Analytical chemistry and atomic weights · 1817–1894
Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Marignac spent his career in Geneva and was known for the accuracy of his analytical work rather than for any single dramatic result. He redetermined atomic weights for many elements at a time when those numbers were the main quantitative constraint on chemical theory, and he brought the same care to the rare earths. Where others announced new elements quickly, he tended to report a fraction, describe how far it had been purified, and say plainly what remained uncertain about it — a habit that makes his papers unusually easy to read against later results.
Explore the supporting references at the foot of this article.
Contribution & context
In 1878 he separated ytterbia from the material then called erbia, and in 1880 he obtained from samarskite the fractions that Lecoq de Boisbaudran later confirmed and named gadolinium. Both of his fractions were themselves divided by subsequent workers, which is characteristic of the field rather than a failure of his technique.
arXiv preprint — YtterbiumNIST — YtterbiumRSC Periodic Table — Ytterbiumtsapps.nist.gov — YtterbiumLANL Periodic Table — Ytterbium
Discoveries in context
Fourteen elements hidden in one mineral ↗
The rare earths were separated from one another over more than a century, because chemically similar elements resist the methods that separate ordinary ones.
Sources & further reading
- arXiv preprint — Ytterbium ↗arXivReference explanation · Source checked
- NIST — Ytterbium ↗National Institute of Standards and TechnologyReference explanation · Source checked
- RSC Periodic Table — Ytterbium ↗Royal Society of ChemistryReference explanation · Source checked
- tsapps.nist.gov — Ytterbium ↗tsapps.nist.govReference explanation · Source checked
- LANL Periodic Table — Ytterbium ↗Los Alamos National LaboratoryReference explanation · Source checked
Sources and further reading. What the review labels mean