Periodic Table Turns 150

The United Nations has proclaimed 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table. The credit for the table’s creation generally goes to Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, who in 1869 wrote out the 63 known elements. But many other inventors were involved. This video describes the race to invent the periodic table, including how early spectroscopy gave chemists the fingerprinting for the elements. It also describes the discovery of gallium and its role in modern day life. Video courtesy of the American Chemical Society.