The International Year of the Periodic Table
Marking the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev’s discovery of the periodic system, 2019 is the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT). We look forward to sharing and celebrating the IYPT with all our readers this year.
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The Elements Song 2019
For the international year of the periodic table, we’ve worked with Helen Arney and the Waterbeach Brass Band to update Tom Lehrer’s Elements Song
How it all started
Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907), a Russian chemist and inventor, is credited with the discovery of the periodic system of chemical elements in 1869.
The father of the periodic table
Mike Sutton looks at how Mendeleev’s patience revealed periodicity in the elements
The periodic patience of Dmitri Mendeleev
Lithium: Good enough for batteries
Chromium: Lust for colour
Chlorine, nitrogen and the legacies of Fritz Haber
Plutonium: The element factory
P is for phosphorus
Iridium and the demise of the dinosaurs
The discovery of radium – part two
The discovery of radium – part one
The end of phlogiston and the discovery of oxygen
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A global conversation
The periodic table is a talking point for scientists around the world.
Element 120 may now be in reach and the hunt for it could begin next year
Particle accelerator tests have shown that titanium-50 can be used to make elements 114 and 116
Periodic table of food initiative to uncover exactly what’s in our food
Project will create database of food compounds to standardise understanding of biomolecular composition of foods
Predicting and discovering in chemistry
How scientists look into the past, present and future
Musical periodic table being built by turning chemical elements’ spectra into notes
Computer code that converts each element into a unique piece of music could provide a novel way to expand chemistry communication
Does the periodic table reveal laws of nature?
There could be more to learn from ordering the elements
‘Periodic table’ of hydrocarbons maps ‘magic’ molecules with exceptional stability
Computational chemists calculate the stability of hydrocarbons and design a map with potential predictive power
Our headline sponsor
Chemistry World is pleased to acknowledge the support of our headline sponsor JMP
Lessons from a Nobel laureate teach us how to think better
Navigating pharmaceutical manufacturing changes with Lundbeck: Insights into process optimisation
If you think data is the new oil, you’re thinking too crudely
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Period of discovery
Chemical space contained sufficient information to formulate the periodic system 25 years before Mendeleev
How does your garden grow?
With the help of a handful elements from the periodic table, of course
How values influence decisions in science
Empirical evidence is not always sufficient to determine the models we use
Primo Levi and me
How a quarantine read helped me realise the true beauty of chemistry
Pressure used to define relationship between atomic radii and electronegativity
Analysis of electronic state transitions uncovers long-sought connection between key chemical concepts
Letters: December 2020
Readers muse on thermal hazard data, and ask for help with an embroidered periodic table
Unlocking the future of the chemical industry: the transformative potential of biocatalysis
Driving the transition to sustainable air travel
How a circular economy and nanotech save us from a clean energy bottleneck
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Chemical storytelling
Listen to stories about all 118 elements on the periodic table.
The newest elements
Labs around the world are racing to create new 'superheavy' elements. Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 (nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson) were confirmed in late 2015. When will we see the next new element on the periodic table?
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The elements song
First recorded by Tom Lehrer in 1959 (when there were only 102 elements on the periodic table) it has since been covered, and updated, by many scientists and musicians over the years.
Tom Lehrer: The Elements Song, live in Copenhagen
Tom Lehrer performs his chemistry anthem before a live audience in Copenhagen, 1967
