circular periodic tabel

A Circular Periodic Table of the Elements

The development of the periodic table of the elements by Mendeleyev was one of the great scientific achievements of the nineteenth century. First, it demonstrated the relationships between the different elements. Secondly, it was also very useful for predicting the chemical and physical properties of elements that had not yet been discovered.

There are two commonly used designs for the periodic table. In both, the elements are laid out in a linear manner, like that of a calendar. It occured to me that they do not clearly demonstrate the electronic orbital structures that in actuality define the physical and chemical properties of the elements. It is sort of like using a calendar to map the relative motions of the Earth and Moon. Fairly accurate, but hard to visualize.

The building of the numerous electronic orbitals that determine the properties of elements is really more of a cyclic, rather than a linear process. Therefore, I suggest the circular design sown below to more clearly show how the electron structure defines an element's properties. Due to space limitations, only the elements with atomic numbers from 1 to 54 are shown.

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Periodic Table of the Element