Do you know who Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev is, interesting facts from whose life, the most important inventions, truths and myths we will consider in this article?
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev - Russian chemist. He was born in 1834 in Tobolsk, was the seventeenth child in the family, although historians claim that there were never seventeen children in their family, since 8 children died in infancy.
Most readers know Dmitry Ivanovich as the inventor of the world-famous periodic system of chemical elements, but the works and merits of our great compatriot extend much wider than the chemical discipline. He made a lot of discoveries in the fields of meteorology, geology, physics and even economics.
The future scientist did not study very well at the gymnasium. Mendeleev was especially bad at the Law of God and Latin. In the first years of the main pedagogical institute in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Ivanovich’s academic performance was also not up to par.
The situation began to change radically in senior years. The average annual grade point mark even exceeded 4.5, which was an outstanding result. The scientist graduated from higher education with a gold medal.
Periodic law
Speaking about Mendeleev, of course, we should start with the discovery of the periodic law - the fundamental basis of nature, the main postulates of which the scientist formulated in 1869 when comparing the molecular masses of the chemical elements known at that time.
Talk that Mendeleev dreamed of the periodic table of elements is nothing more than fiction. The scientist himself has repeatedly denied these rumors, claiming that he worked on this invention for more than 20 years.
Historians claim that the foundations of this law were developed by Dmitry Ivanovich when he arranged the names of known chemical elements on a piece of paper in order of increasing molecular weight. The essence of the law was as follows: the atomic weights of elements increase in a periodic manner.
In total, about 60 elements were known at that time, and there were about 30 free cells left in the future table. It was the unoccupied spaces that made it possible for the inventor to predict the discovery of new chemical elements and even very accurately predict their molecular weights.
Thus, he foresaw the discovery of the element gallium, which was named by the inventor as “eka-aluminium”, and in addition, scandium, which was then called “ekabor” and germanium (“eca-silicon”).
Inventor of vodka
Dmitry Mendeleev is the inventor of vodka, who argued that this alcoholic drink should consist of 60 percent water and 40 percent ethyl alcohol. This is the second common myth that has nothing to do with reality.
In fact, the scientist defended his dissertation on the topic “Discourse on the combination of alcohol with water” and studied the chemical and physical properties of solutions of ethyl alcohol. In his works there was not a single word about how these liquids affect the human body; even the word vodka itself was never used in the context of the dissertation.
Strictly speaking, vodka received a 40-degree strength in those days; the scientist was only 9 years old and therefore he did not and could not have anything to do with alcoholic beverages. And if we talk about the “magic” number 40, talking about the strength of an alcoholic drink, then this figure was approved by the tsarist government to simplify tax calculations and replaced the value of 38 degrees.
Balloon idea
This is proof that Mendeleev left his memory not only in chemistry. In 1875, he voiced the idea that it was possible to construct an aircraft with a sealed gondola, allowing him to rise high enough and study the upper layers of the atmosphere.
In those distant years, the balloon was not built. The reason is very banal - lack of money for its construction. The first stratospheric balloon was created in Germany in 1931, but it was based on the works of Dmitry Ivanovich.
Almost Nobel laureate
Mendeleev was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize, but unfortunately was never awarded it. True, back in 1906 he was declared the winner, but the Swedish Academy reversed its decision, obviously under someone’s external pressure. So, the genius was not given the reward he deserved.
Smokeless Powder Recipe
In 1892, Mendeleev discovered a recipe for smokeless gunpowder. Unfortunately, no one bothered to patent the invention, and it leaked to the United States. The curious thing is that the tsarist government was forced to purchase this strategic raw material from America, the manufacturing features of which were discovered by Russian scientists.
Hobby
In his free time, Dmitry Ivanovich was interested in making picture frames and book binding, but most of all he succeeded in creating suitcases. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, his products were especially valued, and he was considered one of the best suitcase makers.
Suitcases from Mendeleev were valued by many due to their thoughtful design, highest quality and durability. Dmitry Ivanovich developed a special glue with which he glued his products, the recipe for which he kept in the strictest confidence.
Conclusion
101 elements of the periodic table - mendelevium - are named after our great compatriot. Of course, the works of Dmitry Ivanovich created the fundamental foundations and basis, which largely determined the main trends in the development of many scientific disciplines.
Mendeleev Dmitry Ivanovich (1834-1907) - Russian chemist, physicist, meteorologist, oil worker, instrument maker... and that’s not all of his professions. Most people know him as the creator of the periodic table of chemical elements (also known as the periodic table). But we will try to tell you a little more about this person, so we have prepared for you the most interesting facts about Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev according to our website.
1. Dmitry was the youngest child in the Mendeleev family, already the seventeenth. True, there were never seventeen children in the house at the same time, since 8 children died in infancy, and sister Masha died at the age of 14 from consumption.
2. At the Tobolsk gymnasium, where Dmitry Mendeleev studied, Russian literature and literature was taught by Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov, who later became famous as a poet and wrote the famous “The Little Humpbacked Horse.” Later, Ershov and Mendeleev even became related (well, if I may say so), since in 1962 Dmitry married Feozva Leshcheva, who was the stepdaughter of Pyotr Pavlovich. In this marriage he has three children, but unfortunately the firstborn dies in infancy.
