The genius of Mendeleev's periodic table - Lou Serico

天才的門得列夫週期表 — 盧．瑟瑞克

Translator: tom carter Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Hao-Wei Chang

The periodic table is instantly recognizable.

人們一眼就能認出週期表

It's not just in every chemistry lab worldwide,

它不只存在於全球每間化學實研室

it's found on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and shower curtains.

還在 T 恤、咖啡杯及浴簾上出現

But the periodic table isn't just another trendy icon.

但週期表並不只是另一個時尚圖像

It's a massive slab of human genius,

它是人類才華的大集合

up there with the Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa, and the ice cream sandwich --

可以與泰姬瑪哈陵、蒙娜麗莎的微笑及冰淇淋三明治相媲

and the table's creator, Dmitri Mendeleev, is a bonafide science hall-of-famer.

而此表的創造者——門得列夫，是位貨真價實的名人堂成員

But why? What's so great about him and his table?

但此話怎講？他本人及其週期表有什麼偉大之處？

Is it because he made a comprehensive list of the known elements?

就因為他對已知元素作出了一張總表？

Nah, you don't earn a spot in science Valhalla just for making a list.

才不是，你決不會因為弄了張清單就進了科學名人堂　 （譯注：原文Valhalla為北歐神話的英靈殿）

Besides, Mendeleev was far from the first person to do that.

況且門得列夫根本不是第一個做這事的人

Is it because Mendeleev arranged elements with similar properties together?

那是因為門得列夫以相似性質來排列元素？

Not really, that had already been done too.

也不盡然，在他之前也有人做過了

So what was Mendeleev's genius?

所以到底門得列夫天才在哪裡？

Let's look at one of the first versions of the periodic table from around 1870.

讓我們看一下約在1870年所創的第一個元素週期表

Here we see elements designated by their two-letter symbols arranged in a table.

這裡我們看見元素以他們的英文簡寫排列在一張表裡

Check out the entry of the third column, fifth row.

來看看第三行第五排這項

There's a dash there.

這有條橫槓

From that unassuming placeholder springs the raw brilliance of Mendeleev.

從這個預留的位置，顯露出門得列夫的聰明才智。

That dash is science.

這就是科學！

By putting that dash there, Dmitri was making a bold statement.

門得列夫以那條橫槓做出一項大膽的聲明

He said -- and I'm paraphrasing here --

他說──我在此重新闡述一番──

Y'all haven't discovered this element yet. In the meantime, I'm going to give it a name.

雖諸君尚未發現此元素，但鄙人要在此替它命名。

It's one step away from aluminum, so we'll call it eka-aluminum,

此元素在鋁下一格，所以我們要稱它為「eka」鋁 （鋁下元素）

"eka" being Sanskrit for one.

「eka」來自梵語，即「一」的意思

Nobody's found eka-aluminum yet, so we don't know anything about it, right?

這個鋁下元素尚未被發現，所以我們應該對其一無所知。 對吧？

Wrong! Based on where it's located, I can tell you all about it.

錯！我可以憑它在週期表的位置來告訴你它的一切

First of all, an atom of eka-aluminum has an atomic weight of 68,

第一，鋁下元素的原子量為68

about 68 times heavier than a hydrogen atom.

比氫原子重約68倍

When eka-aluminum is isolated, you'll see it's a solid metal at room temperature.

鋁下元素被分離出來時，你會看到它在室溫下為固態金屬

It's shiny, it conducts heat really well,

它具金屬光澤，導熱性很好

it can be flattened into a sheet, stretched into a wire,

它能被延展成薄片，拉長成纜線

but its melting point is low. Like, freakishly low.

但是它的熔點很低，簡直是超怪地低

Oh, and a cubic centimeter of it will weigh six grams.

喔，而且它每立方公分只有六公克重

Mendeleev could predict all of these things simply from where the blank spot was,

門得列夫可以僅憑空格的位置來預測這些東西

and his understanding of how the elements surrounding it behave.

而且他了解圍繞在它四周元素的特性

A few years after this prediction,

在他作了這項預測後幾年

a French guy named Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran

有個法國人叫保羅·埃米爾·勒科克·德布瓦博德蘭

discovered a new element in ore samples

在礦砂樣品發現了一種新元素

and named it gallium after Gaul, the historical name for France.

並將其命名為鎵（Gallium）， 以紀念法國的歷史名稱「高盧」（Gaul）

Gallium is one step away from aluminum on the periodic table.

鎵在週期表上位於鋁下一格

It's eka-aluminum. So were Mendeleev's predictions right?

所以它是鋁下元素。所以門得列夫的預測對嗎？

Gallium's atomic weight is 69.72.

鎵的原子量為69.72

A cubic centimeter of it weighs 5.9 grams.

每立方公分重5.9公克

it's a solid metal at room temperature,

在室溫為固態金屬

but it melts at a paltry 30 degrees Celcius,

但在攝氏30度這麼不起眼的溫度下即熔化

85 degrees Fahrenheit.

亦即華氏85度

It melts in your mouth and in your hand.

它熔於你口，也熔於你手

Not only did Mendeleev completely nail gallium,

門得列夫不僅僅完全猜到鎵

he predicted other elements that were unknown at the time:

他還預測了其它當時尚未知的元素

scandium, germanium, rhenium.

鈧、 鍺、 錸

The element he called eka-manganese is now called technetium.

他當時稱為「錳下元素」的，現在稱作鎝（鍀）

Technetium is so rare it couldn't be isolated until it was synthesized in a cyclotron in 1937,

鎝是如此稀有，直到1937年 才在迴旋加速器中被人合成並分離出來

almost 70 years after Dmitri predicted its existence,

幾乎是門得列夫預測其存在後70年了

30 years after he died.

即他死後30年

Dmitri died without a Nobel Prize in 1907, but he wound up receiving a much more exclusive honor.

門得列夫到1907年去世前都與諾貝爾獎無緣， 但他後來得到一項殊榮

In 1955, scientists at UC Berkeley successfully created 17 atoms of a previously undiscovered element.

1955年，加州大學柏克萊分校的科學家 成功創造出17種之前未發現的元素，

This element filled an empty spot in the perodic table at number 101,

這個填在週期表上101空位的元素

and was officially named Mendelevium in 1963.

1963年被正式命名為鍆（紀念門得列夫）

There have been well over 800 Nobel Prize winners,

諾貝爾獎有超過800位得主

but only 15 scientists have an element named after them.

但只有15名科學家擁有以他們為名的元素

So the next time you stare at a periodic table,

所以下回你盯著週期表看時

whether it's on the wall of a university classroom or on a five-dollar coffee mug,

不論是在大學教室的牆上，或是五美元的馬克杯上

Dmitri Mendeleev, the architect of the periodic table,

門得列夫，這位週期表的創造人

will be staring back.

一定也會回盯你看