In
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
, Abegg’s rule states that the difference between the maximum positive and negative
valence of an
element is frequently eight. The rule used a historic meaning of valence which resembles the modern concept of
oxidation state
In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to different atoms were fully ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons) of an atom in a chemical compound. C ...
in which an atom is an electron donor or receiver. Abegg’s rule is sometimes referred to as "Abegg’s law of valence and countervalence".
In general, for a given chemical element (as
sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...
) Abegg’s rule states that the sum of the absolute value of its negative valence (such as −2 for sulfur in
H2S and its positive valence of maximum value (as +6 for sulfur in
H2SO4) is often equal to 8.
History
The concept was formulated in 1904 by German chemist
Richard Abegg.
Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert Newton Lewis (October 23 or October 25, 1875 – March 23, 1946) was an American physical chemist and a Dean of the College of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley. Lewis was best known for his discovery of the covalent bond a ...
was one of the first to refer to the concept as "Abegg's rule" when he used it as a basis of argument in a 1916 article to develop his
cubical atom theory, which developed into the
octet rule
The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that reflects the theory that main-group elements tend to bond in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell, giving it the same electronic configuration as a noble gas. The rul ...
. That article helped inspire
Linus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topi ...
to write his 1938 textbook ''The Nature of the Chemical Bond''.
See also
*
History of molecular theory
In chemistry, the history of molecular theory traces the origins of the concept or idea of the existence of strong chemical bonds between two or more atoms.
The modern concept of molecules can be traced back towards pre-scientific and Greek ph ...
*
Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir (; January 31, 1881 – August 16, 1957) was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry.
Langmuir's most famous publication is the 1919 ar ...
References
External links
Nuclear Atom- contains and excerpt of Abegg's contributions.
Chemistry theories
Theoretical chemistry
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