Eli5: how does a periodic table work?
In: 0
Chemical elements have similarities between each other. Some guy named Mendeleev got the idea to sort the elements according to their similarities.
We figured out that atoms consist of protons, neutrons and electrons. Atoms of different elements differ from each other by the number of those three components which also cause their properties (weight, look, crystal configuration, the way they react chemically with other elements and so on).
Having the periodic table lets us understand other elements better. Conclusions from known elements enabled us to find (and later until today even make) new elements.
There were a few older systems, but the one we’re using today is sorted according to the number of protons (they cause most of the mass, sorted from least to most/lightest to heaviest), and the number of freely movable electrons (1 to 8, so it’s eight rows). An exemption is the block of lanthanides, but I don’t understand how those work.
Latest Answers