Solving the puzzle of the periodic table - Eric Rosado

解開週期表拼圖——Eric Rosado

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Geoff Chen

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

我們的地球是構成宇宙的拼圖零片大集合

In the vast darkness of space,

在浩瀚漆黑的太空中

the universe is lit by stars,

宇宙被繁星點亮

which could one day become a supernova

這些星星有一天會變成超新星

and create all the puzzle pieces that we know today

製造出這些拼圖零片，就是我們現今所知的

as the elements.

元素

All elements were formed and released

元素由爆炸的星星形成

into space by exploding stars.

並釋放到太空中

For centuries, humans have tried to discover

幾個世紀以來，人們試著發現

what makes up the world around them.

環繞他們的世界是由什麼組成的

Little did they know that all the pieces they needed

只是他們不知道他們所需的零片

were right under their noses.

都在他們的眼皮底下

The discovery of these pieces revolutionized

這些元素的發現徹底改變了

our understanding of the world

我們對世界的了解

and allowed for the creation of what might be

並且使得這項對科學最偉大的禮物

the greatest gift to science:

被創造出來：

the periodic table.

週期表

So, where are these elements,

所以，這些元素在哪

and how do we find a means to order them?

我們又要如何將其序列？

Well, believe it or not,

怎麼說呢？不管你信不信

ancient civilizations were very much aware

古代的文明都很清楚

of many elements around them,

他們周圍有許多元素

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

但他們不把這些看成是我們宇宙的組成分

Elements like gold, silver, and copper

像金、銀、銅這樣的元素

were easily spotted by ancient cultures,

很容易被古文化認出

and were used for multiple purposes like jewelry and tools.

並拿來做多種用途，像是珠寶首飾或工具

Why were these elements spotted so easily?

為什麼這些元素很容易被找到？

Think of the periodic table as a puzzle.

把週期表想成一個拼圖

The corner pieces are edges of a puzzle,

邊角零片是一個拼圖的邊緣

are generally the easiest to find and place

通常最容易被找到及放定位

because they stand out with their smooth edges,

因為他們平滑的邊緣使他們突出

and clearly don't interlock with other puzzle pieces.

而且很明顯不會與其他拼圖零片互鎖

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

就像拼圖零片，元素對要與誰交互作用很挑剔

Some like to react with other elements,

有一些喜歡與其他元素反應

while others do not.

有一些不喜歡

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

這些不與其他元素作用的元素很容易被指出來

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

而那些喜歡與其他元素作用的就很難被找到

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

金、銀及銅是屬於那些很挑的元素

so we can find them easier.

所以我們容易找到這些

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

所以讓我們把時間快轉到十七世紀末

where Hennig Brand, a German alchemist,

德國煉金術士亨尼格·布蘭德

was busy working in his laboratory.

正在他的實驗室裡忙著

Like many other alchemists of his time,

就像與他同期的其他鍊金術士一樣

Brand was trying to extract gold from the human body.

布蘭德試著要把金從人體內萃取出來

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

布蘭德偶然發現到這個問題最明顯的答案：

urine.

尿液

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

尿液是金色的，所以可能會有金子在裡面

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

所以，布蘭德盡可能的收集了許多尿液

much of it being his own,

很多是他自己的

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

然後他決定要把它煮光希望能獲取金塊

So Brand boiled his, well, urine,

所以布蘭德煮了，嗯，自己的尿

down until he collected a paste

直到他收集到一團糊狀物

and heated the paste to a very high temperature.

然後再把這團糊狀物加熱到非常高的溫度

Eventually smoke appeared

最終冒了煙

and the material burned brightly and violently.

且這物質非常劇烈地燃燒

Brand had unknowingly isolated phosphorous from his urine.

布蘭德在不知情的狀態下從他的尿液中分離出磷

It was the first time anyone had discovered an element,

這是史上第一次有人發現元素

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

但他真的不知道他做了甚麼

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

在布蘭德的時代 ，元素這個概念還沒被發現

Instead ancient Greek principles of objects being composed of

相反的古希臘的四元素說

earth,

土

water,

水

air,

and fire

氣

火

were predominant.

佔主導地位

It wasn't until the work of Antoine Lavoisier,

直到安東萬·拉瓦節

who is now known as the father of chemistry,

這位現代週知的化學之父

that science defined what an element was.

研究才使得科學界定義什麼是元素

Lavoisier defined an element as a substance

拉瓦節定義元素是一種物質

that cannot be broken down by existing chemical means.

不能用既有的化學方法再分解

Lavoisier created a list of the known elements of his time

拉瓦節創造了一個當時已知元素的清單

and tried to put the elements in some sort of order

並試著把這些元素排出某種序列

in which they could be classified,

在其中這些元素可以被分類

such as gases or metals.

像是氣體或金屬

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

他是第一個試著把這塊拼圖拼起來的人

This was just the beginning of a means

這只是一連串方法的開始

to organize the known elements of his time.

要把當時已知元素進行編組

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

後來其他化學家也跟著要把這塊拼圖弄得更清楚

One of them, John Dalton, weighed the elements

其中之一即為約翰·道耳吞，他把元素秤重

and arranged the puzzle by weight.

並以重量來排列此拼圖

German chemist Wolfgang Döbereiner later combined elements

德國化學家德貝萊納後來則把元素配對

to see how they reacted with one another.

看看它們是否能互相反應

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

他發現到某些元素的性質及反應非常相似

For example, when pure lithium, sodium, and potassium

舉例來說，當純鋰、鈉及鉀

are exposed to water,

暴露在水中

they will react violently

它們的反應會非常劇烈

and skid across the surface of the water with sparks.

還會在水面上滑動並產生火花

The scientists then realized that these similiarities

科學家於是瞭解到這些相似點

are no coincidence:

並非偶然：

elements belong to families that share similar properties.

元素是有家族的，而同族的擁有相似的性質

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

但是最終將此拼圖完成的化學家為門得列夫

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

他為每一個元素創造了一張卡片，並試著排列

based on atomic weight and their known properties.

基於原子量及它們已知的性質

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

傳說他熬了三天三夜沒睡

and he finally fell into a deep sleep

最後終於陷入熟睡中

and he dreamed about a table to order the elements.

然後他夢到一張排列元素的表！

Mendeleev was not only able to create the periodic table,

門得列夫不但創造了週期表

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

還預測了某些當時尚未發現的元素

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

元素週期表拼圖因此完成了