But in 1978, Khimik married for the second time the young 18-year-old daughter of a Don Cossack. In this marriage, he has four more children, the last two being opposite-sex twins Maria and Vasily.
3. Medvedev himself was also the father-in-law of a well-known person, namely the famous poet Alexander Blok, who married his daughter Lyubov.
4. There is a widespread belief that Mendeleev allegedly invented vodka. But this is not true at all. Vodka was invented long before 1865. You can read about this. In 1865, he simply defended his dissertation, which was called “Discourse on the combination of alcohol with water.” It was because of this dissertation that the legend began that Dmitry Ivanovich is supposedly the inventor of the popular alcoholic drink. Moreover, in this dissertation he described concentrations much higher than 40%.
5. It is also widely believed that Mendeleev saw his future table in, and when he woke up, he drew it. Even the scientist himself joked: “I may have been thinking about it for twenty years, but you think that I just sat down and came up with it.”
6. Dmitry Ivanovich was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times, but never became its laureate. Once in 1906 he was declared the winner, but the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences reviewed and canceled this decision, thereby awarding the prize to the Frenchman Henri Moissan.
In 1907, a proposal was made to divide the prize between Mendeleev and the Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro. But our scientist did not live to see this moment, since he died in February 1907.
7. In addition to his main activities, he also took part in the design of aircraft. He himself made a project for a controlled aerostat with an engine. Several times he even rose into the air. And in 1887, he ascended in a hot air balloon called “Russian” to an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. There he was able to measure pressure and temperature, and even see a solar eclipse. For this flight, Mendeleev was awarded a medal from the FAAM (French Academy of Aerostatic Meteorology).
8. Most people know Mendeleev as a chemist, but in fact, no more than 10% of all his work is devoted to chemistry.
9. In addition to various sciences, Dmitry Ivanovich was fond of making suitcases. In two capitals he was even known as the best suitcase maker. His suitcases were really good and high quality. He was helped in this by something he himself came up with, having previously researched the properties of other adhesives. The glue was simply amazing, but the recipe for its preparation died along with the great scientist.
10. In 1955, an artificial chemical element was obtained, which was assigned No. 101. This element was named after the great scientist - Mendelevium.
11. In 1892, Mendeleev created a recipe for smokeless gunpowder, but then they did not have time to patent it and Americans began to actively use this recipe. In 1914, Russia even purchased smokeless gunpowder, invented by our scientist, from the United States.
12. Historians say that Dmitry Ivanovich took a chemistry exam from Pyotr Stolypin, and even gave him an A.
13. The great Russian scientist, among other things, is the organizer and first director of the Chamber of Weights and Measures.
14. At the beginning of 1907, Dmitry Ivanovich caught a bad cold and was initially diagnosed with pleurisy, but then it turned out that it was pneumonia. A short time later he died.
Mendeleev was buried next to his son. He himself purchased this place for himself immediately after the death of his child. His mother's grave was also nearby.
15. Nadezhda Yakovlevna Kapustina talked about how the scientist constantly rolled his own cigarettes, which is why his fingers were always yellow. But he always said that he would never quit smoking, because sooner or later you would die anyway.
Why is Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev famous? I immediately remember the periodic law he discovered, which formed the basis of the periodic system of chemical elements. Another thing that may come to mind is his “Reflections on the combination of alcohol with water,” which laid the foundation for the myth about the invention of Russian vodka by a scientist. However, this is only a small part of the creator’s brilliant legacy. It is difficult to even imagine all the scientific, philosophical and journalistic areas of activity of this person. The famous Russian chemist Lev Chugaev wrote: “Mendeleev was an unsurpassed chemist, a first-class physicist, a fruitful researcher in the field of meteorology, hydrodynamics, geology, departments of chemical technology, a deep expert in Russian industry, an original thinker in the field of national economy, a statesman who was not destined to unfortunately, to become a statesman, but who understood the tasks and saw the future of Russia much better than the representatives of the official government.” Along with Albert Einstein, many call Mendeleev the greatest scientist of all time. What was Dmitry Ivanovich really like?
Everyone who knew the legendary chemist noted his amazing, extraordinary appearance: “Long shoulder-length silvery fluffy hair, like a lion’s mane, a high forehead, a large beard - all together made Mendeleev’s head very expressive and beautiful. Concentrated eyebrows, the soulful gaze of pure and clear blue eyes, a tall, broad-shouldered, slightly stooped figure gave the appearance features of expressiveness and uniqueness, comparable to the mythical heroes of bygone years.”
Dmitry Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834 in the ancient city of Tobolsk in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev and Maria Dmitrievna Kornilieva. He was the seventeenth and last child. The future scientist’s mother came from a family of noble merchants who founded the first Tobolsk printing house in 1789. And my father graduated from the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute and worked as the director of the local classical gymnasium. In the year of Dmitry’s birth, his father’s vision deteriorated sharply, he had to leave the service, and all worries fell on Maria Dmitrievna, who, after the whole family moved to the village of Aremzyanskoye, took on the role of managing the glass factory owned by her brother, which produced dishes for pharmacists.
