Periodic Table Presentations and Inspirations
by Mary E. Saecker
Graphic Representations of the Periodic System
The 2009 ACS National Chemistry Week theme of “Chemistry—It’s Elemental” celebrates the elegant, orderly, and inspirational icon of chemistry, the periodic table. However, as John Moore points out in his August 2003 editorial, Turning the (Periodic) Tables (1), there is not one periodic table:
An enormously successful way of summarizing and classifying the physical and chemical properties of the elements and many of their compounds is to display the element symbols in a format that emphasizes similarities and differences by means of graphic design—a periodic table. Notice that I said a periodic table, not the periodic table.
There have been (2, 3) and continue to be (4) many informative ways to present information about the elements and to represent their properties in graphic form. Numerous articles have appeared presenting various arrangements of the periodic system throughout the history of this Journal (5). A large collection of periodic tables and periodic table formulations can be found in Mark Leach’s online Database of Periodic Table Formulations (6).
In celebration of the Journal’s treatment of this rich subject, several three-dimensional periodic table construction patterns (Figure 1) have been redrawn, and the patterns and construction directions are available in the online material:
A. cut-out chart of the periodic system: cylinder (7);
B. periodic table as a building: variation 1 (8);
C. periodic table as a building: variation 2 (8).
Figure 1. The three constructions can be seen in more detail by clicking on the thumbnail image below. Use the back button to return here. Patterns from which to create 3-D periodic tables are in a PDF file.PerTableTemplates
Three-dimensional constructions are one way to visualize the periodic table. Online interactive periodic tables bring additional dimensions to the design and the way information about the elements can be displayed (9). For example:
Dynamic Periodic Table is an interactive periodic table with many options for what and how the information is displayed (10);
It’s Elemental—The Periodic Table from Chem. Eng. News. links each element to images, information, and a captivating essay (11);
Periodic Spiral is an interactive program that allows users to explore the elements and their interplay (12);
Periodic Table Live! contains videos, interactive crystal structures, a graphing module, and information about the elements, their reactions, their properties, their structures and their histories (13);
A Visual Interpretation of the Periodic Table by The Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) integrates the science and symbolism of the elements and includes Periodic Landscapes, three-dimensional panoramas derived from trends within the periodic table (14).
Periodic Table as Muse and To Amuse
The periodic table has inspired many people to recreate the world through its powerful lens. This chemical muse has captured the imagination of writers, singers, artists, chefs. Such artistic works inspired by the periodic table include:
The Periodic Table by Primo Levi (15) contains 21 essays, each named after and inspired by an element; it is the periodic table as metaphor for life.
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (16) is Oliver Sacks’s loving ode to his childhood fascination with the periodic table and his relationship with each element.
Camille Minichino has written periodic table mysteries featuring retired physicist Gloria Lamerino (17); the first eight elements have been featured in the series so far.
In their play Oxygen (18), Carl Djerassi and Roald Hoffmann explore scientific discovery through the discoverers of oxygen.
The Poetic Table of Elements gathers original poems about the elements (19).
Chemist and artist Langley Spurlock and poet John M. Tarrat collaborate to create a fusion of image and verse in a multimedia and haiku celebration of the elements (20).
Beautiful renditions of the periodic table have been made by many artists, including students (21), printmakers (22), and a chemist turned woodworker and photographer (23).
The elegance and order of the periodic table, combined with the idea of a single chart to organize information, has inspired “periodic tables” on many topics other than chemistry (6). These tables of information have their own elements, with unique symbols, and a unique periodicity. The arrangement of the elements is determined by the items in the table. Some examples of this kind include:
A Periodic Table of the Artist’s Colors (24)—organizes shades of embroidery floss on a needlepointed table;
The Periodic Table of Typefaces: Popular, Influential, and Notorious—groups typefaces by families and classes (25);
The Periodic Table of World Literature—categorizes 100 writers from around the globe chronologically by genre (26);
Wine Grape Varietal Table—displays wine grape varieties and how they relate to one another (27).
There have also been many playful treatments of the periodic table, such as the Periodic Table of the Elephants (28) and the Periodic Table of Rejected Elements (29). In this whimsical spirit, Figure 2 presents the Periodic Table of the Beans. The elements have been stripped of their names and replaced with beans that have taken on the character of the elemental letters.
Figure 2. The Periodic Table of the Beans—Elements with Character. (Image courtesy of Bean Room Productions. ZottaBean characters copyright 1998 by Mary Saecker.)
Articles and resources to help understand and celebrate the elements and the periodic table are available throughout this issue. Some additional resources are also listed after the Literature Cited section.
Literature Cited (all sites accessed Aug 2009)
1. Moore, J. W. Turning the (Periodic) Tables J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 847.
2. Mazurs, Edward G. Graphic Representations of the Periodic System During One Hundred Years, 2nd ed.; University of Alabama Press: University, AL, 1974.
3. van Spronsen, J. W. The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years; Elsevier: Amsterdam, 1969.
4. For example, Stewart, P. The Spiral Periodic System. Educ. in Chem. 2004, 41, 165; available at http://www.chemicalgalaxy.co.uk/.
5. For example, Quam, G. N.; Quam, M. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1934, 11, 27–32, 217–223, 288–297. For additional J. Chem. Educ. articles on this topic, see Jacobsen, E. K. JCE Resources for Chemistry and the Periodic Table. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1154–1161.
6. Database of Periodic Table Formulations. http://www.meta-synthesis.com/webbook/35_pt/pt_database.php and http://www.meta-synthesis.com/webbook/35_pt/pt.html .
7. Clauson, J. E. A Cut-out Chart of the Periodic System. J. Chem. Educ. 1954, 31, 550–552;
8. He, Fu-cheng; Li, Xiang-yuan. The Periodic Building of the Elements:
Can the Periodic Table Be Transformed into Stereo? J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 792–793.
9. For additional online resources see: Diener, L. News from Online: The Periodic Table of the Elements. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1163–1165.
10. Dynamic Periodic Table. http://www.ptable.com/.
11. It’s Elemental—The Periodic Table. Chem. Eng. News. 2003, 81 (36), cover story; available at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/80th/elements.html. You can support your favorite element on Facebook; see Groat, R. K.; Jacobsen, E. K. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1168–1169. Also in this issue is My Favorite Element. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1131–1141.
12. Periodic Spiral. http://periodicspiral.com/.
13. The Periodic Table Live! JCE Software, 3rd edition. http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/ptl/index.html. See additional information
in this issue about Periodic Table Live!’s development (Banks, A. J.; Jacobsen, E. K. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1144–1146) and use (Moore, J. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1147–1148; Slocum, L. E.; Moore, J. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1167).
14. A Visual Interpretation of the Periodic Table by The Royal Society of Chemistry (UK); http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/index.htm.
15. Levi, Primo. The Periodic Table; Schocken Books, Inc.: New York, 1984; translated by Raymond Rosenthal. As a teaching tool for chemistry see Osorio, V. K. L.; Tiedemann, P. W.; Porto, P. A. Primo Levi and The Periodic Table: Teaching Chemistry Using a Literary Text. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 775–778.
16. Sacks, Oliver. Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 2001. James Marshall’s “Living Periodic Table” (described in J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 979–983 and 2000, 77, 1119) inspired Sacks to visit Marshall to see his collection (J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 879).
17. The most recent installment in the series is Minichino, C. The Oxygen Murder; St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2006. Information about the entire series is available at http://www.minichino.com/in_print/in_print.html.
18. Djerassi, C.; Hoffmann, R. Oxygen; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2001. Reviewed in J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 436.
19. Poetic Table of the Elements: A Periodic Table of Poetry. http://www.everypoet.com/absurdities/elements/.
20. Langley Spurlock. http://langleyspurlock.com/. See also Petkewich, R. Chem. Eng. News 2005, 83 (40), 60–61; Amato, I. Chem. Eng. News 2009, 87 (28), Web exclusive (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/87/8728sci2.html).
