Elements (version 2)

Periodic table display

Clicking on the iconbar icon with the select button opens a window containing the chemical elements in the familiar periodic table arrangement.

Clicking on an element's symbol with adjust enlarges that element's square in the table to show its atomic number, symbol, name and relative atomic mass.

Clicking on an element's symbol with select opens the element data window.

Periodic table menu

Clicking the menu button over the periodic table displays a menu containing various options. The first group of these allows different types of information to be displayed on the periodic table:

• Groups colours the table to show which elements belong to which group
• Metals changes the display to show which elements are metallic
• Radioactivity shows which elements are always radioactive, and which have stable isotopes
• Reactivity shades the table to give an idea of which elements are least and most reactive
• State updates the periodic table to show which elements are solid, liquid or gaseous at a particular temperature. A writable icon at the top of the table allows you to specify the temperature that is used
• Year colours the table to show which elements had been discovered by a particular year. The year can be specified as for theState display

Selecting group numbers or period numbers displays these pieces of information on the periodic table.

The final option, save status, saves every option on this menu so that they will be selected automatically whenever the program is started.

Element data window

Clicking on an element in the periodic table with select opens the element data window. You can also access this window at any time by clicking on the iconbar icon with adjust.

The following data is included:

• Atomic number, name, symbol, relative atomic mass
• Atomic radius, measured in either nanometres or picometres
• First ionisation energy (the energy needed to remove the outermost electron from each of 1 mole of atoms is their gaseous state) in kilojoules per mole
• Electronegativity (in Pauling's units)
• Principle oxidation numbers, and the corresponding ionic radii. Some elements have only one oxidation state. As they are inert, the noble gases' principle oxidation number is 0
• The electronic configuration of an atom. There is a choice of between the full configuration including sub-shells, or a more simple format. (Please note that due to the limitations of the display, superscripts can not be used. Therefore 1s2 means 1s² and so on. Dots are inserted between sub-shells to avoid confusion)
• Density in kilograms per cubic metre or grams per cubic centimetre. (See The setup window below)
• Specific heat capacity in Joules per kilogram per kelvin (J kg^-1 K^-1) or Joules per gram per Kelvin (J g^-1 K^-1). (Note that Kelvin and Celsius are interchangeable in this context)
• The melting and boiling point on any of five different temperature scales and the state at room temperature (25°C). Subl denotes that the element undergoes sublimation (passes straight from solid to gaseous state)
• The crystal structure of the element in its most common solid form
• The derivation of the element's name
• The name of the person or team who first discovered the element, along with date and country of discovery

For some elements, data is unknown or unobtainable. In these cases - is displayed in place of a number.

In the bottom right-hand corner of the window, there are buttons labelled next and previous. These display the data for the next or previous element by atomic number.

Data files

Many elements have a page of textual information (and sometimes diagrams) associated with them. These are accessed by clicking the file icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the window. The files supplied are in HTML format, so the computer must have "seen" your web browser before you can read them.

In fact, any type of file can be used as a data file. It is possible to add you own files to the directory !Elements.Files or any of its subdirectories, or to replace the files there with your own. Filenames must be the symbol of the element they refer to.

Additional data files will be made available for downloading from the Elements home page. If you have written or discovered any files and would like to share them with other users, please get in touch.

Data window menu

Clicking the menu button over the element data window allows you to type in an element name, symbol or atomic number, and the data for that element will then be displayed. (Only the first few letters of the name need to be entered, and the program will attempt to match it with an element name.)

The menu also allows you to move to the previous or next element in the current element's group (effectively allowing you to move up or down the periodic table).

Iconbar menu

Clicking menu over the iconbar icon displays another menu. From here, you can open windows that allow you to:

• Calculate the molecular mass of a compound - enter the molecular formula in its usual form (there are no subscript numbers, so use ordinary numbers, for example Ca3(PO4)2 for calcium phosphate)
• Find the estimated amount of ionic character of a bond - 100% means that the bond is purely ionic, while lower numbers indicate that the bond is partially covalent
• Display information about the different temperature scales used by the program
• Try the Elements quiz - test your knowledge of element symbols and atomic numbers! A menu allows you to choose the type of questions you would like, or to reset the score to zero. Of course, if you get stuck, you can use the other parts of the program to help you!

The setup window

The main purpose of the setup window is to allow the user to choose which units are used by the program. The options are:

• Specific heat capacity - J kg^-1 K^-1 or J g^-1 K^-1
• Temperature - Kelvin, or degrees Celsius, Fahrenheit, Rankine or Réaumur
• Density - kg m^-3 or g cm^-3
• Radius (used for atomic and ionic radii) - nanometres or picometres

The setup window also gives a choice of electronic configuration formats. For example, the electronic configuration of silver can be shown as either [Kr] 4d10.5s or 2.8.18.18.1

The final option, change square colour, allows you to choose whether the enlarged square (displayed when adjust is clicked over the periodic table) is coloured to match the element's cell in the table itself. This is a new feature of this version of Elements, and the option is for those who preferred the grey square of earlier versions.

Clicking OK sets the currently selected options for the current session. All displays are automatically updated to use the new units.

Save has the same effect, but also saves the options to disc so that they are selected whenever the program is started.

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