Abstract
THE discovery by Johann Gadolin in 1794 of the mineral gadolinite opened up a new and difficult field of investigation, which has had an important bearing on the theory of atomic structure. The problem of fitting the rare-earth elements into the periodic system was only partly solved when Moseley's work revealed the total number as well as the positions of members of the cluster. Hevesy shows how Bohr's theory of atomic structure provides a key to their mysterious behaviour, and the well-known fact that, chemically, yttrium lies in the midst of its higher homologues becomes intelligible; for whilst the valency-electrons of tervalent lanthanum are more remote from the nucleus than those of yttrium, and are therefore less firmly bound, other conditions prevail in higher members, where valency-electrons lie at a deeper quantum level.
Die seltenen Erden vom Standpunkte des Atombaues.
Von Prof. Dr. Georg v. Hevesy (Struktur der Materie in Einzeldarstellungen, herausgegeben von M. Born und J. Franck, Heft 5.) Pp. viii + 140. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1927.) 9 gold marks.
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Die seltenen Erden vom Standpunkte des Atombaues. Nature 121, 168 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/121168a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/121168a0