In 1841, Dmitry entered the gymnasium. Surprisingly, the future luminary studied rather poorly. Of all the subjects he liked only physics and mathematics. Mendeleev's aversion to classical learning remained throughout his life. In 1847, Ivan Pavlovich died, and his mother and children moved to Moscow. Despite persistent attempts, young Dmitry Ivanovich was not allowed to enter Moscow University. According to the rules of those years, graduates of the gymnasium were allowed to go to universities only in their districts, and the Tobolsk gymnasium belonged to the Kazan district. Only after three years of trouble did Mendeleev manage to get into the physics and mathematics department of the Main Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg.
The environment of this closed educational institution, thanks to the small number of students and the extremely caring attitude towards them, as well as their close connection with the professors, provided ample opportunity for the development of individual inclinations. The best scientific minds of that time taught here, outstanding teachers who knew how to instill a deep interest in science in the souls of their listeners. Mendeleev was taught mathematics by Mikhail Ostrogradsky, physics by Emilius Lenz, zoology by Fyodor Brandt, and chemistry by Alexander Voskresensky. It was chemistry that Dmitry Ivanovich fell in love with most at the institute. It is also worth noting that after the first year of study, the future scientist developed health problems, in particular, he regularly bled from the throat. Doctors diagnosed the disease as an open form of tuberculosis and announced to the young man that his days were numbered. However, all this did not prevent Mendeleev from graduating from the department of natural sciences in 1855 with a gold medal.
After graduating from college, Dmitry Ivanovich went to places with a milder climate. For some time he worked in Crimea, then in Odessa, and after defending his master’s thesis, he returned to the Northern capital to St. Petersburg University. On the recommendation of the “grandfather of Russian chemistry” Alexander Voskresensky, Mendeleev went on a trip abroad in 1859. During it, he visited Italy and France. Having visited Germany, he decided to live in this country for some time. He chose the city of Heidelberg as his place of residence, where famous chemists worked, and at the same time there was a large colony of Russians.
Dmitry Ivanovich’s short work at the new place showed that the famous Bunsen laboratory did not have the instruments he needed, the scales were “very bad,” and “all the interests of scientists are, alas, school-based.” Mendeleev, having independently acquired all the instruments he needed in Germany and France, organized his own home laboratory. In it, he studied capillarity, discovered the absolute boiling temperature (critical temperature), and proved that steam heated to the absolute boiling temperature cannot be converted into a liquid by any increase in pressure. Also in Heidelberg, Dmitry Ivanovich had an affair with local actress Agnes Voigtman, as a result of which the German woman became pregnant. Subsequently, the scientist sent money to his daughter until she grew up and got married.
In 1861, Dmitry Ivanovich returned to his native St. Petersburg University, got a job at the department of organic chemistry and wrote the famous textbook “Organic Chemistry.” In 1862, Mendeleev married Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva. It is known that his older sister Olga persuaded him to marry for a long time. At the same time, the second edition of “Organic Chemistry” was published, and its twenty-eight-year-old author was awarded the “Demidov Prize” of 1000 rubles, for which he went on a honeymoon trip to Europe. In 1865, the scientist defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic of combining alcohol with water, setting out his own theory of solutions. His measurements formed the basis of alcoholometry in Russia, Germany, Holland and Austria.
Soon after the birth of his son Vladimir (future graduate of the Naval Corps), Dmitry Ivanovich acquired a small estate near Klin, Boblovo. His entire subsequent life, starting in 1866, was inextricably linked with this place. He and his family left there in early spring and returned to St. Petersburg only in late autumn. The scientist respected and loved physical labor; in Boblovo, Mendeleev had an exemplary barnyard with breeding cattle, a stable, a dairy, a thresher, and an experimental field on which the scientist conducted experiments with various fertilizers.
After defending his doctoral dissertation, Mendeleev headed the department of general chemistry at St. Petersburg University. He intensively conducted experiments, wrote the book “Fundamentals of Chemistry,” which became popular, and gave absolutely amazing lectures that always attracted full audiences. Dmitry Ivanovich’s speech was not easy and smooth. He always started out sluggishly, often stammered, choosing the right words, and paused. His thoughts overtook the pace of his speech, which resulted in a jumble of phrases that were not always grammatically correct. Historian Vasily Cheshikhin recalled: “He said that the bear was walking straight through the bushes.” The scientist himself said: “They burst into my classroom not for the sake of beautiful words, but for the sake of thoughts.” His words always sounded passion, conviction, confidence, strict argumentation - facts, logic, calculations, experiments, results of analytical work. By the richness of the content, by the depth and intensity of thought, by the ability to captivate and captivate the audience (there was a saying that even the walls sweat at Mendeleev’s lectures), by the ability to inspire, convince listeners, turn them into like-minded people, by the accuracy and figurativeness of speech, one can say, that the brilliant scientist was a brilliant, although a little peculiar, speaker. Also noteworthy were his impressive and energetic gestures, as well as the timbre of his voice - a sonorous, pleasant baritone.
