Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert rubidium discovered

Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824-87) German physicist who, while still a student, derived the laws, now known as Kirchhoff s laws, for determining currents in electrical networks. Working in spectroscopy, he discovered the elements cesium and rubidium, and formulated Kirchhoff s laws of radiation, which stipulate that, for a given wavelength, the ratio of emission to absorption is the same for all bodies at a given temperature. 

The name comes from the Latin rubidus, meaning deep red. Rubidium was discovered by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824—1887) and Robert Wilhelm Runsen (1811-1899) in 1861, using their spectroscope. They named it after the red lines found in the spectra of the new element. It is rare, and it is radioactive. It is used in photoelectric cells and specialty glass. An exotic compound of rubidium, silver, and iodine may be useful in thin film batteries. 

This metal was first discovered in 1861 by German scientists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887) while they were experimenting with other alkali metals. They named it rubidium after the ruby red lines it emitted when it was heated. 

In the 1859 the chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and his younger colleague, the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff, discovered a surprising phenomenon of spectroscopy. The emission and absorption spectra of an element are identical. They thus put into place an ideal tool for the discovery and identification of elements. Indeed, they themselves discovered cesium (1860) and rubidium (1861). In total, at least 20 elements were found by using spectroscopic technigues (including X-ray spectroscopy). 

Rubidium (Rb, [Kr s1), name and symbol from the Latin rubidius (deep red, the colour of its main spectral lines). Discovered (1861) by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff. 

The existence of these different practices was not sufficient to create a discipline or subdiscipline of physical chemistry, but it showed the way. One definition of physical chemistry is that it is the application of the techniques and theories of physics to the study of chemical reactions, and the study of the interrelations of chemical and physical properties. That would mean that Faraday was a physical chemist when engaged in electrolytic researches. Other chemists devised other essentially physical instruments and applied them to chemical subjects. Robert Bunsen (1811—99) is best known today for the gas burner that bears his name, the Bunsen burner, a standard laboratory instrument. He also devised improved electrical batteries that enabled him to isolate new metals and to add to the list of elements. Bunsen and the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff (1824—87) invented a spectroscope to examine the colors of flames (see Chapter 13). They used it in chemical analysis, to detect minute quantities of elements. With it they discovered the metal cesium by the characteristic two blue lines in its spectrum and rubidium by its two red lines. We have seen how Van t Hoff and Le Bel used optical activity, the rotation of the plane of polarized light (detected by using a polarimeter) to identify optical or stereoisomers. Clearly there was a connection between physical and chemical properties. 

Rubidium is a soft, silvery metal, ft is one of the most active chemical elements. Rubidium is a member of the alkali family. The alkali family consists of elements in Group 1 (lA) of the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to one another. Other Group 1 (lA) elements include lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium, and francium. Rubidium was discovered in 1861 by German chemists Robert Bunsen (1811—1899) and Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887). 

Cs cesium, 55, 1860 from the Latin caesius (blue) cesium and rubidium were the first elements to be discovered—by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff —through their spectral lines cesium is identified by its blue lines. 

Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff discover rubidium. 

Rubidium was first discovered by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff in 1861(this is the same Bunsen of the Bunsen burner that you can find in nearly every chemistry classroom). He was able to identify rubidium because of its unique spectral characteristics. The metal was first produced by the reaction of rubidium chloride (RbCl) with potassium. 

Each element has its own distinctive line spectrum—a kind of atomic fingerprint. Robert Bunsen (1811-1899) and Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887) developed the first spectroscope and used it to identify elements. In 1860, they discovered a new element and named it cesium (Latin, caesius, sky blue) because of the distinctive blue lines in its spectrum. They discovered rubidium in 1861 in a similar way (Latin, rubidius, deepest red). Still another element characterized by its unique spectrum is helium (Greek, helios, the sun). Its spectrum was observed during the solar eclipse of 1868, but helium was not isolated on Earth for another 27 years. 

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