Periodic Table Mysteries
Here are a few things about the periodic table that I have learned as a direct result of writing this program.
- Stubborn Elements: Coloring the table based on either the melting point or boiling point results in the strange juxtaposition of the extremes of carbon and nitrogen. Carbon has incredibly high boiling and melting points. Nitrogen’s melting and boiling points are extremely low. Typically gently changing grouping of attributes occurs, yet these two elements are side by side on the table. So, it appears that one of these two elements is the more stubborn. Which one? Well, I've finally figured it out. See here for how to determine it for yourself.
- Conductivity Collusion: Coloring the table based on first the thermal conductivity and then on the electrical conductivity shows a small grouping of elements, Cu, Ag, & Au, that are highly conductive in both arenas. I've heard that this is related to valence electrons.
- Lewis Anomalies: Something that appears when looking at the Lewis Dot Diagrams and when the Lewis Electrons shading/coloring is implemented. Palladium, Pd, has the full 8 electrons! I'd like to know if it has the corresponding stability of a noble gas. Also, my favorite three conductors Cu, Ag, and Au have just a single Lewis electron, making them stand out from their peers.
- Missing Rings! There is the mystery of the missing rings. Some elements have orbitals (rings on the Bohrs Model Diagram) that are completely empty when later (outside) orbitals have electrons. There are only a few elements that I found that looked like this including Palladium (Pd 46), Lanthanum (La 57), Actinium (Ac 89), and Thorium (Th 90).
- Unexpected Electron Filling: Then there is the related matter of electrons that seem to fill in highly unexpected patterns. For example, Chromium (Cr 24), Copper (Cu 29), Niobium (Nb 41), and others skip electron spaces that could be filled. More about this is discussed in the section on the Bohrs Model Diagram and is easily viewed with that tool.
If you discover similar items of interest by using this tool, please inform me.