Ambix

ISSN: 0002-6980 (Print) 1745-8234 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yamb20

Mendeleev to Oganesson: A Multidisciplinary

Perspective on the Periodic Table

Karoliina Pulkkinen

To cite this article: Karoliina Pulkkinen (2019): Mendeleev to Oganesson: A Multidisciplinary

Perspective on the Periodic Table, Ambix, DOI: 10.1080/00026980.2019.1610598

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00026980.2019.1610598

Published online: 21 May 2019.

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ambix, 2019, 1–2

Book Review

Mendeleev to Oganesson: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on the Periodic Table. Edited by

ERIC SCERRI AND GUILLERMO RESTREPO. Pp. 328, illus., index. Oxford University Press:
New York. 2018. £80.00. ISBN: 978-0-19-066853-2.

Oxford University Press’s extremely welcome The Lost Elements (2014) and Early Responses
to the Periodic System (2015) are now joined by a new collection of essays on the periodic
table. The volume, edited by Eric Scerri and Guillermo Restrepo – both renowned experts
on the philosophical questions related to the periodic system – will cement OUP’s reputation
as one of the most fruitful publishers of scholarship on the periodic table. The book comprises
fifteen chapters which approach the subject from a commendable range of angles, so the
volume delivers what its title promises.
Many of the questions raised by the contributing authors mark a continuity with
nineteenth-century debates on the periodic system. The continuity is especially pronounced
in the essays that track the ongoing negotiations on whether some elements ought to be situ-
ated elsewhere on the table (Scerri and Parsons, chapter seven), argue in favour of alternative
representations for periodicity (Stewart, chapter three), or seek to establish firmer mathemat-
ical foundations for the system (Restrepo, chapter four). A reader familiar with the history of
periodic systems will notice that all of these concerns can be traced to the writings of the
nineteenth-century chemists who developed early periodic systems. As can be observed
from the dust jacket, the volume cashes in on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Men-
deleev’s periodic system of 1869, which makes it somewhat surprising that the historical con-
tinuity in the topics under discussion is not stressed more in the introduction to the volume.
About five of the essays in the volume are rather technical and require mathematical pro-
ficiency, but the two most historical chapters remain accessible. For readers of Ambix, Masa-
nori Kaji’s lucid chapter tracking the conceptual and social origins of Mendeleev’s periodic
law should be of great interest. Kaji traces Mendeleev’s early fascination with “indefinite com-
pounds,” or compounds with varied composition but constant physical properties. Kaji
suggests that the problems posed by such indefinite compounds contributed to Mendeleev’s
awareness of the limitations of atomic theory. As stressed in the conclusion to the piece, Men-
deleev’s early concern with indefinite compounds contributed to his innovative distinction
between elements and simple substances. For those readers interested in the reception of Men-
deleev’s periodic system, Kaji’s translation of Mendeleev’s unsent letter to Nikolai Nikolaevich
Zinin, the first president of the Russian Chemical Society – published here in full – will be an
especially stimulating source.
Another fascinating addition to the literature on Mendeleev can be found in chapter four-
teen, where Michael D. Gordin presents his translation of Mendeleev’s more philosophical
writings. The two pieces “The Unit” and “The Worldview” were published in Svet, a
journal bringing together science, philosophy, and art. Although the two short articles are
by no means easy to digest, they give insight into the philosophical underpinnings of Mende-
leev’s thinking. The two texts should prove especially useful for philosophers interested in uti-
lising Mendeleev’s philosophical accounts as a basis for their own analyses of the
philosophical aspects of the periodic system.
2 Book Review

Thankfully, not all the attention is given just to Mendeleev. Historians should find William
B. Jensen’s chapter on Richard Abegg’s electrochemical interpretation of the periodic system
valuable. In chapter nine, semiotician Yu Liu provides a novel interpretation of John New-
lands’s Law of Octaves and the system of William Odling. There are also chapters for more
philosophically inclined readers. In chapter four, Guillermo Restrepo discusses similarity
studies of the periodic system, where especially the section on chemical properties helpfully
illustrates the role of compounds in establishing similarities between the elements. Mark
Weinstein’s chapter will be similarly useful to philosophers, as it provides a vivid overview
of the challenges involved in reconstructing the logic underpinning the table.
The copy-editing of the volume seems a little rushed, with some confusing phrasing even on
the book jacket. In Philip J. Stewart’s interesting chapter detailing the merits of Janet’s spiral
system, the name of one of the most important historians of the periodic table should read Jan
(not Johannes) van Spronsen. But these are minor issues. All things considered, this volume
should have something for everyone; or at least, it should have plenty of insightful material
for historians, philosophers, and scientists interested in the many facets of the periodic system.

© 2019 Karoliina Pulkkinen KAROLIINA PULKKINEN

DOI 10.1080/00026980.2019.1610598 University of Cambridge