ELEMENT (Fr., Element ; Ger., Element) This term has been applied by chemists to those substances which cannot, by any known means, be split up into other and simpler forms of matter. The following table is a list of them, with the symbol and atomic weight of each. The symbol, it may be explained, is the chemist's shorthand or grammalogue, whilst the atomic weight is that in which each element combines with others to form salts or compounds. Thus the chemist writes for silver nitrate, and this formula means that there are io8 parts of silver, 14 parts of nitrogen, and 48 parts of oxygen combined to form 17o parts of silver nitrate. If now it is wished to form silver bromide from this, using potassium bromide, the equation or shorthand for the decomposi tion which would occur would be written :— Ag + K Br = Ag Br + K 108,14,48 39,8o io8,8o 39,14,48 170 + 1 19 = 188 + ior and this shows that 119 parts of potassium bromide would be required to convert 17o parts of silver nitrate, and the result would be 188 parts of silver bromide, with ioi parts of potas sium nitrate as a by-product ; and no matter what actual weight of silver nitrate was used, the combination would always take place in the above ratio-17o : 119.
Name Symbol Atomic weight Aluminium . . Al . . 27 Antimony (Latin : Stibium) . . Sb . . 120 Arsenic . . As . . 75 Barium . . Ba . . 137 Beryllium . . Be . . 9.1 Bismuth . . Bi . 208 Boron . . . B . .
Bromine . . Br . 8o Cadmium . . Cd . . 112 The Latin names in brackets are included to show the derivation of the symbols. Only the atomic weights generally used are given, as these are continually under revision, and some are still in doubt, although only to the first or second place of decimals. The newer gases and some of the latest discovered elements— such as radium, etc.—are not included.