What is the most famous discovery of Dmitry Mendeleev? The humble genius dmitry mendeleev

“It is often not the truth itself that is important, but its illumination and the strength of the argumentation in its favor developed. It is also important that the brilliant scientist shares his thoughts, prompting the whole world that he is able to create great things, to find the key to the secret secrets of nature. In this case, Mendeleev's position, perhaps, resembles that taken by the great artists Shakespeare or Tolstoy. The truths cited in their creations are as old as the world, but the artistic images in which these truths are clothed will remain young forever. "

L. A. Chugaev

“An ingenious chemist, a first-class physicist, a fruitful researcher in the field of hydrodynamics, meteorology, geology, in various departments of chemical technology and other disciplines adjacent to chemistry and physics, a deep expert in the chemical industry and industry in general, especially Russian, an original thinker in the field of the doctrine of the national economy , a state mind, which, unfortunately, was not destined to become a statesman, but who saw and understood the tasks and future of Russia better than the representatives of our official authorities. Such an assessment of Mendeleev is given by Lev Alexandrovich Chugaev.

Dmitry Mendeleev was born on January 27 (February 8) 1834 in Tobolsk, the seventeenth and last child in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, who at that time served as director of the Tobolsk gymnasium and schools of the Tobolsk district. In the same year, Mendeleev's father went blind and soon lost his job (he died in 1847). All care for the family then passed to Mendeleev's mother, Maria Dmitrievna, nee Kornilieva, a woman of outstanding intelligence and energy. She managed at the same time to manage a small glass factory, which provided (along with a meager pension) a more than modest livelihood, and take care of children, whom she gave an excellent education at that time. She paid a lot of attention youngest son, in which she was able to discern his extraordinary abilities. However, Mendeleev did not study well at the Tobolsk gymnasium. Not all subjects were to his liking. He willingly studied only mathematics and physics. The disgust for the classical school remained with him for life.

Maria Dmitrievna Mendeleeva died in 1850. Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev kept a grateful memory of her until the end of his days. Here is what he wrote many years later, dedicating his essay "Investigation of aqueous solutions by specific gravity" to the memory of his mother: "This study is dedicated to the memory of the mother by her last. She could only increase it by her own labor, running a factory business; brought up by example, corrected with love and, in order to give to science, took them out of Siberia, spending the last money and effort. Dying, she bequeathed: to avoid Latin self-delusion, to insist in work, and not in words, and patiently seek the divine or scientific truth, because she understood how often dialectics deceives, how much still needs to be learned, and how with the help of science, without violence, lovingly, but prejudices and mistakes are firmly eliminated, and the following are achieved: the protection of the acquired truth, freedom of further development, the common good and inner well-being. D. Mendeleev considers his mother's covenants sacred ”.

Mendeleev found a fertile ground for the development of his abilities only at the Main Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg. Here he met outstanding teachers who were able to instill in the souls of their listeners a deep interest in science. Among them were the best scientific forces of that time, academicians and professors of St. Petersburg University. The very environment of the institute, with all the severity of the regime of a closed educational institution, thanks to the small number of students, extremely caring attitude towards them and their close connection with professors, provided a wide opportunity for the development of individual inclinations.

Mendeleev's student studies related to analytical chemistry: the study of the composition of the minerals of orthite and pyroxene. Subsequently, he actually did not engage in chemical analysis, but always regarded it as a very important tool for clarifying various research results. Meanwhile, it was the analyzes of orthite and pyroxene that stimulated the choice of the topic of his thesis (dissertation): "Isomorphism in connection with other relations of the crystalline form to the composition." It began with these words: “The laws of mineralogy, like those of other natural sciences, relate to three categories that determine the objects of the visible world - to form, content and properties. The laws of forms are subject to crystallography, the laws of properties and content are governed by the laws of physics and chemistry. "

The concept of isomorphism played an essential role here. This phenomenon has been studied by Western European scientists for several decades. In Russia, Mendeleev was essentially the first in this area. His detailed survey of the evidence and observations and the conclusions he formulated would do credit to any scientist dedicated to the problems of isomorphism. As Mendeleev later recalled, “the preparation of this dissertation involved me in the study of most of all chemical relations. By this she determined a lot. " Later, he called the study of isomorphism one of the "precursors" that contributed to the discovery of the Periodic Law.

After completing the course at the Institute, Mendeleev worked as a teacher, first in Simferopol, then in Odessa, where he used Pirogov's advice. In 1856 he returned to St. Petersburg, where he defended his thesis for a master's degree in chemistry "On specific volumes." At the age of 23, he became an assistant professor at St. Petersburg University, where he reads first theoretical, then organic chemistry.

In 1859 Mendeleev was sent on a two-year business trip abroad. If many of his other compatriot chemists were sent abroad mainly "to improve education" without having their own research programs, Mendeleev, in contrast to them, had a clearly developed program. He went to Heidelberg, where he was attracted by the names of Bunsen, Kirchhoff and Kopp, and there he worked in a laboratory organized by himself, mainly investigating the phenomena of capillarity and surface tension liquids, and spent hours of leisure in the circle of young Russian scientists: S. P. Botkin, I. M. Sechenov, I. A. Vyshnegradskiy, A. P. Borodin, etc.

In Heidelberg, Mendeleev made a significant experimental discovery: he established the existence of a "temperature of absolute boiling" (critical temperature), upon reaching which, under certain conditions, a liquid instantly turns into vapor. Soon a similar observation was made by the Irish chemist T. Andrews. Mendeleev worked in the Heidelberg laboratory primarily as an experimental physicist, not a chemist. He failed to solve the problem posed - to establish "the true measure for the adhesion of liquids and to find its dependence on the weight of particles." More precisely, he did not have time to do this - his business trip expired.

At the end of his stay in Heidelberg, Mendeleev wrote: “The main subject of my studies is physical chemistry. Even Newton was convinced that the cause of chemical reactions lies in simple molecular attraction, which causes adhesion and similar phenomena in mechanics. The brilliance of purely chemical discoveries made modern chemistry a completely special science, divorcing it from physics and mechanics, but, undoubtedly, the time must come when chemical affinity will be considered as a mechanical phenomenon ... I chose as my specialty those questions, the solution of which can bring this time closer ".

This handwritten document was preserved in Mendeleev's archive, in which he, in essence, expressed his "cherished thoughts" regarding the directions of knowledge of the deep essence of chemical phenomena.

In 1861 Mendeleev returned to St. Petersburg, where he resumed lecturing on organic chemistry at the university and published works entirely devoted to organic chemistry. One of them, purely theoretical, is called "Experience of the theory of the limits of organic compounds." In it, he develops original ideas about their limiting forms in separate homologous series. Thus, Mendeleev turns out to be one of the first theorists in the field of organic chemistry in Russia. He publishes an excellent textbook for that time " Organic chemistry"- the first Russian textbook, in which the idea that unites the entire set of organic compounds is the theory of limits, originally and comprehensively developed. The first edition sold out quickly, and the student was reprinted the following year. For his work, the scientist was awarded the Demidov Prize, the highest scientific award in Russia at that time. After some time, AM Butlerov described it as follows: "This is the only and excellent original Russian work on organic chemistry, only because it was unknown in Western Europe, because he has not yet found a translator."

