Question

Discussion Topic

Both Josef Loschmidt and Amedeo Avogadro contributed to our understanding of basic
molecular numbers, sizes, and reaction ratios. Neither scientist discovered Avogadro's
number in the form we use it today (6.02 x 10^23). Still, there's controversy over the
name of this number. Research the contributions of these two scientists and how
Avogadro's number got its name. Note the name you think this number should be called, provide key details about each scientist's contributions to this concept, and give
a solid rationale for your case in naming the number.

Answer 1

Josef Loschmidt was an Austrian physicist who derived a formula to calculate the number of molecules in a gas, and in 1865 calculated the size of a gas molecule to be approximately 10^-10 meters in diameter. Amedeo Avogadro proposed the hypothesis that equal volumes of gases contain the same number of molecules, and in 1811 suggested that the number of particles in one mole of a substance is proportional to the volume of gas under standard conditions. Avogadro's number was named by Jean Baptiste Perrin, but the name can be misleading. Therefore, the number should be called the "Loschmidt-Avogadro number" or "the Avogadro-Loschmidt constant" to recognize both scientists' contributions to the concept.