A Brief History of the Periodic Table
The periodic table organises all of our discovered elements into rows (or periods) in order of increasing atomic number, and columns (or groups) where the elements have similar properties.
Metal elements are found on the left hand side of the periodic table, and non-metal elements are found on the right.
There have been many scientists that worked on developing a chart of elements, but most notably Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published his version in 1869, leaving gaps for future discoveries and developments. Mendeleev is often credited as being the creator of the modern periodic table that we know and use today.
In 1955, the 101st element was named Mendelevium in his honour.
With over 150 years of continuous development and research, the periodic table currently has 118 known elements, and is widely regarded as one of our most significant scientific achievements.
How Does Chemical Analysis Help Our Customers?
Chemistry is at the centre of our entire universe. These elements are essential to life because they make up the molecules that are found in all living and non-living things; everything we see, touch, smell or taste is made up of particles.
Approximately 75% of all known chemical elements are metals. The most common varieties of metals are aluminium, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Carrying out testing on metals is crucial to ensuring they are safe to be used in all types of industries.
Using chemical analysis, we help our customers determine whether the material is suitable for the intended purpose, to determine its type and aid with quality control, safety and compliance measures:
- ICP-OES, allowing elements to be identified by their characteristics and their quantities determined by the intensity of emission lines.
- Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES), to help identify the different types of materials present within the metal sample.
- LECO analysis, to identify traces of combustible gases in the sample, and to determine if the levels of gases present are acceptable for the production or manufacturing process.
We test many types of materials, including:
- Plain Carbon, and Alloy Steels, Stainless, Duplex, 6 Mo Steels and Tool Steels
- Grey and Ductile Cast Irons
- Aluminium
- Zinc Alloys*
- White Metals
- Ferrous Based Alloys
- Cast Iron
- Cobalt Alloys, Ferro Alloys, Nickel Alloys, Copper Alloys, Cupronickel Alloys
- Carbon Steels and Refractories
- High alloyed steels and low alloyed steels