Nevertheless, organic chemistry did not become any perceptible sphere of Mendeleev's activity. In 1863, the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University elected him a professor for the department of technology, but due to his lack of a master's degree in technology, he was approved in the position only in 1865. Prior to that, in 1864, Mendeleev was also elected professor of St. Institute of Technology.

In 1865 he defended his thesis "On the compounds of alcohol with water" for the degree of Doctor of Chemistry, and in 1867 he received the Department of Inorganic (General) Chemistry at the University, which he held for 23 years. Having started preparing the lectures, he discovered that neither in Russia nor abroad there is no general chemistry course worthy of being recommended to students. And then he decided to write it himself. This fundamental work, called "Fundamentals of Chemistry", was published in separate issues over several years. The first issue, containing an introduction, consideration of general questions of chemistry, a description of the properties of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, was completed relatively quickly - it appeared already in the summer of 1868.But, while working on the second issue, Mendeleev encountered great difficulties associated with the systematization and sequence of presentation material describing chemical elements. At first, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev wanted to group all the elements he described by valence, but then he chose a different method and combined them into separate groups, based on the similarity of properties and atomic weight. Reflection on this question brought Mendeleev close to the main discovery of his life, which was called Mendeleev's Periodic Table.

The fact that some chemical elements exhibit features of clear similarity was not a secret for chemists of those years. The similarities between lithium, sodium and potassium, between chlorine, bromine and iodine, or between calcium, strontium and barium were striking. In 1857, the Swedish scientist Lensen combined several "triads" by chemical similarity: ruthenium - rhodium - palladium; osmium - platinum - iridium; manganese - iron - cobalt. Attempts have even been made to compile tables of elements. Mendeleev's library contained a book by the German chemist Gmelin, who published such a table in 1843. In 1857, the English chemist Odling proposed his own version. However, none of the proposed systems covered the entire set of known chemical elements. Although the existence of separate groups and individual families could be considered an established fact, the relationship between these groups remained unclear.

Mendeleev managed to find it by arranging all the elements in ascending order of their atomic mass. The establishment of a periodic pattern demanded from him a tremendous strain of thought. Having written the elements with their atomic weights and fundamental properties on separate cards, Mendeleev began to arrange them in various combinations, rearranging and swapping them. The matter was complicated by the fact that many elements had not yet been discovered at that time, and the atomic weights of the already known ones were determined with great inaccuracies. Nevertheless, the desired pattern was soon discovered. Mendeleev himself spoke in this way about his discovery of the Periodic Law: “Having suspected the existence of a relationship between elements in my student years, I never tired of thinking about this problem from all sides, collecting materials, comparing and contrasting figures. Finally the time came when the problem was ripe, when the solution seemed to be about to form in my head. As it always happened in my life, the presentiment of the imminent resolution of the question that tormented me led me into an excited state. For several weeks I slept in fits and starts, trying to find the magic principle that would immediately put in order the entire pile of material accumulated over 15 years. And then one fine morning, after spending a sleepless night and desperate to find a solution, without undressing, I lay down on the sofa in the office and fell asleep. And in a dream I quite clearly presented a table. I immediately woke up and sketched the table I saw in my dream on the very first piece of paper I could find under my arm.

Thus, Mendeleev himself invented the legend that he dreamed of the Periodic Table in a dream, for the stubborn admirers of science who do not understand what an insight is.

Mendeleev, being a chemist, took as the basis of his system chemical properties elements, deciding to arrange chemically similar elements one under another, while observing the principle of increasing atomic weights. It didn't work! Then the scientist simply took and arbitrarily changed the atomic weights of several elements (for example, he assigned an atomic weight of 240 to uranium instead of the accepted 60, that is, increased it four times!), Rearranged cobalt and nickel, tellurium and iodine, put three blank cards, predicting the existence of three unknown elements. Having published the first version of his table in 1869, he discovered the law that "the properties of elements are periodically dependent on their atomic weight."

This was the most important thing in Mendeleev's discovery, which made it possible to connect together all the groups of elements that had previously seemed disparate. Unexpected failures in this periodic series Mendeleev quite correctly explained by the fact that not all chemical elements are known to science. In his table, he left empty cells, but predicted the atomic weight and chemical properties of the alleged elements. He also corrected a number of inaccurately determined atomic masses of elements, and further research fully confirmed his correctness.

The first, still imperfect draft of the table was redesigned in the following years. As early as 1869, Mendeleev placed halogens and alkali metals not in the center of the table, as before, but along its edges (as is done now). In the following years, Mendeleev corrected the atomic weights of eleven elements and changed the location of twenty. As a result, in 1871, the article "Periodic validity for chemical elements" appeared, in which the periodic table took on a completely modern form. The article was translated into German and reprints were sent to many prominent European chemists. But, alas, no one appreciated the importance of this discovery. The attitude to the Periodic Law changed only in 1875, when F. Lecocde Boisbaudran discovered a new element - gallium, the properties of which were strikingly coincident with the predictions of Mendeleev (he called this still unknown element eka-aluminum). Mendeleev's new triumph was the discovery of scandium in 1879 and germanium in 1886, the properties of which also fully corresponded to Mendeleev's descriptions.

Until the end of his life, he continued to develop and improve the doctrine of periodicity. The discoveries in the 1890s of the phenomena of radioactivity and noble gases presented the periodic system with serious difficulties. The problem of placing helium, argon and their analogues in the table was successfully resolved only in 1900: they were placed in an independent zero group. Further discoveries helped to connect the abundance of radioelements with the structure of the system.

Mendeleev himself believed that the main flaw of the Periodic Law and the Periodic System was the absence of their strict physical explanation. It was not possible until the model of the atom was developed. However, he firmly believed that "apparently, the periodic law does not threaten the future with destruction, but only promises superstructures and development" (entry in the diary of July 10, 1905), and the 20th century gave many confirmation of this confidence of Mendeleev.

The ideas of the Periodic Law, which were finally formed during the work on the textbook, determined the structure of the Fundamentals of Chemistry (the last issue of the course with the Periodic Table attached to it was published in 1871) and gave this work an amazing harmony and fundamentalness. All the huge factual material accumulated by this time on the most diverse branches of chemistry was first presented here in the form of a coherent scientific system. Fundamentals of Chemistry has gone through eight editions and has been translated into the main European languages.

Working on the publication of "Foundations", Mendeleev was actively involved in research in the field of inorganic chemistry. In particular, he wanted to find the elements he predicted in natural minerals, and also to clarify the problem of "Rare earths", extremely similar in properties and poorly "fit" into the table. However, such studies were unlikely to be within the power of one scientist. Mendeleev could not waste his time, and at the end of 1871 he turned to a completely new topic - the study of gases.