In 1869, at the age of thirty-five, at a meeting of the newly formed Russian Chemical Society, Mendeleev introduced his fellow chemists to his new article “Experience of a system of elements based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity.” After its further refinement, the scientist’s famous article “The Law for Chemical Elements” appeared in 1871 - in it Dmitry Ivanovich presented the periodic system, in fact, in its modern form. In addition, he predicted the discovery of new elements, for which he left empty spaces in the table. Understanding the periodic relationship enabled Mendeleev to correct the atomic weights of eleven elements. The scientist not only predicted the presence of a number of elements that had not yet been discovered, but also provided a detailed description of the properties of three of them, which, in his opinion, would be discovered before others. Mendeleev's article was translated into German, and its reprints were sent to many famous European chemists. Alas, the Russian scientist not only did not receive a competent opinion from them, but even an elementary answer. Not one of them appreciated the importance of the perfect discovery. Attitudes to the periodic law changed only in 1875, when Lecoq de Boisbaudran discovered gallium, which in its properties was strikingly similar to one of the elements predicted by Mendeleev. And the “Fundamentals of Chemistry” he wrote (which included, among other things, the periodic law) turned out to be a monumental work, in which for the first time a huge amount of factual material accumulated in the most diverse branches of chemistry was presented in the form of a coherent scientific system.
Mendeleev was a convinced enemy of everything mystical and could not help but react to the passion for spiritualism that seized part of Russian society in the seventies of the 19th century. Such foreign novelties as summoning spirits and “table turning” with the participation of various kinds of mediums became widespread in Russia, and the opinion was formed that spiritualism is “a bridge between the knowledge of physical phenomena to the comprehension of mental ones.” At the suggestion of Dmitry Ivanovich, in 1875, the Russian Physicochemical Society organized a commission to study “mediumistic” phenomena. The most famous foreign mediums (the Petty brothers, Mrs. Claire and some others) received an invitation to visit Russia in order to conduct their sessions in the presence of members of the commission, as well as supporters of the existence of the ability to summon spirits.
The most basic precautions that the members of the commission took during spiritualistic sessions dispelled the atmosphere of mystery, and the special manometric table developed by Mendeleev, which determined the pressure on him, led to the fact that the “spirits” flatly refused to communicate. The verdict of the commission at the end of the work read: “Spiritual phenomena arise from conscious deception or unconscious movements, and spiritualistic teaching is superstition...”. Mendeleev himself wrote the following lines on this occasion: “I decided to fight against spiritualism after Butlerov and Wagner began to preach this superstition... Professors should have acted against the authority of professors. They achieved the result: they abandoned spiritualism. I don’t regret that I worked hard.”
After the publication of “Fundamentals,” chemistry in the life of the great scientist fades into the background, and his interests shift to other areas. In those years, the only valuable petroleum product was kerosene, used only for lighting. Mendeleev focuses all his attention on oil. Back in 1863, Dmitry Ivanovich analyzed Baku oil and gave valuable advice on its processing and transportation. In his opinion, transportation of kerosene and oil by water in tankers and pumping them through pipelines could reduce transportation costs. In 1876, the scientist crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get acquainted with the organization of the oil business in Pennsylvania and attend an industrial exhibition in Philadelphia. Upon his return, he sadly wrote: “The only goal of the masses has become profit... A new dawn is not visible on the other side of the ocean.” Under the pressure of the Russian Technical Society, which supported all of Mendeleev’s conclusions following his trip to America, the system of “farm-out maintenance” of oil fields, existing in Russia and leading to the barbaric use of fields without the introduction of technical innovations and the installation of expensive equipment, was abolished. And by 1891, oil transportation was organized in accordance with the requirements of Dmitry Ivanovich. The cost of transportation fell three times.
In 1877, after Dmitry Ivanovich returned from the USA, his sister Ekaterina Kapustina with her children and granddaughter moved into his university apartment. Through them he met Anna Ivanovna Popova, a gifted Don Cossack girl, a student at the conservatory and drawing school, the daughter of a retired Cossack colonel. It should be noted that his relationship with his wife by this time had become extremely tense. Dmitry Ivanovich felt alienated and lonely in his family. It is not surprising that he fell in love with this charming and cheerful artist, who was twenty-six years younger than the scientist. After almost five years of dating, Mendeleev finally decided to propose to Anna Ivanovna.
In 1880, Anna Ivanovna went to Italy for an internship, and Feozva Nikitichna, the scientist’s wife, agreed to a divorce. Mendeleev and Popova decided that while the divorce case dragged on, they would not appear together in St. Petersburg. Dmitry Ivanovich went to see her in Italy, and then they visited Spain, Cairo together, and lived for some time on the Volga. Throughout the summer of 1881, Feozva Nikitichna stayed with her daughter in Boblovo, and then moved into a new St. Petersburg apartment, which Mendeleev rented for them and fully furnished. In addition, he provided his ex-wife with a full university salary, and later built her and her daughter a dacha on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The divorce case ended with Dmitry Ivanovich being punished by church penance for a period of seven years, during which he was denied the right to marry. However, in January 1882 in Kronstadt, the priest of the Admiralty Church married Mendeleev to Anna Ivanovna, for which he was defrocked the very next day. The new marriage turned out to be much happier. Soon they had a daughter, Lyuba, who later became Blok’s wife, two years later, a son, Ivan, and in 1886, twins Vasily and Maria.
