The news broke that a railroad car, loaded with pure sodium, had just derailed and was spilling its contents. A television reporter called me for an explanation of why firefighters were not allowed to ...

In the wee hours of the late 17th century, Isaac Newton could be found locked up in his laboratory prodding the secrets of nature. Giant plumes of green smoke poured from cauldrons of all shapes and ...

Periodic trends like atomic radius and ionization energy aren’t just facts to memorize—they’re patterns that reveal the hidden structure of the periodic table. Understanding these patterns helps ...

The periodic table of chemical elements, often called the periodic table, organizes all discovered chemical elements in rows (called periods) and columns (called groups) according to increasing atomic ...

Why it matters: The periodic table organizes elements by atomic number and properties, making it a powerful tool for predicting reactivity and bonding tendencies. Learning made easier: Interactive ...

The United Nations have proclaimed 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT 2019) to mark the 150th anniversary of the classification system that decorates ...

In nature there is an inherent complexity and inherent simplicity which paradoxically go hand in hand. The most seemingly simple of things, are often ones that least understood and are most complex.

Understanding how a small, gas-phase molecule containing an actinide atom reacts with other molecules helps us better understand the chemistry of heavy elements. These elements are often available in ...

The periodic table has become an icon of science. Its rows and columns provide a tidy way of showcasing the elements — the ingredients that make up the universe. It seems obvious today, but it wasn’t ...

Move over Mendeleev, there’s a new periodic table in science. Unlike the original periodic table, which organized the chemical elements, the new periodic table organizes protein complexes, or more ...

Eric Scerri's delightful "The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance" follows the 1969 classic by J. W. Spronsen, "The Periodic System of Chemical Elements," but is a different treatment of ...