The experiments with gases took on a very concrete character - they were purely physical studies. Mendeleev can rightfully be considered one of the largest among the few experimental physicists in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. As in Heidelberg, he was engaged in the design and manufacture of various physical devices.

Mendeleev investigated the compressibility of gases and the thermal coefficient of their expansion in a wide range of pressures. He was not able to carry out the planned work in full, however, what he managed to do became a noticeable contribution to the physics of gases.

First of all, this includes the derivation of the equation of state for an ideal gas containing a universal gas constant. It was the introduction of this quantity that played an important role in the development of the physics of gases and thermodynamics. When describing the properties of real gases, he was also not far from the truth.

The physical "component" of Mendeleev's creativity is clearly manifested in the 1870-1880s. Of the nearly two hundred works published by him during this period, at least two-thirds were devoted to studies of the elasticity of gases, various issues of meteorology, in particular, measuring the temperature of the upper layers of the atmosphere, clarifying the regularities of the dependence of atmospheric pressure on altitude, for which he developed aircraft designs that allow observation of temperature, pressure and humidity at high altitudes.

Mendeleev's scientific works constitute only a small part of his creative heritage. As one of the biographers justly remarked, "science and industry, agriculture, public education, social and state issues, the world of art - everything attracted his attention, and everywhere he showed his powerful individuality."

In 1890 Mendeleev left Petersburg University in protest against the infringement of university autonomy and devoted all his energies to practical tasks. Back in the 1860s, Dmitry Ivanovich began to deal with the problems of specific industries and entire industries, he studied the conditions for the economic development of individual regions. As the material accumulates, he proceeds to develop his own program of the country's socio-economic development, which he sets out in numerous publications. The government involves him in the development of practical economic issues, primarily on customs tariffs.

A consistent supporter of protectionism, Mendeleev played an outstanding role in the formation and implementation of the customs and tariff policy of Russia in late XIX - the beginning of the XX century. With his active participation in 1890, a draft of a new customs tariff was created, in which a patronizing system was consistently implemented, and in 1891 the wonderful book "Explanatory Tariff" was published, presenting a commentary on this draft and at the same time a deeply thought-out overview of Russian industry with an indication of her needs and future prospects. This capital labor has become a kind of economic encyclopedia of post-reform Russia. Mendeleev himself considered it to be of paramount importance and engaged in it with enthusiasm. “What a chemist I am, I am a political economist; that there is "Fundamentals" [of chemistry], here is the "Explanatory tariff" - that's another matter, "he said. A feature of Mendeleev's creative method was complete "immersion" in the topic of interest to him, when for some time the work was carried out continuously, often almost around the clock. As a result, he wrote impressive scientific works in an astonishingly short time.

The naval and military ministries entrusted Mendeleev (1891) with the development of the question of smokeless powder, and he (after a trip abroad) in 1892 brilliantly fulfills this task. The "pyrocollodium" he proposed turned out to be an excellent type of smokeless gunpowder, moreover, universal and easily adaptable to any firearm. (Subsequently, Russia bought "Mendeleev's" gunpowder from the Americans who acquired the patent).

In 1893, Mendeleev was appointed manager of the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures, which had just been transformed by his own instructions, and remained in this post until the end of his life. There Mendeleev organizes a number of works in metrology. In 1899 he made a trip to the Ural factories. As a result, an extensive and highly informative monograph on the state of the Ural industry appeared.

The total volume of Mendeleev's work on economic topics is hundreds of printed sheets, and the scientist himself considered his work one of the three main areas of service to the Motherland, along with work in the field of natural science and teaching. Mendeleev advocated the industrial development of Russia: "I have not been and will not be either a manufacturer, or a factory owner, or a trader, but I know that without them, without attaching important and significant importance to them, one cannot think of the lasting development of Russia's welfare."

His works and performances were distinguished by a vivid and imaginative language, an emotional and interested manner of presenting material, that is, by the fact that was characteristic of the unique "Mendeleev style", "the natural wildness of a Siberian" that never succumbed to any gloss ", which made an indelible impression on contemporaries.

For many years Mendeleev remained at the forefront of the struggle for the country's economic development. He had to refute accusations that his activities in promoting the ideas of industrialization were motivated by personal interests. In his diary entry dated July 10, 1905, the scientist also noted that he saw his task in attracting capital to industry, “without foul contact with them ... Let me be judged here, how and whoever wants, I have nothing to repent of, because neither I did not serve capital, neither brute force, nor my own wealth, but only tried and, as long as I can, I will try to give a fruitful, industrially real business to my country ... Science and industry are my dreams. "

Caring about the development of domestic industry, Mendeleev could not avoid the problem of nature protection. Already in 1859, a 25-year-old scientist published in the first issue of the Moscow magazine "Bulletin of Industry" an article "On the origin and destruction of smoke." The author points out the great harm that untreated exhaust gases can cause: "Smoke darkens the day, penetrates into homes, dirty the facades of buildings and public monuments and causes many inconveniences and ill health." Mendeleev calculates the theoretically required amount of air for the complete combustion of fuel, analyzes the composition of fuel of various grades, and the combustion process. He especially emphasizes the harmful effect of sulfur and nitrogen contained in coals. This remark of Mendeleev is especially relevant today, when in various industrial installations and transport, in addition to coal, a lot of diesel fuel and fuel oil with a high sulfur content are burned.

In 1888 Mendeleev developed a project to clear the Don and Seversky Donets, which was discussed with representatives of the city authorities. In the 1890s, the scientist took part in the publication of the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedic dictionary, where he published a number of articles on the conservation of nature and resources. In the article "Waste water" he examines in detail the natural treatment of waste water, with a number of examples shows how wastewater industrial enterprises... In the article "Waste or residues (technical)" Mendeleev gives many examples of useful waste processing, especially industrial waste. "Utilization of waste," he writes, "generally speaking, is the transformation of useless goods into goods of value in their properties, and this is one of the most important achievements of modern technology."

The breadth of Mendeleev's works devoted to the conservation natural resources, characterize his research in the field of forestry during a trip to the Urals in 1899. Mendeleev carefully studied the growth of various varieties of trees (pine, spruce, fir, birch, larch, etc.) on the vast area of \u200b\u200bthe Ural Territory and the Tobolsk province. The scientist insisted that "the annual consumption should be equal to the annual increase, because then the descendants will have the same amount as we received."

The emergence of the powerful figure of an encyclopedic scientist and thinker was a response to the needs of developing Russia. The creative genius of Mendeleev was in demand by the time. Reflecting on the results of his many years of scientific activity and accepting the challenges of the time, Mendeleev increasingly turned to socio-economic problems, investigated the laws of the historical process, clarified the essence and features of his contemporary era. It is noteworthy that this direction of thought movement is one of the characteristic intellectual traditions of Russian science.

Mendeleev Dmitry Ivanovich - Russian scientist, brilliant chemist, physicist, researcher in the field of metrology, hydrodynamics, geology, deep expert in industry, instrument-maker, economist, aeronaut, teacher, public figure and original thinker.

