periodic law

[ peer-ee-od-ik, peer- ]

nounChemistry.
  1. the law that the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.

  2. Also called Mendeleev's law. (originally) the statement that the chemical and physical properties of the elements recur periodically when the elements are arranged in the order of their atomic weights.

Origin of periodic law

1
First recorded in 1870–75

Words Nearby periodic law

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use periodic law in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for periodic law

periodic law

/ (ˌpɪərɪˈɒdɪk) /


noun
  1. Also called: Mendeleev's law the principle that the chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic weights or, more accurately, of their atomic numbers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012