Full Idea
The work of Moseley and others rehabilitated Prout's hypothesis that all elements were composites of hydrogen, being exact multiples of 1. ..This revitalized some philososophical notions of the unity of all matter, criticised by Mendeleev and others.
Gist of Idea
If all elements are multiples of one (of hydrogen), that suggests once again that matter is unified
Source
Eric R. Scerri (The Periodic Table [2007], 06 'Philos')
Book Reference
Scerri,Eric R.: 'The Periodic Table' [OUP 2007], p.175
Related Ideas
Idea 17402 Mendeleev saw three principles in nature: matter, force and spirit (where the latter seems to be essence) [Mendeleev, by Scerri]
Idea 17406 Moseley, using X-rays, showed that atomic number ordered better than atomic weight [Scerri]