Childhood and youth

The great scientist was born in 1834, on February 8, in Tobolsk. Father Ivan Pavlovich was the director of district schools and the Tobolsk gymnasium, came from the family of the priest Pavel Maksimovich Sokolov, Russian by nationality.

Ivan changed his last name in childhood, as a student of the Tver Seminary. Presumably, this was done in honor of his godfather, the landowner Mendeleev. Later, the question of the nationality of the scientist's surname was repeatedly raised. According to some sources, she testified about Jewish roots, according to others - about German. Dmitry Mendeleev himself said that his teacher from the seminary gave Ivan the surname. The young man made a successful exchange and thus became famous among his classmates. According to two words - "to do the exchange" - Ivan Pavlovich was entered in the training sheet.

Mother Maria Dmitrievna (nee Kornilieva) was engaged in raising children and housework, had a reputation as an intelligent and intelligent woman. Dmitry was the youngest in the family, the last of fourteen children (according to other information, the last of seventeen children). At the age of 10, the boy lost his father, who went blind and soon died.

During his studies at the gymnasium, Dmitry did not show his abilities, the most difficult thing was Latin. His mother instilled love for science, she also participated in the formation of his character. Maria Dmitrievna took her son to study in St. Petersburg.

In 1850, in St. Petersburg, the young man entered the Main Pedagogical Institute at the Department of Natural Sciences of Physics and Mathematics. His teachers were professors E. H. Lenz, A. A. Voskresensky and N. V. Ostrogradsky.

While studying at the institute (1850-1855) Mendeleev demonstrates outstanding abilities. As a student, he publishes the article "On Isomorphism" and a number of chemical analyzes.

The science

In 1855 Dmitry received a diploma with a gold medal and was sent to Simferopol. Here he works as a senior gymnasium teacher. With the outbreak of the Crimean War, Mendeleev moved to Odessa and received a teaching position at the Lyceum.

In 1856 he was again in St. Petersburg. She studies at the university, defends her thesis, teaches chemistry. In the fall, he defended another dissertation and was appointed assistant professor of the university.

In 1859 Mendeleev was sent on a business trip to Germany. Works at the University of Heidelberg, equips a laboratory, investigates capillary liquids. Here he wrote articles "On the temperature of absolute boiling" and "On the expansion of liquids", discovered the phenomenon of "critical temperature".

In 1861, the scientist returned to St. Petersburg. Creates the textbook "Organic Chemistry", for which he is awarded the Demidov Prize. In 1864 he was already a professor, and two years later he headed the department, taught and worked on "Fundamentals of Chemistry".

In 1869 he presented the periodic system of elements, the improvement of which he devoted his whole life. In the table, Mendeleev presented the atomic mass of nine elements, later added a group of noble gases to the vault and left room for elements that still had to be discovered. In the 90s, Dmitry Mendeleev contributed to the discovery of the phenomenon of radioactivity. The periodic law included evidence of the relationship between the properties of elements and their atomic volume. Now next to each table of chemical elements is a photo of the discoverer.

In 1865-1887 he developed the hydration theory of solutions. In 1872, he began to study the elasticity of gases, two years later he derived the equation of an ideal gas. Among the achievements of Mendeleev of this period are the creation of a scheme for fractional distillation of oil products, the use of tanks and a pipeline. With the assistance of Dmitry Ivanovich, the burning of black gold in the furnaces completely stopped. The scientist's phrase "Burning oil is the same as stoking the stove with banknotes" has become an aphorism.

Geographical research became another area of \u200b\u200bthe scientist's activity. In 1875, Dmitry Ivanovich visited the Paris International Geographical Congress, where he presented his invention to the court - a differential barometer-altimeter. In 1887, the scientist took part in a balloon journey to the upper atmosphere to observe a total solar eclipse.

In 1890, a quarrel with a high-ranking official caused Mendeleev to leave the university. In 1892, a chemist invents a method for producing smokeless powder. At the same time, he was appointed custodian of the Depot of Model Weights and Measures. Here he resumes the prototypes of the pound and the arshin, is engaged in calculations in comparison of Russian and English standards of measures.

On the initiative of Mendeleev in 1899, the metric system of measures was optionally introduced. In 1905, 1906 and 1907, the scientist was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize. In 1906, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Mendeleev, but the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences did not confirm this decision.

Mendeleev, who is the author of more than one and a half thousand works, had tremendous scientific authority in the world. For his services, the scientist was awarded numerous scientific titles, Russian and foreign awards, was an honorary member of a number of scientific societies at home and abroad.

Personal life

In his youth, an unpleasant incident happened to Dmitry. Courtship of the girl Sonya, with whom he had known since childhood, ended in engagement. But the pampered beauty did not go to the crown. On the eve of the wedding, when preparations were already in full swing, Sonechka refused to marry. The girl thought that there was no point in changing something if life was good anyway.

Dmitry painfully experienced a break with the bride, but life went on as usual. He was distracted from heavy thoughts by a trip abroad, lecturing and faithful friends. Having resumed relations with Feozva Nikitichnaya Leshcheva, whom he had known earlier, he began to meet with her. The girl was 6 years older than Dmitry, but she looked young, so the age difference was imperceptible.

In 1862 they became husband and wife. The first daughter Masha was born in 1863, but lived for only a few months. In 1865, a son, Volodya, was born, three years later, a daughter, Olya. Dmitry Ivanovich was attached to children, but he devoted little time to them, since his life was devoted to scientific activity. In a marriage, concluded on the principle of "endure and fall in love," he was not happy.

In 1877, Dmitry met Anna Ivanovna Popova, who became for him a person capable of supporting him with a clever word in difficult times. The girl turned out to be a creatively gifted person: she studied at the conservatory to play the piano, and later at the Academy of Arts.

Dmitry Ivanovich hosted youth "Fridays", where he met Anna. "Fridays" were transformed into literary and artistic "environments", which were frequented by talented artists and professors. Among them were Nikolai Wagner, Nikolai Beketov and others.

The marriage of Dmitry and Anna took place in 1881. Soon their daughter Lyuba was born, their son Ivan appeared in 1883, the twins Vasily and Maria in 1886. In the second marriage, the scientist's personal life developed happily. Later, the poet became the son-in-law of Dmitry Ivanovich, having married the daughter of the scientist Lyubov.

Death

At the beginning of 1907, a meeting between Dmitry Mendeleev and the new Minister of Industry Dmitry Filosofov took place in the Chamber of Weights and Measures. After going around the ward, the scientist fell ill with a cold, which caused pneumonia. But even being seriously ill, Dmitry continued to work on the manuscript "To the Knowledge of Russia", the last words he wrote in which was the phrase:

“In conclusion, I consider it necessary, at least in the most general terms, to express ...”.

Death occurred at five o'clock in the morning on February 2 due to heart paralysis. The grave of Dmitry Mendeleev is located at the Volkovo cemetery in St. Petersburg.

