Curie & Meitner: Women of the Periodic Table

The periodic table of elements is often presented to students as the cornerstone of their introductory chemistry classes. It may initially appear to be a dull chart of discoveries. But behind each elemental name and symbol is a rich history, a story, a person, or perhaps a mythological creature.

So how do elements get their names? Well it turns out, there isn’t a simple answer to that question. Upon the discovery of a new element, the discoverer churns out some creativity and bestows upon the Interntional Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) a potential name and symbol for review. But how chemists come up with those names has ranged dramatically over the years.

Some elements get their name from Anglo-Saxon roots. The Greek word for sun, “helios”, was incorporated into the element name “helium”. Other elements like gold and iron get their symbols from their roots. The latin word for gold is “aurum”, hence the symbol Au.

Other things like characteristics of the element can be found in its name. For example, the noble gases xenon and krypton are named after the Greek words for “stranger” and “hidden” respectively.

Chemists aren’t all rationale and logic – sometimes, a little whimsy is needed. Some elements are named after mythological creatures or legend. Tantalum, atomic number 73, is named after a Greek antihero named Tantalus.

But what about the people whose names are immortalized on the periodic table? No discoverer has ever proposed their own name as a suggestion to the IUPAC. Instead, discoverers often suggest to name elements in honor of other scientists that have made monumental discoveries to their particular field. Perhaps most famously, Einstein is memorialized with einsteinium, atomic number 99. Enrico Fermi also found his way to the periodic table with fermium, atomic number 100. Interestingly, both elements were discovered in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb set off in 1952.

There are others, including mendelevium. But how about the women?

There is curium, named after the famed Curie family. But the element was named in honor of both Pierre and Marie Curie. In fact, only one woman is individually recognized on the entire periodic table and that is Lise Meitner with the element meitnerium. (Check out my blog post about the incredible Lise Meitner)

Now in all fairness, there aren’t many elements named after people in general, man or woman. And if Einstein, Mendeleev, and Fermi are to be among colleagues, it is only right that they be joined by Marie Curie and Lise Meitner. And hopefully, as discoverers move on to new elements and women are recognized more equally in the scientific community, more names of women will adorn the periodic table.