chemistry

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner rather than just read about it. In short: Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (13 December 1780 – 24 March 1849) was a German chemist who is known best for work that was suggestive of the periodic law for the chemical elements, and for inventing the first lighter, which was known as the Döbereiner's lamp. He became a professor of chemistry and pharmacy for the University of Jena.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (13 December 1780 – 24 March 1849) was a German chemist who is known best for work that was suggestive of the periodic law for the chemical elements, and for inventing the first lighter, which was known as the Döbereiner's lamp. He became a professor of chemistry and pharmacy for the University of Jena.

Life and work As a coachman's son, Döbereiner had little opportunity for formal schooling. Thus, he was apprenticed to an apothecary, and began to read widely and to attend science lectures. He eventually became a professor for the University of Jena in 1810 and also studied chemistry at Strasbourg. In work published during 1829, Döbereiner reported trends in certain properties of selected groups of elements. For example, the average of the atomic masses of lithium and potassium was close to the atomic mass of sodium. A similar pattern was found with calcium, strontium, and barium; with sulfur, selenium, tellurium; and with chlorine, bromine, and iodine. Moreover, the densities for some of these triads had a similar pattern. These sets of elements became known as "Döbereiner's triads".

Döbereiner is also known for his discovery of furfural, for his work concerning the use of platinum as a catalyst, and for the invention of a lighter, known as Döbereiner's lamp. By 1828 hundreds of thousands of these lighters had been mass produced by the German manufacturer Gottfried Piegler in Schleiz. The German writer Goethe was a friend of Döbereiner, attended his lectures weekly, and used his theories of chemical affinities as a basis for his famous 1809 novella Elective Affinities.

Works Deutsches Apothekerbuch . Vol. 1-3 . Balz, Stuttgart 1842-1848 Digital edition by the University and State Library Düsseldorf

References

Further reading

Collins, P. M. D. (1986). "The Pivotal Role of Platinum in the Discovery of Catalysis" (PDF). Platinum Metals Review. 30 (3): 141–146. doi:10.1595/003214086X303141146. Döbereiner, Johann Wolfgang (1829). "An Attempt to Group Elementary Substances according to Their Analogies". Annalen der Physik und Chemie. 15 (2): 301–307. Bibcode:1829AnP....91..301D. doi:10.1002/andp.18290910217.ff Hoffmann, Roald (Jul–Aug 1998). "Döbereiner's Lighter". American Scientist. 86 (4): 326. doi:10.1511/1998.4.326. Archived from the original on 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2014-09-10. Hoffmann, Roald (1998). "Döbereiner's Lighter". American Scientist. 86 (4): 326. doi:10.1511/1998.4.326. Archived from the original on March 24, 2006. Kauffman, George B. (1999). "Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner's Feuerzeug". Platinum Metals Review. 43 (3): 122–128. doi:10.1595/003214099X433122128. Kaufmann, George (1999). "From Triads to Catalysis: Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780–1849) on the 150th Anniversary of His Death". The Chemical Educator. 4 (5): 186–197. doi:10.1007/s00897990326a. S2CID 97696152. McDonald, Donald (1965). "Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner" (PDF). Platinum Metals Review. 9 (4): 136–139. doi:10.1595/003214065X94136139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2007-02-15. Prandtl, Wilhelm (1950). "Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner, Goethe's Chemical Adviser". Journal of Chemical Education. 27 (4): 176–181. Bibcode:1950JChEd..27..176P. doi:10.1021/ed027p176. Kimberley A. McGrath, Bridget Travers. 1999. World of Scientific Discovery. Gale Research. Scerri Eric. 2020, The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 978-0190914363

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner

In research: Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1780 births, 1849 deaths, 18th-century German chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner in simple terms?

Why does Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner.