Part of this rejection was due to the belief that atoms of one element would have no chemical affinity towards atoms of the same element, and part was due to apparent exceptions to Avogadro's law that were not explained until later in terms of dissociating molecules.
En del af denne afvisning skyldtes troen på at et grundstofs element ikke ville have nogen kemisk affinitet overfor atomer fra det samme grundstof, og en anden del skyldtes tilsyneladende undtagelser fra Avogadros lov, der ikke blev forklaret før senere i form af dissocierende molekyler.