Hello everyone,
This is my first post on this forum and I would like to begin by pointing out something that most chemists already know and seem to have accepted as a matter of convention and tradition. It is something that I just cant get over and it really just rubs me the wrong way.
The Standard Periodic Table is broken, with 30 Elements placed out of order and omitted from the numbering system to save paper space. The true arrangement of the Elements has been said to be, "impractical" and "too wide to easily fit on a Standard sized peice of paper".
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has gone back and forth with Periodic Table nomenclature over the years and in 2019, 150 years after Mendeleev discovered the Periodic Law, the nomenclature for the Periodic Table still remains incomplete as it routinely excludes the Lanthanides and Actinides from the numbering system.
Those more advanced in Chemistry might dismiss this arbitrary change to the Periodic Table as insignificant, assuming that new Chemistry students can easily restore the "Rare Earth" Elements to their proper position without confusion. The fact of the matter is that Chemistry is a very complex and difficult subject for most people, with the majority of students giving up before they ever learn the ins and outs of the Periodic Table.
Considered by many to be the most important scientific discovery in the history of the world and at the foundation of Chemistry, it is critical that a constant effort is made to provide the most accurate reflection of the Elements as possible. The current Standard Periodic Table and its (1-18) numbering system is broken and innacurate with regards to logic and quantitative data. In the age of widescreen monitors, tablets and smartphones, saving paper space to fit the Periodic Table on a Standard sized peice of paper is no longer a valid excuse.
Chemistry is the Central science with the Periodic Table of Elements being like the Alphabet and key to a Universal language. Perhaps the only peice of information we have that could be shared and communicated with an intelligent Alien civilization, so it cant be stressed enough the importantance of getting it right.
It would be one thing if there were no better alternatives to the Standard Periodic Table but there is. I would be more understanding if there were some type of scienctific reason for placing Elements out of order, but there isnt. The Periodic Table is a system which gets its predictive power from the Order and location of the Elements, so arbitrarily placing 30 Elements out of order is extremely unwise. It only creates more confusion in an already complex and difficult subject.
To prevent this post from being too long, I will stop here for now. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read this and hope that I find some people here who are passionate about finding and passing on the most accurate and informative Periodic Table of Elements as possible. My next post will be about the search for the "Ultimate Periodic Table of Elements".
Have a great day!
Blessings,
JC
Happy International Year of the Periodic Table of Elements! #iypt2019