The memory of Dmitry Mendeleev is immortalized by a number of monuments, documentaries, the book “Dmitry Mendeleev. The author of the great law. "

• Many people are associated with the name of Dmitry Mendeleev interesting facts biographies. In addition to being a scientist, Dmitry Ivanovich was engaged in industrial exploration. In the 70s, the oil industry began to flourish in the United States, technologies appeared that made the production of petroleum products cheaper. Russian manufacturers began to suffer losses on the international market due to their inability to compete on price.
• In 1876, at the request of the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Russian Technical Society, which collaborated with the military department, Mendeleev went overseas to an exhibition of technical innovations. On the spot, the chemist studied innovative principles for the manufacture of kerosene and other petroleum products. And according to the ordered reports of the railway services of Europe, Dmitry Ivanovich tried to decipher the method of making smokeless powder, which he succeeded.

• Mendeleev had a hobby - making suitcases. The scientist sewed clothes for himself.
• The scientist is credited with the invention of vodka and the moonshine still. But in fact, Dmitry Ivanovich, in the topic of his doctoral dissertation "Discourse on the combination of alcohol with water", studied the issue of reducing the volume of mixed liquids. In the work of the scientist there was not even a word about vodka. And the 40 ° standard was established in tsarist Russia back in 1843.
• Invented pressurized compartments for passengers and pilots.
• There is a legend that the discovery of Mendeleev's periodic system occurred in a dream, but this is a myth created by the scientist himself.
• He rolled cigarettes himself, using expensive tobacco. He said he would never quit smoking.

Discoveries

• He created a controlled balloon, which became an invaluable contribution to aeronautics.
• Developed the periodic table of chemical elements, which became a graphic expression of the law established by Mendeleev in the course of work on the "Fundamentals of Chemistry".
• He created a pycnometer - a device capable of determining the density of a liquid.
• Discovered the critical boiling point of liquids.
• Created the equation of state for an ideal gas, establishing the relationship between the absolute temperature of an ideal gas, pressure and molar volume.
• He opened the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures - the central institution of the Ministry of Finance, which was in charge of the verification part of the Russian Empire, subordinate to the department of trade.

According to legend, the thought of the system of chemical elements came to Mendeleev in a dream, but it is known that once, when asked how he discovered the periodic system, the scientist replied: “I have been thinking about it for maybe twenty years, but you think: I was sitting and suddenly ... done. "

Unexpected thought

March 1, 1869. It was cloudy and frosty in Petersburg that day. Trees creaked in the wind in the university garden, where the windows of Mendeleev's apartment looked out. While still in bed, Dmitry Ivanovich drank a mug of warm milk, then got up, washed and went to breakfast. He was in a wonderful mood.

At breakfast Mendeleev had an unexpected idea: to compare the close atomic masses of various chemical elements and their chemical properties.

Without thinking twice, he began to write chemical symbols on a random piece of paper, and then completely, interrupting breakfast, retired to his office. Closing, he took out a pack of business cards and began to write the symbols of the elements and their main chemical properties on their reverse side. At that time, 63 of them were known. Having laid out these cards, Dmitry Ivanovich began to arrange them, rearrange them from place to place, and play them like a "chemical solitaire".

After a while, the household heard how from the office began to hear: “Oooh! Horned. Wow, how horny! I will overcome those. I'll kill you! " These exclamations meant that Dmitry Ivanovich had a creative inspiration.

On that day, the appearance of the future Periodic Table of Chemical Elements began to take shape. And after it the Periodic Law of Mendeleev.

Throughout the day, Mendeleev worked on the system of elements, taking a short break to play with his daughter Olga, have lunch and dinner.

On the evening of March 1, 1869, he rewrote the table he had compiled, and under the title "Experience of a system of elements based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity" sent it to the printing house, making notes for the typesetters and putting the date "February 17, 1869" (this is the old style). Later, Mendeleev sent the printed leaflets with the table of elements to many domestic and foreign chemists.

So the Periodic Law was discovered, the modern formulation of which is as follows: “Properties simple substances, as well as the forms and properties of compounds of elements are periodically dependent on the charge of the nuclei of their atoms. "

Mendeleev was then only 35 years old.

N.A. Yaroshenko. Portrait of Dmitry Mendeleev

On March 18, 1869, a short report on the Periodic Law was published on behalf of Mendeleev in the Journal of the Russian Chemical Society. At first, the report did not attract much attention from chemists, and the President of the Russian Chemical Society, Academician Nikolai Zinin (1812-1880) stated that Mendeleev is not doing what a real researcher should do... True, two years later, after reading Dmitry Ivanovich's article "The Natural System of Elements and Its Application to Indicating the Properties of Certain Elements", Zinin changed his mind and wrote to Mendeleev: "Very, very good, a lot of excellent convergence, even fun to read, God bless you in an experienced confirmation of your conclusions. Sincerely devoted to you and deeply respecting you, N. Zinin. "

DI Mendeleev's periodic law is extremely important. He laid the foundation for modern chemistry, made it a unified, integral science. Elements began to be considered interrelated, depending on what place they occupy in the periodic table. The discovery of the Periodic Law hastened the development of chemistry and the discovery of new chemical elements.

On the basis of the periodic law and the periodic system of D.I.Mendeleev, the theory of the structure of the atom developed rapidly. As ND Zelinsky pointed out, the periodic law was "the discovery of the mutual connection of all atoms in the universe."

Criticism from Western colleagues

Not all foreign chemists immediately appreciated the significance of Mendeleev's discovery. It changed a lot in the world of the prevailing ideas. Thus, the German physicochemist Wilhelm Ostwald, the future Nobel laureate, argued that it was not the law that was discovered, but the principle of classification of "something indefinite." The German chemist Robert Bunsen, who discovered in 1861 two new alkaline elements, rubidium Rb and cesium Cs, wrote that Mendeleev carried chemists "into the far-fetched world of pure abstractions."

Leipzig University professor Hermann Kolbe in 1870 called Mendeleev's discovery “speculative”. Kolbe was distinguished by his rudeness and rejection of new theoretical views in chemistry. In particular, he was an opponent of the theory of the structure of organic compounds and at one time attacked the article by Jacob van't Hoff "Chemistry in Space". Later, Van't Hoff became the first Nobel laureate for his research. But Kolbe suggested such researchers as Van't Hoff, "to exclude from the ranks of real scientists and enroll them in the camp of spiritualists"!

Every year the Periodic Law has won an increasing number of supporters, and its discoverer - more and more recognition. High-ranking visitors began to appear in Mendeleev's laboratory, including even the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the head of the naval department.

Mendeleev's prediction and triumph

Thanks to Mendeleev, chemistry ceased to be a descriptive science. With the discovery of the periodic law, scientific foresight became possible in it. It became possible to predict and describe new elements and their connections, not yet discovered. A brilliant example of this is D. I. Mendeleev's prediction of the existence of elements not yet discovered in his time, of which for three - Ga, Sc, Ge - he gave an accurate description of their properties.

Following unexpected criticism from Western colleagues, it was finally time for triumph.