The brilliant scientist loved his children deeply, sincerely and tenderly. He said: “I have experienced a lot in life, but I don’t know anything better than children.” Case in point: Dmitri Mendeleev became the first Russian chemist invited by the British Chemical Society to take part in the famous Faraday Readings. Dmitry Ivanovich was supposed to give a presentation in London on May 23, 1889 on the topic “Periodic validity of chemical elements,” however, having learned from a telegram that Vasily had fallen ill, he immediately returned home.
N. A. Yaroshenko. D. I. Mendeleev. 1886. Oil
Being one of the founders of the organization of the aeronautics department, Mendeleev helped in the work of A.F. Mozhaisky and K.E. Tsiolkovsky, worked with Makarov on the development of the first domestic icebreaker, and was involved in the creation of aircraft and a submarine. Research on the compressibility of gases allowed him to obtain the equation now known as the “Mendeleev-Clapeyron” equation, which formed the basis of modern gas dynamics. Dmitry Ivanovich paid great attention to the problems of exploring the Arctic Ocean and improving navigation in the country's inland reservoirs. In 1878, Dmitry Ivanovich presented the work “On the resistance of liquids and aeronautics”, in which he not only gave a systematic presentation of existing views on the resistance of the environment, but also presented his own original ideas in this direction. Nikolai Egorovich Zhukovsky highly praised the book, calling it “the main guide for those involved in ballistics, aeronautics and shipbuilding.” Mendeleev donated all income from the sale of the monograph to support the development of domestic research in aeronautics. In accordance with his ideas, a Marine Experimental Pool was built in St. Petersburg, in which new models of ships were tested. In this pool, Admiral S.O. Makarov together with the future academician A.N. Krylov studied the issues of unsinkability of ships.
Dmitry Ivanovich himself took part in the development of airspace. There is a known case when a scientist deliberately decided to take a step associated with a great risk to his life. In August 1887, he ascended in a balloon to a height of about three kilometers in order to observe a solar eclipse. The weather was unflyable, the scientist literally forced the pilot out of the basket, since the wet aircraft could not lift two. Mendeleev himself had no experience in piloting a hot air balloon. Saying goodbye to his friends, he said with a smile: “I’m not afraid to fly, I’m afraid that the men will take me for a devil when I descend and beat me.” Fortunately, the device, after being in the air for about two hours, landed safely.
In 1883, Mendeleev's attention switched to the study of aqueous solutions. In his work, he used all his accumulated experience, the latest instruments, measuring methods and mathematical techniques. In addition, he designed the astronomical observatory tower and worked on problems of measuring temperatures in the upper atmosphere. In 1890, Dmitry Ivanovich had a conflict with the Minister of Education. After working at St. Petersburg University for twenty-seven years, Mendeleev left it, but his scientific activity was by no means over. After some time, he invented smokeless, pyrocolloid gunpowder, superior in characteristics to French pyroxylin.
Since 1891, Dmitry Ivanovich, as editor of the chemical and technical department, took an active part in the Brockhaus-Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, in addition, he became the author of many articles that became the decoration of this publication. In order to determine the possibilities of increasing the industrial potential of Russia, in 1899 Dmitry Ivanovich went to the Urals. There he collected data on local ore reserves and examined metallurgical plants. About the results of the trip, Mendeleev wrote: “The faith in the future of Russia that has always lived in me increased and strengthened after a close acquaintance with the Urals.”
And in 1904, his “Treasured Thoughts” began to be published, concluding the scientist’s will to posterity, judgments on various issues relating to the state, social, and economic life of Russia. Many of the thoughts expressed by Mendeleev look absolutely modern. For example, about patriotism: “Some of today’s extreme individualists are already trying to present patriotism or love for the fatherland in a bad way, declaring that it is time to replace it with the totality of common love for all humanity.” Or about the country’s defense: “Russia has fought many wars, but most of them were purely defensive in nature. I will express my confidence that Russia, despite all our peaceful efforts, will still have many defensive wars ahead if it is not protected by the strongest army to such an extent that it would be fearful to start a military feud with it in the hope of seizing part of its territory.” About the economy: “...one combination of capital and tramps cannot cause or create on its own the public good.”
In 1892, Dmitry Mendeleev headed the Depot of Exemplary Weights and Measures, which later became the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures. He laid the foundations of domestic scientific metrology - an extremely important direction in any scientific work, giving scientists confidence in the correctness of the results they obtain. He began this work with the creation of a domestic system of standards; the implementation of this project took Mendeleev seven years. Already in 1895, the accuracy of weighing in the Main Chamber reached a record level - thousandths of a milligram when weighing one kilogram. This meant that when weighing, for example, one million rubles (in gold coins), the error would be one tenth of a kopeck. In 1899, Mendeleev’s son from his first marriage, Vladimir, died, married to Varvara Lemokh, the daughter of a famous artist. The death of his beloved son was a terrible blow for the scientist.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Mendeleev occupied a unique position in Russian society as a generalist expert advising the government on a variety of economic and scientific problems. He was an expert in the field of aeronautics, smokeless powder, oil affairs, higher education reform, customs tariffs, and metrology in Russia. He was openly called a genius, but he really didn’t like it, he immediately began to get angry: “What kind of genius am I? I worked all my life, and this is how I became.” The scientist did not like ceremonies, fame, awards and orders (of which he had a great many). He liked to talk with ordinary people, he said: “I like to listen to peasants’ smart speeches.” When they thanked him, he could run away shouting: “This is all nonsense, stop... Nonsense, nonsense!” He couldn’t stand the address “Your Excellency”; he warned visitors about this in advance, otherwise he could cut the person off mid-sentence. He asked to be addressed only by his first name and patronymic. Also, the chemist did not recognize any ranks or ranks; this shocked many, and outraged others. He bluntly stated: “I’m not one of the current ones who lay softly.” He couldn’t stand it when people spoke badly about someone in front of him or boasted about their “white bones.”
