Since 1800, almost 200 sincere but erroneous reports ofthe discovery of new chemical elements have been made.Why have mistaken reports of new elements been sonumerous? Why is it relatively easy to prove that a material is not a chemical element, but difficult to prove absolutely that a material is an element?

World of Chemistry, 3rd edition
3rd Edition
ISBN:9781133109655
Author:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan L. Zumdahl, Donald J. DeCoste
Publisher:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan L. Zumdahl, Donald J. DeCoste
Chapter2: Matter
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Problem 5A
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Since 1800, almost 200 sincere but erroneous reports of
the discovery of new chemical elements have been made.
Why have mistaken reports of new elements been so
numerous? Why is it relatively easy to prove that a material is not a chemical element, but difficult to prove absolutely that a material is an element?

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