periodic table

Definition

A tabular chart of the chemical elements according to their atomic numbers so that elements with similar properties are in the same group (column).

Etymology

The table is termed “periodic” because it follows the periodic law – when chemical elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, elements with similar properties recur at intervals.

Example Sentences

• "The atomic weight of krypton would accordingly be 81.62; the mean of former determinations is 81.28. This is in accordance with its position in the periodic table, which lies between bromine, 80, and rubidium, 85."
• "Silica and alumina are distinctly the most abundant and characteristic petrogenic constituents, and with them are most frequently associated those elements toward the extreme petrogenic end of the periodic table, especially potassium, sodium, and calcium in the order named; and these elements are associated with each other."
• "Gallium, the 32nd most abundant element in the earth's crust, is a silver-grey metal, widely distributed in trace amounts in many rocks and ores. Its name, gallium (Lat., gallia, France), honors the discovery of this element by a French chemist in 1875, just four years after [Dmitri] Mendeleev predicted its probable existence from a blank space in his newly described periodic table."