Facts On Periodic Table

The Periodic Table

The Periodic Table is a chart which arranges the chemical elements in a useful, logical manner. Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, lined up so that elements which exhibit similar properties are arranged in the same row or column as each other. The Periodic Table is one of the most useful tools of chemistry and the other sciences. 

Here are 10 fun and interesting Periodic Table facts:

1. While Dmitri Mendeleev is most often cited as the inventor of the modern periodic table, his table was just the first to gain scientific credibility, and not the first table that organized the elements according to periodic properties.
2. There are 90 elements on the periodic table that occur in nature. All of the other elements are strictly man-made.
3. Technetium was the first element to be made artificially.
4. The International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry, IUPAC, revises the periodic table as new data becomes available. At the time of this writing, the most recent version of the periodic table was approved 19 February 2010.
5. The rows of the periodic table are called periods. An element's period number is the highest unexcited energy level for an electron of that element.
6. Columns of elements help to distinguish groups in the periodic table. Elements within a group share several common properties and often have the same outer electron arrangement.
7. Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals. The alkali metals, alkaline earths, basic metals, transition metals, lanthanides and actinides all are groups of metals.
8. The present periodic table has room for 118 elements. Elements aren't discovered or created in order of atomic number. Scientists are working on creating and verifying element 120, which will change the appearance of the table.
9. Although you might expect atoms of an element to get larger as their atomic number increases, this does not always occur because the size of an atom is determined by the diameter of its electron shell. In fact, element atoms usually decrease in size as you move from left to right across a row or period.
10. The main difference between the modern periodic table and Mendeleev's periodic table is that Mendeleev's table arranged the elements in order of increasing atomic weight while the modern table orders the elements by increasing atomic number.

More Interesting things about periodic table:-

ABUNDANT ELEMENTS: 

What is the most abundant element in the universe? Hydrogen (H)
What is the most abundant element on earth? Oxygen (O)
Hydrogen is simply everywhere in our universe. It fuels the stars, while being the lightest of all elements. Tragically hydrogen also fueled the floating Hindenburg dirigible that was devoured in flames. 

Oxygen may not be everywhere in the universe, but it is plentiful on Earth and essential to our life form; to all life forms on Earth.

Balloons float today with Helium (He) which is lighter than air. Helium, named after the Greek Sun God Helios) can cause you to have a squeaky wee voice if you inhale it from a balloon. This is a non-reactive element. Thankfully.

Oh, if you bend Indium it will reward you, or haunt you, with a loud shrieking sound.

REACTIVE AND FIERY ELEMENTS: 

Flourine (F) is highly reactive!
Silver (Ag) is a robust conductor of electricity.
What else conducts electricity and heat well? Gold (Au)
Magnesium (Mg) fires require sand to extinguish.
The tip of a match is red with Phosphorous (P) which ignites the spark and the burning.
Potassium (K) burns a lilac-toned purple. Sweet color.
Boron (B) burns green. Nature's landscape color.
Promethium (Pm) is another god-named element, after Prometheus who gave the gift of fire to mankind. 

ELEMENT ODORS: 

What does Arsenic (As) smell like when heated? Garlic ! But don't even think of stir frying arsenic. 

What smells similar to rotten garlic...icky? Tellurium (Te)

METALS:

What two metals are not silver or gray in color? Gold (Au) and Copper (Cu).
Antimony (Sb) is used in pewter sometimes to boost its hardness.

LIQUID METALS AT ROOM TEMPS:

What metal is liquid at room temp? Mercury (Hg). We used to roll it around on our fingers and coat coins with its gleaming silvery color.

The heavy reddish brown non-metal element Bromine (Br) is also liquid at room temp.

Here is a goodie. Unlike M&Ms, what element will melt in the palm of your hand? Gallium (Ga). From the book The Disappearing Spoon: True Tales from the Periodic Table, I learned that a spoon fashioned of Gallium will melt at 84 degrees. It may look like a metal spoon, but hot coffee or tea forces it to melt; going, going. gone.

WATER VARIABLES:

If you freeze water, it expands about 9% in additional volume.
If you add salt to water, the water level goes down - maybe that is why adding salt to water keeps it from boiling over!

EINSTEIN:

Does Albert Einstein have an element named after him? Yes, the metal Einsteinium (Es). It was discovered by scientists during experiments with atomic bombs. Not one of his favorite recognitions, no doubt.

The incandescent bulb filament is the baby of Einstein also. China is the primary importer to America of Tungsten (W) to produce these filaments. This import is likely on the decline as incandescent bulbs are being replaced by CFL and LED lighting which use no filaments, but do use a smidgeon of Mercury.

COLORS OF ELEMENTS: 

Bismuth (Bi) helps alleviate my infrequent tummy ache. If I were to add sulfur to it, my tongue would turn black temporarily. Nope, not going there!

Is krypton (Kr) green? No, it is colorless and odorless, but it is found up, up there in our atmosphere, but not on Superman's home planet. 

Oxygen (O) is colorless as a gas; blue as a liquid or solid.

MISSING ELEMENT NAME:

What letter does not show up (to date) on the periodic table? J. The Q has been in fleeting elements only to date (ununquadium).

HEAVIEST NOBLE GAS:

What natural noble gas is the heaviest? Radon. After all, it does hide from view in crawl spaces and basements. Too heavy to climb the stairs? Hehehehe.

DEADLIEST ELEMENT:

According to Smithsonian Magazine's blog, Thallium is without a doubt the deadliest element. Thallium pretends to be Potassium (K), so it can slink into the cells of our bodies. Then it breaks down the amino acid bonds within our proteins and we depart this life. "The CIA once developed a plan to poison Fidel Castro by dosing his socks with thallium-tainted talcum powder." Guess that bright idea got tabled.

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