Let there be light - from flame to periodic table

The lecture will be held by associate professor Stanislav Daniš from Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University.

In the periodic table, the elements were placed on the basis of similar chemical properties. However, it remained a mystery what caused these properties - such as density, melting point, or valence. It took more than half a century for it to be discovered. We begin our lecture - at first glance inappropriately - by observing the rainbow. It will allow us to embark on a journey that has led to the realization that in addition to the world of our experience, there is another: the microworld - the world of atoms, governed by different physical laws. It was precisely these findings that enabled us to understand the properties of individual elements and later the laws of chemical bonds - and thus the formation of compounds.