After the introduction of the chemical balance by Lavoisier at the end of the 8th century the way was open to make chemistry an accurate science. Atomic weights were crucial to this and their story is here reviewed, from the confusion with equivalent weight, the difficulties of adopting a standard element a basis, to the present problems where elements bave been found to have different isotopic composition depending on their origin, the Earth the Moon or a prehistoric nuclear reactor, like Oklo.
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References
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LavoisierA. L., Discours Préliminaire in Traité Elémentaire de Chimie p. XXLI of the second edition, published in Paris during the revolution in 1793, one year before his death on the guillotine.
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d'OkloLe Phénomène, Compte-rendu d'un colloque tenu à Libreville. Agence Internationale de l'Energie Atomique, Vienne, AIEA (1975).
