I believe Helium was discovered by looking at the spectral lines of colour in sunlight. The two variants of helium found blocked out unique and previously unblocked areas of the spectrum. These spectral lines were unique to Helium and as such scientists knew it was unique.
Scientists have discovered just over 118 different elements with unique properties. These elements have diverse characteristics that make them essential building blocks of the universe. Each element is identified by its atomic number, which determines its placement in the periodic table.
Technetium (element 43) was the first element to be discovered on Earth that was not found naturally in nature. It was synthesized in a laboratory by Italian scientists in 1937.
J.J. Thomson
J.J. Thomson
Argon was discovered in the United Kingdom by the scientists Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay in 1894.
The name curium is derived from the name of the well known family of scientists - Curie.
German and French scientists independently studied bromine, but the element was found in Germany
In 1808, scientists thought that substances like oxygen and hydrogen were elements, but they later discovered that these were compounds made up of different elements. One substance that was thought to be an element in 1808, but is actually a compound, is water (H2O).
Scientists initially thought lime was an element because it could not be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. It was later discovered that lime is actually a compound of calcium and oxygen, known as calcium oxide.
Early scientists believed potash was an element because it could not be broken down further by known chemical processes at the time. It was later discovered to be a compound of potassium, oxygen, and other elements.
Darmstadtium was discovered by a team of scientists led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany in 1994. It was named after the city of Darmstadt.
According to scientists, a Swedish-German chemist known as Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered tungsten between the period of 1774 and 1778 while experimenting with tungsten trioxide.