21. Silva, A.; Barroso, M. F.; Freitas, O.; Teixeira, S.; Morais, S.; Delerue-Matos, C. The Periodic Table: Contest and Exhibition. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83, 557. See also http://www.winterhouse.com/vancouver/.
22. The Periodic Table Printmaking Project. http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/.
23. Theodore Gray’s periodic table made up of photographs of the elements can be seen at http://periodictable.com/; his wooden periodic
“table” at http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/index.html. See also Thomas, N. C. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1193–1194.
24. Beal, S. Needlepoint: Stephen Beal’s Color Memoirs. Fiberarts 2007, 34 (1), on the Web; available at http://www.fiberarts.com/back_issues/summer_07/needlepoint.asp.
25. The Periodic Table of Typefaces: Popular, Influential, and Notorious
by Camdon Wilde/Squidspot. http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Periodic-Table-of-Typefaces/193759.
26. Periodic Table of World Literature from Teacher’s Discovery. http://www.teachersdiscovery-english.com/english.asp.
27. DeLong’s Wine Grape Varietal Table. http://www.delongwine.com/wgvt.php.
28. Connors, M. B. The Periodic Table of the Elephants. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1149–1150.
29. Gerber, M; Schwarz, J. The Periodic Table of Rejected Elements. The Atlantic Monthly 1999, 284 (2), 43; available at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99aug/9908elements.htm.
Some Additional Resources
Atkins, P. W. The Periodic Kingdom, a Journey into the Land of Chemical Elements; Basic Books: New York, NY, 1995.
Ball, Philip. The Elements: A Very Short Introduction; Oxford University Press: New York, 2004.
Ball, Philip. The Ingredients: A Guided Tour of the Elements; Oxford University Press: New York, 2003.
Dingle, Adrian; Basher, Simon The Basher Science: Periodic Table—Elements with Style; Kingfisher Publications: London, 2007.
Emsley, J. Nature’s Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001.
Scerri, Eric R. The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. Oxford University Press, 2006.
Strathern, Paul. Mendeleyev’s Dream: The Quest for the Elements; Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2000.
Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2009/Oct/abs1151.html
Supplements
Periodic Table Cylinder, Construction Directions and Patterns, adapted by Riley Houston from ref 7, available as PDFsPerTableTemplates
Periodic Table as a Building, Construction Directions and Patterns,PerTableTemplates
Variations 1 and 2, adapted by Riley Houston from ref 8, available as PDFsPerTableTemplates
Mary E. Saecker is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Chemical Education; msaecker@chem.wsic.edu.
Copyright 2009, Journal of Chemical Education, Division of Chemical Education, Inc. Used by permission.
Thank you Mary for an interesting article and also for citing my book on the Periodic Table.
I would like to take up the claim in the early part of the paper to the effect that there is no such thing as the periodic table but only variations in periodic tables. Although this is a common view among chemists I believe it is incorrect.
I claim that chemical periodicity is an objective property of Nature whereby the elements recur, albeit approximately, after certain intervals if they are arranged in order of Z. If so then there is a ‘fact of the matter’ as to whether the first period has two elements or perhaps 4 for the sake of argument. There is also a fact of the matter as to whether there may be two short periods of two elements as shown in the left-step table.
It is therefore perfectly legitimate in my view for us to seek THE periodic table which best reflects chemical periodicity. The periodic table is admittedly a human construct but only in the trivial sense. It is Nature that dictates chemical periodicity and it is Nature that ultimately dictates the form of the periodic table.
Let me also make it clear that I am not referring merely to the shape of a periodic table, whether it be rectangular, circular or even three -dimensional. I am referring to the placement of elements and whether H for example is placed in group 1 or 17 or even 14 as some have suggested. Similarly the question of the placement of He in group 2 or 18 has an objective answer even if we have not settled this yet.
Conclusion: There is indeed one periodic table and it is worth striving to discover it rather than repeating that all periodic tables were constructed by us for our convenience. The latter view smacks of constructivism and even relativism and it is surprising to me that chemists can advocate such a view, although given the pernicious influence of constructivism nothing should surprise us.
Eric Scerri
author of “The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance”,
Oxford University Press, 2007.
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