Mendeleev also dressed very simply and modestly; at home he preferred a wide cloth jacket. He didn’t follow fashion, relying on his tailor for everything. His moderation in food was noted. His friends believed that it was thanks to his abstinence in drinking and food that he lived such a long life, despite the presence of hereditary tuberculosis. It is known that Dmitry Ivanovich loved tea, brewing it in his own way. When he had a cold, Menedeleev used the following method of self-medication: he put on high fur boots, a fur-lined robe and drank several glasses of strong and sweet tea. After that, he went to bed, driving away the illness with a sweat. The scientist loved to steam in the bathhouse, but he rarely used the home bath. And after the bath he drank tea again and said that he “felt like a birthday boy.”
At home, the scientist had two favorite pastimes - making suitcases and playing chess. Gluing suitcases, boxes, album cases, travel boxes and various boxes relaxed him after hard work. In this field, he achieved unsurpassed skill - he glued cleanly, efficiently, accurately. In old age, after vision problems began, I glued it by touch. By the way, some neighbors on the street knew Dmitry Ivanovich precisely as a suitcase master, and not a great chemist. He also played chess very well, rarely lost, and could hold off his partners until five o’clock in the morning. His constant rivals were: his close friend, artist A.I. Kuindzhi, physical chemist V.A. Kistyakovsky and chemist, student of Butlerov A.I. Gorbov. Unfortunately, another passion of the scientist was smoking. He smoked cigarettes or heavy roll-your-own cigarettes constantly, even when he was taking notes. Having an extraordinary appearance, in the thick clouds of tobacco smoke, he seemed to the employees “an alchemist and a sorcerer who knows how to turn copper into gold.”
All his life, Dmitry Mendeleev worked with inspiration and passion, not sparing himself. Work, he said, gave him “fullness and joy of life.” He concentrated all his knowledge and all his will on one thing and stubbornly walked towards his goal. Dmitry Ivanovich's closest assistants testified that he often fell asleep at the table with a pen in his hand. According to legend, the system of chemical elements appeared to Mendeleev in a dream, but it is known that when asked how he made the discovery, the scientist once grumpily replied: “I may have been thinking about it for twenty years, but you think: I sat and sat and... ready".
In Mendeleev, in general, two principles were surprisingly combined - a tough disposition and kindness. Everyone who knew the scientist recognized his difficult character, incredible outbursts of excitement, and hot temper bordering on anger. However, Dmitry Ivanovich easily moved away; he built his relationships with employees based on their business qualities, appreciating the hard work and talents of people. And Mendeleev had his own justification for swearing: “Do you want to be healthy? Swear at yourself left and right. Those who don’t know how to swear and keep everything to themselves will soon die.” In addition, he was always ready to help people, no matter how: financially, through intercession or good advice. The initiative often came from him; Dmitry Ivanovich was an influential person in society, and his requests, as a rule, were successful.
Mendeleev died of pneumonia on January 20, 1907 in St. Petersburg at the seventy-second year of his life. The scientist's funeral, organized at the expense of the state, became a true national mourning. It’s impossible to believe, but Dmitry Ivanovich was buried by almost the entire city, and his table was carried in front of a funeral column of thousands of people.
Mendeleev left behind more than 1,500 works. “I’m amazed,” said Dmitry Ivanovich, “what I haven’t done in my scientific life.” The merits of the great scientist were recognized by all world powers. Mendeleev was an honorary member of almost all scientific communities that existed at that time. His name received special attention in Great Britain, where the chemist was awarded the Faraday, Copiley and Davy medals. It is impossible to list all of Mendeleev’s students; they worked in a variety of fields in accordance with the broadest scientific interests of Dmitry Ivanovich. His students can rightfully be considered the outstanding physiologist Ivan Sechenov, the great shipbuilder Alexei Krylov, and the chemist Dmitry Konovalov. Mendeleev's favorite student was Professor Cheltsov, head of the Marine Scientific and Technical Laboratory, to whom the French unsuccessfully offered one million francs for the secret of smokeless gunpowder.
Monument to Dmitry Mendeleev and his periodic table, located on the wall of the All-Russian Research Institute of Metrology. Mendeleev in St. Petersburg
Mendeleev once said about himself: “I have not served one iota of my wealth, brute strength, or capital. ...I tried only to give fruitful real work to my country, being confident that education, structure, politics and even the defense of Russia are now unthinkable without the development of industry.” Mendeleev firmly believed in the future of Russia and constantly stated the need to develop its wealth. He made a huge amount of effort to defend the priority of domestic science in the discovery of the periodic law. And how worried and upset Dmitry Ivanovich was when at the beginning of 1904, part of the Russian squadron was destroyed in the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese War. He was not thinking about his seventieth birthday, but about the fate of the Fatherland: “If the British come out and come to Kronstadt, then I will definitely go to fight.” In his will to his children, he wrote: “By working, you can do everything for your loved ones and for yourself... Acquire the main wealth - the ability to conquer yourself.”
