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Article: Periodic Table
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
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Periodic Table
The Periodic Table places the symbols of chemical elements, sequenced by
atomic number
, in rows and columns that align similar properties.
Antiquity through the Renaissance
A few thousand years ago, primitive chemistry focused mostly on converting one substance into another. The word "chemistry" itself is arguably traced to the name of a region of ancient Egypt where such transformation attempts were practiced. Over the centuries, philosophers tried to come to terms with the growing variety of known substances. They postulated the role of fundamental entities that could not be broken down further but formed simple materials when combined. By the time of ancient Greece, ...