[HN Gopher] Picture This: The Periodic Table ___________________________________________________________________ Picture This: The Periodic Table Author : laurex Score : 60 points Date : 2022-12-23 21:50 UTC (2 days ago) (HTM) web link (pioneerworks.org) (TXT) w3m dump (pioneerworks.org) | ryandrake wrote: | Great visualization. I've always found it very unsatisfying to | depict the lanthanides and actinides as just nebulously floating | out there like Alaska and Hawaii on terrible maps of the US. | Those elements are part of chemistry/physics too, and they have | periodic properties. Finally a practical visual that promotes | them to full citizens! | thriftwy wrote: | > A Siberian by birth, with Rasputin-like dishevelled hair and an | irascible manner | | Most of Mendeleev's photos are of his old age, but he actually | discovered the periodic table in his 40s, I believe. | Pulcinella wrote: | If you can find a copy I highly recommend _Graphical | Representations of the Periodic System During 100 Years_ by | Edward G. Mazurs. The latest edition is from 1974 (which | unfortunately means it is just misses including the J.F. Hyde | table from 1975). | | There is also the Internet Database of Periodic Tables | (https://www.meta- | synthesis.com/webbook/35_pt/pt_database.php...). | | I'm not sure there really is any new insight to be gained from | new arrangements of the elements, but I do feel like this work | has stagnated in recent years. Even the cheapest smart phones | have more graphical processing power than anything from 10-20 | years ago. I would like to see more 3D arrangements (including | "regular" 3D, VR/AR, and physical 3D models). | | As a former Chemistry teacher, I would also love to see a "build | your own" periodic table (maybe some way of coding whatever | rules/constraints you think the arrangement should take and the | elements are laid out accordingly, rather than directly placing | each element). I think it's important for students to realize | that at one point these were original ideas that people had to | think of and popularize and that new ideas are also possible. The | current table is not just some ancient truth handed down since | time immemorial. Though the table reflects the laws of nature, it | is the product of human creation (e.g. the common form of the | table with the lanthanides and actinides placed below the rest of | the table is purely for practical reasons. Otherwise the table is | far too wide to print and read easily). | WillAdams wrote: | I've always thought it was quite unfortunate that some really | arcane presentation of the periodic table wasn't used in H. | Beam Piper's novella "Omnilingual": | | https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19445/pg19445-images.ht... | bluenose69 wrote: | > I think it's important for students to realize that at one | point these were original ideas that people had to think of | | This part of your informative comment indicates to me that you | were a great teacher. This sort of thing doesn't occur to many | students, and so they find it difficult to connect with | material. If they can visualize somebody else doing such work, | they may be able to visualize themselves doing it, too. And | that's the first step. Even if they don't go into science, | though, they will gain an appreciation for what it is. | Pulcinella wrote: | Thank you for your kind words! :) | hcrisp wrote: | I recently ran across Benfey's alternate periodic table (1964) | which is similar but more complete: | | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_periodic_tables | 082349872349872 wrote: | Thanks, that led me to Giguere's | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4233444/figure/... | which, being orbital based, I guess counts as a physicists' | table. | | For sheer exuberance, how about the Railsback table? | http://railsback.org/PT/815PeriodicTable48e02.pdf | zksmk wrote: | I love Benfey's table. I find it the most intuitive to | interpret at a glance at what's actually going on with the | electrons and the filing of the orbitals (in the version where | they're marked) around the nucleus. Might be just taste, but | it's my fave. | einpoklum wrote: | So, what's so special about Silicon (Si) which puts in the middle | of the 8-shaped figure at the top of the story? | | Also, why does Carbon seem to protrude from the spiral towards | Silicon? | jtbayly wrote: | My questions exactly. Also, why the faint lines from silicon | running to lots of other elements? | bronson wrote: | It was created by an organosilicon chemist. It sounds like | this rendering was meant to illustrate silicon instead of | being purely general purpose: https://corporate.dow.com/en- | us/about/company/history/james-... | 082349872349872 wrote: | That suggests the modern equivalent would be one where the | spiral animates, as the reader picks their "focus" | element... | rahimnathwani wrote: | I'd like to put a poster of the periodical table on my kid's | bedroom wall. | | What's the best representation for a 6 year old? ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-12-25 23:00 UTC)