In 1875, the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran discovered wurtzite,predicted by Mendeleev "Ekaaluminium" and named him after his homeland gallium Ga (the Latin name for France is "Gaul"). The humble French wrote:

"I think there is no need to insist on the enormous importance of confirming the theoretical conclusions of Mr. Mendeleev."

Note that the name of the element also hints at the name of Boisbaudran himself. The Latin word "gallus" means rooster, and in French the rooster means "le coke". This word is also in the name of the discoverer. What Lecoq de Boisbaudran had in mind when he gave the name to the element - himself or his country - this, apparently, will never be clear.

It is known for certain that Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev accurately predicted the properties ekaaluminium: its atomic mass, metal density, the formula of oxide El 2 O 3, chloride ElCl 3, sulfate El 2 (SO 4) 3. After the discovery of gallium, these formulas began to be written as Ga 2 O 3, GaCl 3 and Ga 2 (SO 4) 3. Mendeleev predicted that it would be a very low-melting metal, and indeed, the melting point of gallium turned out to be equal to 29.8 o C. In terms of low melting point, gallium is second only to mercury Hg and cesium Cs.

In 1879, Swedish chemist Lars Nilsson discovered scandiumpredicted by Mendeleev as ekabor Eb. Nilsson wrote:

"There is no doubt that ekabor has been discovered in scandium ... This is how the considerations of the Russian chemist are clearly confirmed, which not only made it possible to predict the existence of scandium and gallium, but also to foresee their most important properties in advance."

Scandium was named after Nilson's homeland of Scandinavia, and he discovered it in a complex mineral gadolinite.

In 1886, German chemist Clemens Winkler, professor at the Mining Academy in Freiburg, analyzed a rare mineral argyrodite discovered another element predicted by Mendeleev. Winkler named the element he discovered germany Ge in honor of his homeland, but for some reason this caused strong objections from some chemists. They began to accuse Winkler of nationalism, of appropriating the discovery made by Mendeleev, who had already given the name to the element " ekasilicon"And the symbol Es. Discouraged, Winkler turned to Dmitry Ivanovich himself for advice. He explained that it was the discoverer of the new element that should give it a name.

In 1905, Mendeleev wrote: "Apparently, the future does not threaten the periodic law with destruction, but only promises superstructures and development, although they wanted to erase me as a Russian, especially the Germans."

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev in the office

Why did not receive the Nobel Prize

As you know, Mendeleev, like Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky, unexpectedly for everyone, were not awarded the international Nobel Prize. On this occasion, even at a meeting of the Bureau of the Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on November 1, 1955, a refusal to nominate Soviet scientists for the 1956 Nobel Prize was announced (in the minutes this is clause 19). The motive is this:

“This prize cannot be considered international due to the fact that the Nobel Committee at one time did not consider it necessary to award this prize to outstanding figures in science and culture of our country (D. I. Mendeleev, L. N. Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov, M. Gorky ) "

The motive is very compelling. But the authors of this statement did not take into account an interesting fact, which is usually not spoken about out loud. To be even more precise, they could not have known about this, because the secrecy label was removed much later and what happened in the first decade of the XX century in the Nobel Committee became known only in the 1960s.

It was established that the great chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, who died 73 years old on February 2, 1907, was nominated (exhibited) for the Nobel Prize (which, we recall, has been awarded since 1901) three times - in 1905, 1906 and 1907. However, in a secret ballot, which was held by members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, his candidacy was constantly failing, and one of the most compelling reasons - the creator of the Periodic Table of the Elements was nominated exclusively by foreigners, not compatriots. All of this is reflected in the archives of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

It so happened that only foreign connoisseurs of his work, the Swedes, first of all, defended the great discovery and priority of the Russian thinker. As for the domestic scientific community, according to S.Yu. Witte, it stirred up

“Only when he died” and when “they started shouting that we had lost the great Russian scientist. It's good that the Russians gave him this honor after his death, although it would be more pleasant for Mendeleev if his merits were appreciated during his life. "

One of the main reasons why there was not a single compatriot among its nominators (scientists entitled to nominate candidates) were the envy of ill-wishers and the rather difficult character of the scientist. Finance Minister Witte also mentioned this in his memoirs.

But besides the complexity of character, there was something else.

Mendeleev was a patriot of his country and free in the search for truth and therefore inconvenient for power. Few people know that a world-renowned scientist, author of fundamental research in chemistry, physics, metrology, aeronautics, meteorology, agriculture, economics and chemical technology was expelled back in 1880 (according to another version, he left) from the university because of conflict with the Minister of Education, who, during the student unrest, refuses to accept the students' petition from Mendeleev.

I. N. Kramskoy. D.I. Mendeleev. 1878.

However, there was also a completely objective component that limited the possibility of his nomination for the Nobel Prize. The fact is that one of the main requirements during the first four decades of the functioning of the Nobel institutions was the inevitable novelty of the discovery. This requirement, repeated in the charter, was provided for by Alfred Nobel himself in his will. And that is why Mendeleev's scientific breakthrough in the creation of the Periodic Table of Elements, dated 1869, when he published his "Experience of a System of Elements Based on Their Atomic Weight and Chemical Affinity", did not fit into the Procrustean bed of the strictly followed charter.

But there is another version why Mendeleev did not receive the award.

Fighting the predatory consumption of hydrocarbons, Mendeleev comes into conflict with Ludwig Nobel, the elder brother of the famous Alfred, and his associates. Taking advantage of the oil crisis and striving for a monopoly on the production and distillation of Baku oil, the Nobels speculated on rumors about its depletion. Mendeleev proved the unfoundedness of such rumors, to the displeasure of Nobel. By the way, it was Mendeleev who, back in the 1860s, proposed the construction of oil pipelines and the delivery of crude oil to Central Russia with their help. However, the Nobels, well aware of the benefits of this for the Russian state, reacted extremely negatively to his proposal, since they saw this as damage to their own monopoly. However, exactly 20 years later, the Nobels successfully implemented Mendeleev's proposal as their own.

DI Mendeleev's scientific authority was enormous. The list of titles and titles includes more than one hundred titles. Almost all Russian and most of the most respected foreign academies, universities and scientific societies, he was elected as their honorary member. Nevertheless, he signed his works, private and official appeals without indicating any involvement in them: “D. Mendeleev "or" Professor Mendeleev ", rarely mentioning any honorary titles awarded to him.

In a private letter to S. Yu. Witte, which remained unsent, D. I. Mendeleev, stating and evaluating his many years of activity, calls "three services to the Motherland":

“The fruits of my labors are, first of all, scientific fame, which is my pride - not only my personal, but also common Russian ... Best time life and its main strength was teaching ... Of the thousands of my students, there are now many prominent figures, professors, administrators everywhere, and when meeting them, I always heard that the seed was good in them, and not a simple service ... My third service is the least visible to my Motherland, although it cared me from a young age until now. This is a service to the best of our ability and opportunity for the benefit of the growth of Russian industry ... "

On January 20, at 5.20 am, the heart of a great Russian man and a great scientist stopped ...

