patīk reaģēt ar vieniem elementiem,

while others do not.

bet citiem — ne.

The elements that do not interact with other elements are easy to pin-point,

Elementus, kas nereaģē ar citiem elementiem, ir viegli konstatēt,

while the ones who like to interact with others are difficult to find.

kamēr tos, kam patīk reaģēt ar citiem elementiem, atrast ir grūtāk.

Gold, silver, and copper are some of the choosier elements

Zelts, sudrabs un varš ir daži no izvēlīgākajiem elementiem,

so we can find them easier.

tāpēc tie ir vieglāk atrodami.

So let's fast forward to the late 1600's

Pārlēksim uz 1600. gadu beigām,

where Hennig Brand, a German alchemist,

kad Henigs Brands, vācu alķīmiķis,

was busy working in his laboratory.

cītīgi strādāja savā laboratorijā.

Like many other alchemists of his time,

Gluži kā daudzi citi tā laika alķīmiķi

Brand was trying to extract gold from the human body.

Brands centās iegūt zeltu no cilvēka ķermeņa.

Brand hit upon what he thought was the most obvious answer to his problem:

Brands nonāca līdz tam, kas viņam šķita visloģiskākais problēmas risinājums:

urine.

urīns.

Urine is gold in coloration and could perhaps have gold in it.

Urīns bija zeltainā krāsā, un varbūt tā sastāvā bija zelts.

So, Brand collected as much urine as he possibly could,

Tā nu Brands savāca tik daudz urīna, cik vien varēja,

much of it being his own,

— lielākoties savu paša —

then he decided to boil it down in hopes of obtaining gold.

un nolēma to vārīt cerībā iegūt zeltu.

So Brand boiled his, well, urine,

Tā nu Brands vārīja savu... khm, urīnu,

down until he collected a paste

līdz ieguva pastu,

and heated the paste to a very high temperature.

un tālāk karsēja to ļoti augstā temperatūrā.

Eventually smoke appeared

Galu galā parādījās dūmi

and the material burned brightly and violently.

un materiāls aizdegās ar spēcīgu un spilgtu liesmu.

Brand had unknowingly isolated phosphorous from his urine.

Brands nezinot bija no sava urīna izdalījis fosforu.

It was the first time anyone had discovered an element,

Tā bija pirmā reize, kad kāds bija atklājis elementu,

but he didn't really understand what he had done.

taču viņš tā pa īstam neapzinājās, ko bija paveicis.

At the time of Brand, the concept of element had not been discovered.

Branda laikā elementa jēdziens vēl nebija atklāts.

Instead ancient Greek principles of objects being composed of

Tā vietā valdīja seno grieķu uzskati, ka lietas veido

earth,

zeme,

water,

ūdens,

air,

and fire

gaiss

un uguns.

were predominant.

It wasn't until the work of Antoine Lavoisier,

Tikai Antuāna Lavuazjē laikā,

who is now known as the father of chemistry,

kurš nu ir pazīstams kā ķīmijas tēvs,

that science defined what an element was.

zinātne nodefinēja, kas ir elements.

Lavoisier defined an element as a substance

Lavuazjē definēja elementu kā vielu,

that cannot be broken down by existing chemical means.

ko nevar sadalīt sīkāk ar esošajiem ķīmijas līdzekļiem.

Lavoisier created a list of the known elements of his time

Lavuazjē izveidoja savā laikā zināmo elementu sarakstu

and tried to put the elements in some sort of order

un mēģināja elementus sakārtot kaut kādā secībā,

in which they could be classified,

pēc kuras tos varētu klasificēt,

such as gases or metals.

piemēram, kā gāzes vai metālus.

He was the first one to try to put the puzzle together.

Viņš bija pirmais, kurš centās salikt šo puzli.

This was just the beginning of a means

Tas bija tikai sākums iecerei

to organize the known elements of his time.

sakārtot tajā laikā zināmos elementus.

Many other chemists then came along to make the puzzle clearer.

Laikā gaitā daudzi citi ķīmiķi pielika roku pie šīs puzles salikšanas.

One of them, John Dalton, weighed the elements

Viens no tiem, Džons Daltons, nosvēra elementus

and arranged the puzzle by weight.

un sakārtoja puzli pēc to svara.

German chemist Wolfgang Döbereiner later combined elements

Vēlāk vācu ķīmiķis Volfgangs Dēbereiners kombinēja elementus,

to see how they reacted with one another.

lai redzētu, kā tie viens ar otru reaģē.

What he found was that certain elements shared similar properties and reactions.

Viņš atklāja, ka noteiktiem elementiem bija līdzīgas īpašības un reakcijas.

For example, when pure lithium, sodium, and potassium

Piemēram, tīram litijam, nātrijam un kālijam

are exposed to water,

nonākot saskarē ar ūdeni,

they will react violently

tie reaģē agresīvi

and skid across the surface of the water with sparks.

un slīd pa ūdens virsmu, dzirkstelēm šķīstot.

The scientists then realized that these similiarities

Tad zinātnieki saprata, ka šīs līdzības

are no coincidence:

nav nejaušība —

elements belong to families that share similar properties.

elementi pieder dzimtām, kam ir kopīgas īpašības.

But the chemist who finally put the puzzle together is Dmitri Mendeleev.

Tomēr ķīmiķis, kurš puzli beidzot salika, bija Dmitrijs Mendeļejevs.

He created cards of each known element and tried to order them

Viņš izveidoja kartītes ar katru zināmo elementu un centās tās sakārtot pēc

based on atomic weight and their known properties.

atoma masas un to zināmajām īpašībām.

The story is that he stayed up 3 days and 3 nights,

Runā, ka viņš pavadījis nomodā 3 dienas un 3 naktis,

and he finally fell into a deep sleep

līdz beidzot iegrimis dziļā miegā

and he dreamed about a table to order the elements.

un nosapņojis tabulu, kurā elementi sakārtoti.

Mendeleev was not only able to create the periodic table,

Mendeļejevam izdevās ne vien izveidot periodisko tabulu,

but he was able to predict elements that were not yet discovered.

bet arī paredzēt elementus, kas tobrīd vēl nebija atklāti.

The puzzle of the periodic table of the elements was solved.

Ķīmisko elementu puzle bija salikta.