The atomic number, the number of protons in the atomic nucleus, has been recognized as the  proper ordering principle of the periodic table for nearly a century. But the notion of assigning ordinal numbers to the elements is as old as the periodic table, and a proposal linking that ordering number to nuclear charge is about as old as the nuclear model of the atom. This presentation will trace the origins of the atomic number concept, focusing primarily on the contributions of Antonius van den Broek and Henry Moseley.

Ordering the elements: van den Broek and Moseley

246th National Meeting (2013)

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