I've always been interested in chemistry. After all, what kid in middle school didn't enjoy learning about blowing stuff up by adding two elements together ? As much as I enjoyed the lab experiments we did in class, however, I am having difficulty, twenty years later, remembering the basics of the periodic table of elements. Hence why today's link of the day is the Interactive Periodic Table by Touchspin (which also hosts an interactive biological microscope and information on web design).
For those that may have forgotten how useful this table is, let me remind you that it serves not only as a tool to remember the element names and numbers, but the table layout itself allowed for anyone to be able to analyze any element contained within it, using its position in the table to determine its properties.
For example, each row in the table is called a period. The elements are laid out in rows so that those with similar properties line up vertically against the rest of the table. Same with the columns (called groups). Elements in a group have similar properties (hence the colour variations in each column).
The interactive version of the table allows you to examine the properties of any element simply by moving your mouse over the table. You can click on any element in the table to bring you to the corresponding Wikipedia entry, where you can find out all about the rare elements, such as Dubniom, Seaborgium, and my favorite, Praseodymiun, including how they got their name.
The table is very easy to use. In addition to the standard table, you can view elements by atomic mass #, electron properties and orbital configuration. You can change the colours of the table to help identify temperature levels (Plutonium melts at 640F, and boils at 3235F) or ionization levels.
If you're any type of science buff, I am sure you will enjoy today's link of the day.
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