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The periodic table isn't just a nice layout of information, the position of each element in the table provides further information about it. For example, we kno
by paxswill 13y ago
The periodic table isn't just a nice layout of information, the position of each element in the table provides further information about it. For example, we know gold (Au) is pretty a pretty good conductor of electricity. By looking at the other elements in its group (the column), we can guess that copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) are also good electrical conductors (in fact, some of the best).
Beyond that simple case, there are loads of other bits of information encoded in the position. The image on the Wikipedia article gives a good overview of some of the trends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table#Periodic_trends http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table#Periodic_trends
- mden 13y agoI'm well aware that the periodic table has a lot of various information encoded into it as I'm pretty sure anyone who's gone through high school is as well. I am not sure why you think the tags table is trying to fool anyone... it was chosen symbolically and it looks visually better than any other similar attempt I've seen before. Not everything needs to be pigeonholed into the "must make perfect sense" category.
- dnautics 13y agoNo, but you are diluting the value and understanding of the original.
- phaedryx 13y agoForget making perfect sense, what sense does this layout make at all? I expect columns to have similar properties. Why are <span> and <script> in the same column? What property is increasing as I go left to right and top to bottom? Why are some columns taller than others?