The thaw struck on the day of the funeral. The snow turned into wet mush. Lanterns, entwined with a black veil, flickered dimly through the misty haze. ”The procession of many thousands stretched for a long time through the streets of St. Petersburg to the Volkov cemetery. And when everyone gathered at the grave, it was already the early twilight of a short northern day.

“Great teacher! Glory to the Russian land! - said at the grave D. Konovalov, a student of Mendeleev. - Your covenants will not die. Your spirit will always live between us and will always instill faith in a bright future. May your native land be easy for you! "

It began to darken quickly. The crowd began to slowly disperse, and soon a small elevation of frozen ground, buried in flowers and wreaths, remained at the burial site. Nearby, leaning against the wall of the crypt, proudly towering over the flowers, was a cardboard table with the periodic table, torn by students of the Institute of Technology from the classroom wall. And this unusual neighborhood of gray dull cardboard with flowers and twisted earth gave exciting significance and solemnity to what had happened.

Exactly one year later, relatives, friends and colleagues gathered for a memorial service at Mendeleev's grave. In mournful silence they crowded around a cement crypt slightly elevated above the ground, surrounded by granite pedestals with iron chains. A granite block topped with a massive cross towered over the grave. Because of the severe frosts, the masons managed to knock out only three words on the granite: Dmitry Ivanovich MENDELEEV.

This imperfection especially embarrassed the dowager Anna Ivanovna. And suddenly, right behind her, someone said: "It's so good that there is nothing on the monument except the name - Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev - it is on this grave that you don't need to write anything else."

And neither a bust of Dmitry Ivanovich, nor a bas-relief, nor quotes, nor a full title appeared on the monument, which he never wished to sign during his lifetime ...

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev

Dmitry Mendeleev in his office, 1904

Russian encyclopedic scientist: chemist, physicochemist, physicist, metrologist, economist, technologist, geologist, meteorologist, oilman, teacher, aeronaut, instrument-maker. Professor of St. Petersburg University; Corresponding member of the category "physical" of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Among the most famous discoveries is the periodic law of chemical elements, one of the fundamental laws of the universe, inherent in all natural science. The author of the classic work "Fundamentals of Chemistry".

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) - Russian scientist and encyclopedist. In 1869 he discovered the periodic law of chemical elements - one of the basic laws of natural science. He left over 500 published works, among which the classic "Foundations of Chemistry" - the first harmonious exposition of inorganic chemistry. Also D.I. Mendeleev is the author of fundamental research in physics, metrology, aeronautics, meteorology, agriculture, economics, public education, closely related to the needs of Russia's economic development. Organizer and first director of the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures.

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834 in Tobolsk in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, who at that time held the position of director of the Tobolsk gymnasium and schools of the Tobolsk district. Dmitry was the last seventeenth child in the family. In 1841-1849. studied at the Tobolsk gymnasium.

Mendeleev received his higher education at the Natural Sciences Department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of the Main Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in 1855 with a gold medal. In 1856 he defended his master's thesis at St. Petersburg University and from 1857, as an associate professor, taught a course in organic chemistry there. In 1859-1861. he was on a scientific trip to Heidelberg, where he made friends with many scientists who were there, including A.P. Borodin and I.M. Sechenov. There he worked in his small home laboratory, as well as in the laboratory of R. Bunsen at the University of Heidelberg. In 1861 he published the textbook "Organic Chemistry", which was awarded the Demidov Prize by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

In 1862 Mendeleev married the stepdaughter of the famous author of The Little Humpbacked Horse, Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov, Feozva Nikitichnaya Leshcheva, a native of Tobolsk. In this marriage, he had three children, but one daughter died in infancy. In 1865, the scientist acquired the Boblovo estate in the Moscow province, where he was engaged in agrochemistry and agriculture. F.N. Leshcheva and her children lived there most of the time.

In 1864-1866. DI. Mendeleev was a professor at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology. In 1865 he defended his doctoral dissertation "On the combination of alcohol with water" and at the same time was approved by a professor at St. Petersburg University. Taught by Mendeleev in other higher educational institutions... He took an active part in public life, appearing in the press with demands for permission to read public lectures, protested against circulars restricting the rights of students, and discussed the new university charter.

Mendeleev's discovery of the periodic law dates back to March 1, 1869, when he compiled a table entitled "Experience of a system of elements based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity." It was the result of many years of searching. He compiled several versions of the periodic table and, on its basis, corrected the atomic weights of some known elements, predicted the existence and properties of still unknown elements. At first, the system itself, the corrections made and Mendeleev's forecasts were met with restraint. But after the discovery of the elements predicted by him (gallium, germanium, scandium), the periodic law began to gain recognition. The periodic table has become a kind of guiding map in the study of inorganic chemistry and in research work in this area.

In 1868 Mendeleev became one of the organizers of the Russian Chemical Society.

At the end of the 1870s. Dmitry Mendeleev fell passionately in love with Anna Ivanovna Popova, the daughter of a Don Cossack from Uryupinsk. In his second marriage, DI Mendeleev had four children. DI. Mendeleev was the father-in-law of the Russian poet Alexander Blok, who was married to his daughter Lyubov.

Since 1876, Dmitry Mendeleev was a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, in 1880 he was promoted to academician, but was blackballed, which caused a sharp public protest.

In 1890 Mendeleev, being a professor at St. Petersburg University, resigned in protest against the oppression of students. Almost forcibly cut off from science, Dmitry Mendeleev devotes all his energies to practical problems.

With his participation, in 1890, a draft of a new customs tariff was created, in which a protective system was consistently implemented, and in 1891 a wonderful book was published: "An Explanatory Tariff", presenting a commentary on this draft and at the same time a deeply thought-out review of industry , indicating her needs and future prospects. In 1891, the Naval and War Ministry entrusted Mendeleev with the development of the question of smokeless powder, and he (after an overseas business trip) in 1892 brilliantly fulfills this task. The "pyrocollodium" he proposed turned out to be an excellent type of smokeless gunpowder, moreover, universal and easily adaptable to any firearm.

Since 1891 Mendeleev has been taking an active part in " Encyclopedic Dictionary»Brockhaus-Efron, as editor of the chemical-technical and factory department and the author of many articles serving as the decoration of this publication. In 1900-1902. Dmitry Mendeleev edits the "Library of Industry" (Brockhaus-Efron Publishing House), where he owns the "Doctrine of Industry" issue. Since 1904, "Cherished Thoughts" began to appear - Mendeleev's historical, philosophical and socio-economic treatise, which contains, as it were, his testament to posterity, the results of his experiences and thoughts on various issues related to the economic, state and social life of Russia.

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev died on January 20, 1907 from pneumonia. His funeral, accepted at the expense of the state, was a real national mourning. The Department of Chemistry of the Russian Physicochemical Society established two prizes in honor of Mendeleev for the best work in chemistry. Mendeleev's library, along with the furnishings of his office, was acquired by Petrograd University and is kept in a special room that once formed part of his apartment.