Based on materials from the book by V.I. Boyarintsev "The Great Russian Scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev"
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Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born in 1834 in the village of Verkhnie Armezyany near Tobolsk. He was the seventeenth child in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, director of the Tobolsk gymnasium. Dmitry's grandfather was a priest, his mother came from an ancient but impoverished merchant family of the Kornilievs.
Dmitry Mendeleev graduated from a gymnasium in Tobolsk in 1849 and, due to territorial reasons, could not enroll in Moscow or St. Petersburg universities. But Mendeleev did not give up and entered the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute in the department of natural sciences of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics - and he was right. At that time, outstanding scientists taught there, from whom Mendeleev considered it an honor to study.
While still a student, Dmitry Ivanovich conducted research and in 1854 wrote an article “On Isomorphism,” in which he proved the dependence between the crystalline form and the chemical composition of compounds, as well as the dependence of the properties of elements on the size of their atomic volumes. And just two years later he defended his dissertation “On Specific Volumes” and received a master’s degree in chemistry and physics. At the same time, he writes about enanthic sulphurous acid and the difference between substitution, combination and decomposition reactions.
In 1859, Mendeleev was sent to Heidelberg to study the capillarity of liquids. There he discovered the “absolute boiling point of liquids” or the critical temperature. Returning to Russia, he published the first domestic textbook on organic chemistry, created the hydration theory of solutions, and in 1868, together with Zinin and other scientists, founded the Russian Physico-Chemical Society.
In 1869, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev bought several dozen blank business cards, on each he wrote the name of the element, its atomic weight and the formulas of the most important compounds. Afterwards, he sat down at his desk, told no one to disturb him, and began laying out these cards. Dozens, hundreds of times he laid them out, new patterns emerged in his mind, and in excitement he continued his work again and again. So he spent whole days alone, without receiving anyone and without being distracted by anything. By this time, he was married a second time - to Anna Grigorievna, who loved her brilliant husband and created all the conditions for him to work.
Mendeleev invented the legend that he dreamed about the periodic table specifically for journalists. In fact, at some point it simply dawned on him how to lay out the cards so that each element took its place, prepared for it by nature. And to journalists’ questions he answered irritably: “I may have been thinking about it for twenty-five years.”
In 1871, his book “Fundamentals of Chemistry” was published - the first harmonious presentation of inorganic chemistry. Mendeleev worked on new editions of this work until the end of his life.
Due to the enormous scientific heritage around Dmitry Mendeleev, a whole series of anecdotes has developed. Some things really happened, and some things were clearly made up.
For example, there is a story about a visit to the laboratory of a famous chemist by one of the grand dukes. To show the plight of the laboratory, Mendeleev ordered to scatter junk in the corridors. The prince was inspired and gave money.
There is another story that has become a classic. It is connected with Mendeleev's hobby - making suitcases. One day the cab driver stood up and bowed to a man passing by. "Who is this?" - asked the passenger - “This is the famous suitcase master Mendeleev,” the cab driver answered. This story happened when Mendeleev was already famous throughout the world for his discoveries.
At the end of his life, Dmitry Ivanovich wrote: “I myself am surprised at what I have not done in my life. And it was done, I think, not badly.” He was a member of almost all academies and more than a hundred scientific societies, but never became a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Mendeleev conducted and published fundamental research in chemistry, chemical technology, pedagogy, physics, mineralogy, metrology, aeronautics, meteorology, agriculture, and economics. And at the same time, all his research and work are related to pressing problems.
In January 1907, Dmitry Ivanovich himself caught a bad cold while showing the House of Weights and Measures to the new Minister of Industry and Trade Filosofov. At first he was diagnosed with dry pleurisy, after which doctor Yanovsky found pneumonia. On January 19, Mendeleev died.
"Evening" remembered interesting facts about the great scientist.
1. Dmitry Ivanovich smoked hand-rolled cigarettes made from expensive and good tobacco, without using a mouthpiece. His fingers were always yellow from nicotine. At the same time, Mendeleev often repeated that he would never quit smoking. He said: “You’ll die anyway, don’t smoke. It’s better to smoke.”
2. In addition to making suitcases, Mendeleev loved to bind books, glue frames for portraits, and sewed his own clothes. Merchants, selling his suitcases, added “from Mendeleev himself.” His products were made to last and last for decades. The scientist studied all the glue preparation recipes known at that time and created his own glue mixture, the secret of which he kept secret.
3. In 1893, Dmitry Mendeleev launched the production of smokeless gunpowder, which he himself invented. The Russian government and Minister Pyotr Stolypin did not have time to patent the invention; American manufacturers overtook them. The production of smokeless gunpowder was established in the States, and Russia had to purchase tons of it in 1914. The Americans themselves did not hide and even laughed at the fact that they were selling “Mendeleev’s gunpowder” to the Russians.
