large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_01_asimov_64kb_105
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_01_asimov_64kb
English
12904
A given quantity of hydrogen actually combined with a little bit less than eight times its mass of oxygen. A GIVEN QUANTITY OF HYDROGEN ACTUALLY COMBINED WITH A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN EIGHT TIMES ITS MASS OF OXYGEN
 molecule was composed of 1 oxygen atom and 2 hydrogen atoms. For this reason, the water molecule may be written H₂O, where H is the chemical symbol for a hydrogen atom, and O for an oxygen atom. It is still a fact that a quantity of hydrogen combines with eight times its mass of oxygen, so the single oxygen atom must be eight times as massive as the 2 hydrogen atoms taken together. The oxygen atom must therefore be sixteen times as massive as a single hydrogen atom. If the atomic weight of hydrogen is 1, then the atomic weight of oxygen is 16. At first it seemed that the atomic weights of the various elements were whole numbers and that hydrogen was the lightest one. It made particular sense, then, to consider the atomic weight of hydrogen as 1, because that made all the other atomic weights as small as possible and therefore easy to handle. The Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) continued Dalton’s work and found that elements did not combine in quite such simple ratios. EN ATOM AND TWO HYDROGEN ATOMS FOR THIS REASON THE WATER MOLECULE MAY BE WRITTEN H TO O WHERE THE H IS THE CHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR A HYDROGEN ATOM AND O FOR AN OXYGEN ATOM IT IS STILL A FACT THAT A QUANTITY OF HYDROGEN COMBINES WITH EIGHT TIMES ITS MASS OF OXYGEN SO THE SINGLE OXYGEN ATOM MUST BE EIGHT TIMES AS MASSIVE AS TWO HYDROGEN ATOMS TAKEN TOGETHER THE OXYGEN ATOM MUST THEREFORE BE SIXTEEN TIMES AS MASSIVE AS A SINGLE HYDROGEN ATOM IF THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF HYDROGEN IS ONE THEN THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF OXYGEN IS SIXTEEN AT FIRST IT SEEMED THAT THE ATOMIC WEIGHTS OF THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS WERE WHOLE NUMBERS AND THAT HYDROGEN WAS THE LIGHTEST ONE IT MADE PARTICULAR SENSE THEN TO CONSIDER THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF HYDROGEN AS ONE BECAUSE THAT MADE ALL THE OTHER ATOMIC WEIGHTS AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE AND THEREFORE EASY TO HANDLE THE SWEDISH CHEMIST YAN JAECAB BRAZILIUS SEVENTEEN SEVENTY NINE EIGHTEEN FORTY EIGHT CONTINUED DALTON'S WORK AND FOUND THAT ELEMENTS DID NOT COMBINE IN QUITE SUCH SIMPLE RATIOS
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