Interesting facts from the life of a famous scientist are presented in this article. One of his most famous discoveries is the periodic law of chemical elements.

Dmitry Mendeleev interesting facts

1. Seventeenth child in the family

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834 in Tobolsk. He was the last in the family - the seventeenth child. The family, however, was not that big: out of 17 children, eight died in infancy.

Dmitry's father - Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev - served as director of the Tobolsk gymnasium. He died when Dmitry was 13 years old, so his mother, Maria Dmitrievna, had to support a large family, who made a lot of efforts to ensure that her children received a decent education. Thanks to her, Dmitry was able to enter the Main Pedagogical Institute (now St. Petersburg State University).

2. Losers and gold medalist

In the gymnasium, Dmitry Mendeleev studied poorly, did not like Latin and the Law of God. While studying at the Main Pedagogical Institute of St. Petersburg, the future scientist stayed for the second year. Studying was not easy at first. In his first year at the institute, he managed to get unsatisfactory marks in all subjects, except mathematics. But in the senior years, things went differently: Mendeleev's average annual score was 4.5, with the only three - according to the Law of God. Mendeleev graduated from the institute in 1855 with a gold medal.

3. Rebellious teacher

Dmitry Mendeleev had an impressive teaching experience. He worked as a senior teacher of natural sciences at the Simferopol men's gymnasium (1855) and the Richelieu Lyceum in Odessa (1855-56), and from 1857 he began teaching at the Imperial St. Petersburg University, where he worked for a total of about 30 years. However, due to a conflict with the Minister of Public Education Ivan Delyanov, Mendeleev left the university in 1890. The reason for the conflict was the refusal of the minister to accept the students' petition.

4. "Inventor" of vodka

Dmitry Mendeleev did not invent vodka. The ideal strength of 40 degrees and vodka itself were invented before 1865, when Mendeleev defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic "Discourse on the combination of alcohol with water." There is not a word about vodka in his dissertation; it is devoted to the properties of mixtures of alcohol and water. In his work, the scientist established the proportions of the ratio of vodka and water, at which there is a limiting decrease in the volume of mixed liquids. This is a solution with an alcohol concentration of about 46% by weight. The ratio has nothing to do with 40 degrees. Forty-degree vodka appeared in Russia in 1843, when Dmitry Mendeleev was 9 years old. Then the Russian government, in the fight against diluted vodka, set a minimum threshold - vodka must have a strength of at least 40 degrees, an error of 2 degrees was allowed.

5. About a dream that did not exist

There is an opinion that once in a dream Mendeleev saw the periodic table of chemical elements, after which he invented it. However, the scientist refuted this legend by answering the following:

“I’ve been thinking about it for maybe twenty years, but you’re thinking: I’ve sat and suddenly ... it’s ready.”

By the way, the opening of the periodic law took place in February 1869. On February 17, Dmitry Mendeleev, getting ready to go, drew a sketch of a table on the back of an inconspicuous letter, in which he was invited to come and help the production. The scientist would later say that then "the idea that there should be a connection between mass and chemical properties was involuntarily born." So, he wrote on separate cards the names of all known elements, their atomic weight and properties, and then arranged them in order. The trip had to be postponed - the scientist plunged headlong into work, as a result of which the periodic law of chemical elements was discovered. It is worth noting that at that time about 60 chemical elements were studied, and over thirty were still waiting for their time. In 1870, Mendeleev calculated the atomic masses of the elements, which in his table remained "empty" unexplored places. So scientists predicted the existence of "ekaaluminium" (gallium), "ekabora" (scandium), "ekasilicia" (germanium) and other elements.

6. Suitcase cases master

Mendeleev loved to bind books, glue frames for portraits, and also make suitcases. In St. Petersburg and Moscow he was known as the best master of suitcase cases in Russia. “From Mendeleev himself,” the merchants said. His products were solid and of high quality. The scientist studied all the recipes for making glue known at that time and came up with his own special glue mixture. Mendeleev kept the method of its preparation a secret.

7. Not a Nobel laureate

Dmitry Mendeleev was nominated for the Nobel Prize, awarded since 1901, three times - in 1905, 1906 and 1907. However, only foreigners nominated him. Members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences have repeatedly rejected his candidacy by secret ballot. Mendeleev was a member of many foreign academies and scientific societies, but he never became a member of his native Russian Academy.

8. Hot air balloon flights

Dmitry Mendeleev also worked on the design of aircraft, with the help of which he planned to investigate the temperature, pressure and humidity in the upper atmosphere. In 1875, he proposed a draft stratospheric balloon with a volume of 3600 m³. He also developed a project for a controlled balloon with engines. In 1878, the scientist flew in a tethered balloon by Henri Giffard at the World Exhibition in Paris. After 9 years, he again took to the air. This time, a vacant lot in the northwest of the city of Klin was chosen as a place for the experiment. On August 7, 1887, Mendeleev single-handedly ascended to an altitude of more than 3000 meters on the "Russian" balloon (volume 700 m³) provided by the Ministry of War. The flight lasted three hours. During this time, the scientist measured pressure and temperature, and also witnessed a total solar eclipse. This flight was awarded a medal from the French Academy of Aerostatic Meteorology.

9. Intelligence Scientist

The famous scientist had to participate in industrial espionage. In 1890, naval minister Nikolai Chikhachev turned to Dmitry Mendeleev and asked for help in finding the secret of making smokeless gunpowder. Since it was expensive to buy such gunpowder, the chemist was asked to solve the secret of production. After accepting the request of the tsarist government, Mendeleev ordered reports from the library railways Britain, France and Germany in 10 years. According to them, he made up the proportion of how much coal, saltpeter, etc. were brought to the powder factories. A week after the proportions were made, he made two smokeless powders for Russia. Thus, Dmitry Mendeleev managed to obtain secret data that he obtained from open reports.

10. Mendeleev came up with the idea of \u200b\u200busing a pipeline for pumping oil

Dmitry Mendeleev created a scheme for fractional distillation of oil and formulated a theory of the inorganic origin of oil. He was the first to declare that burning oil in furnaces is a crime, since many chemical products can be obtained from it. He also suggested that oil companies should transport oil not in carts or wineskins, but in tanks, and that it be pumped through pipes. The scientist proved by figures how much more expedient it is to transport oil in bulk, and to build refineries for oil refining in places where oil products are consumed.

11. The name of Mendeleev is chemical element number 101

A chemical element, Mendelevium, is named after Mendeleev. Artificially produced in 1955, the element was named after the chemist who first began using the periodic table to predict the chemical properties of as yet undiscovered elements. In fact, Mendeleev is not the first to create the periodic table of elements, and not the first to suggest the periodicity of the chemical properties of elements. Mendeleev's achievement was to determine the frequency and, on its basis, to compile a table of elements. The scientist left empty cells for the elements not yet discovered. As a result, using the periodicity of the table, it was possible to determine all the physical and chemical properties of the missing elements.