4. The name of Mendeleev is associated with the choice of vodka with a strength of 40°. According to information from the St. Petersburg Vodka Museum, Mendeleev considered the ideal strength to be 38°, but this number was rounded to 40 to simplify the calculation of the alcohol tax. However, it is not possible to find any indication of this choice in the works of Mendeleev. Dmitry Ivanovich’s dissertation on the properties of mixtures and alcohol does not highlight these numbers in any way. Vodka with a strength of 40° became widespread already in the 16th century. It was called polugar because when burned its volume was halved. Thus, checking the quality of vodka was simple and publicly available, which became the reason for its popularity.
5. In 1887, Mendeleev independently ascended in a hot air balloon to observe a solar eclipse. The scientist's flight became known throughout the world. Mendeleev said something to his companion - the future General Kovanko, and he left the basket. The ballast became damp and the scientist threw out the wet sand with his hands. Soon the ball disappeared behind the clouds, an eclipse occurred and everything suddenly became dark. A few hours later, the scientist’s concerned wife received a telegram: “The ball was seen - Mendeleev is not there.” Meanwhile, the flight was successful, Dmitry Ivanovich, having risen to a height of three kilometers, observed the total phase of the eclipse. True, during the descent the rope coming from the gas valve became tangled, but Mendeleev climbed onto the side of the basket and, hanging over the abyss, untangled it. The balloon landed in the Kalyazinsky district of the Tver province, and the peasants escorted Dmitry Ivanovich to the nearest estate.
6. Foreign scientists nominated Mendeleev for the Nobel Prize in 1905, 1906 and 1907 (compatriots - never). The award implied that a scientific discovery should not be more than 30 years old. But the fundamental knowledge of the periodic law was confirmed only at the beginning of the 20th century, with the discovery of inert gases. In 1905, the scientist was on the “small list”, but Adolf Bayer received the prize. In 1906, the Nobel Committee awarded Dmitry Ivanovich the prize, but the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences refused to approve this decision, and the French scientist A. Moissan became the laureate for the discovery of fluorine. In 1907, it was proposed to divide the prize between the Italian Cannizzaro and Mendeleev. But in February the scientist died.
7. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mendeleev, noting that the population of the Russian Empire had doubled in forty years, came to the conclusion that by 2050, at the same growth rate, it would reach 800 million. However, history has made its own adjustments - wars, revolutions and their consequences did not allow the population to grow to such numbers. However, indicators in regions, for one reason or another, less affected by these factors, confirm the validity of his forecasts.
8. For one of his anniversaries, Dmitry Ivanovich was given a precious gift - scales made of pure aluminum. At that time, the electrochemical method for producing this cheap material was unknown, although in his works Mendeleev pointed out the possibility of this technology.
9. In 1895, Mendeleev went blind, but continued to head the House of Weights and Measures. Business papers and documents were read aloud to him, he dictated orders and letters to secretaries, and at home he did his favorite things - blindly gluing and making something. It turned out that the scientist had developed cataracts. Professor Kostenich needed only two operations to remove it, and Dmitry Ivanovich’s vision soon returned.
10. In his first marriage, Mendeleev was unhappy. Feozva's wife was not interested in scientific work. It was then that the scientist became close friends with Anna Ivanovna Popova, an artist who often visited the house. Mendeleev’s wife did not agree to the divorce for a long time, and after the dissolution of the marriage, the consistory imposed a six-year penance on Dmitry Ivanovich, during which he could not get married. But the scientist was happy with his new lover, carried an easel and paints behind her, and even went to Italy for her. Returning to Russia, the couple got married at the priest of the Admiralty Church, Kutkevich, paying 10,000 rubles. For violating the ban, Kutkevich was deprived of his clergy title.
So, today is Saturday, March 18, 2017, and again in Dmitry Dibrov’s studio there are star guests, the first pair of players Anastasia Volochkova and Marat Basharov. The questions are the simplest at first, but with each task they become more complicated, and the amount of winnings grows, so let's play together, don't miss out. And we have a question - What did Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev invent his own recipe for?
- Smokeless powder
- Dynamite
- Toluene
- Nitroglycerin
The correct answer is A - Smokeless powder
There is a version that Mendeleev settled down near one of the gunpowder factories in Paris and began to observe the arrival of freight cars with various raw materials along the railway line: nitrogen, sulfuric acid, alcohol, oxygen and their exit with finished products - shells. After studying statistical data, he came to the conclusion of what proportions of explosives French smokeless powder could consist of.
Soon the secret report landed on the minister’s desk. Mendeleev was invited to work at the Marine Scientific and Technical Laboratory, where he conducted his experiments. And in the same 1890, he discovered pyrocollodium, which he proposed as a smokeless gunpowder, superior to foreign pyroxylin.
Firing of 47 mm caliber cannons carried out in 1892 showed the remarkable properties of pyrocollodium. But bureaucratic leapfrog intervened, and Mendeleev’s pyro-collodion gunpowder was not adopted by the land department. The saddest thing is that the manufacturing process was not carefully classified, and soon pyrocollodion gunpowder was at the disposal of Western countries.