ELEMENTS IN TIME
* In the fifth century B.C., some Greek philosophers believed all matter consisted of four elements: earth, air, fire and water.
* Though less-extensive versions of the periodic table existed previously, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev was credited with creating the first true periodic table in 1869, when 63 elements had been discovered. Mendeleev arranged the elements in ascending atomic number (the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom).
* Not until the 20th century did scientists fully understand the implications of the arrangement of elements; in 1911 Ernest Rutherford demonstrated that the electric charge of a nucleus was proportional to the atomic weight of the element.
* Discoveries of more elements and other advances in chemistry and quantum physics led to adjustments to Mendeleev’s periodic table. The table continued to grow as more elements were discovered. As of January 2008, the table contained 118 elements, though about a dozen are synthetic and one is theoretically proven but as yet undiscovered.
* Today, Dr. Hinsdale Bernard seeks a manufacturer to produce his “Periodic Table of the Elements in Three Dimensional Form,” which received a U.S. patent in November 2007.
* Next? Time travel.
Source: Royal Society of Chemistry; Western Oregon University
These days, two dimensions are so out. Three dimensions — at least — and computer technology are in.
And now, the periodic table of elements is hip, thanks to Dr. Hinsdale Bernard of the Graduate Studies Division at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Trinidadian professor loves chemistry, but he has always felt that the traditional periodic table that hangs in every high school chemistry lab was, well, a bit flat.
After what he called “a long journey” of more than 30 years tweaking his three-dimensional arrangement of the 118 elements, the invention received a U.S. patent in November 2007. He now is in talks with producers to bring the model to the classroom.
“I feel a sense of accomplishment. It was a long journey,” Dr. Bernard said.
Airheads and scholars alike can benefit from the 3-D table, he said, because it offers aesthetic and practical improvements while retaining the concepts mapped out in earlier 2-D tables, the first of which was credited to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869.
“It has some innovation which you can use to navigate your way,” Dr. Bernard said of his model, which demonstrates more clearly how the elements are arranged one after the other, which a chart on paper cannot do for lack of room.
In a nutshell, a chemical element is an atom, the simplest building block of which all matter consists, Dr. Bernard explained. On the periodic table, elements are arranged based on their chemical and electric properties. The first element is hydrogen, and the 118th was given the temporary name of ununoctium, meaning one-one-eight.
Dr. Bernard’s 3-D model — to which he has yet to assign a flashy name, sticking so far with “Periodic Table of the Elements in Three Dimensional Form” — resembles a bauble-laden Christmas tree, with each element tucked inside a little sphere. The size of the spheres represents the unique atomic number — essentially, the number of protons and neutrons in the atom — of each element. For instance, the sphere of super-heavy metal hassium, which has an atomic weight of 277, is larger than the more svelte krypton, which has an atomic weight of 83.798.
The 3-D version has horizontal levels corresponding to the 2-D table’s horizontal lines, or “periods,” and vertically lined color coding for the table’s vertical columns, or “groups.”
Overall, the 3-D table is “a continuous spiral,” Dr. Bernard explained, speaking with the tone and patience of a college professor.
The model can collapse for easy transport and has features that could be tied to computer and Internet applications as well, he said. In addition, he created a dice game students can play with the model to immerse themselves in chemistry foundations at an early age.
UTC Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Philip Oldham said Dr. Bernard’s model was “the perfect thing for a faculty member to be working on.”
“It’s great for faculty to be ... creating and discovering new knowledge that not only animates their traditional classroom instruction but also helps set the standard for the discipline nationally and internationally,” Dr. Oldham said.
Although alternative models have been proposed before, Dr. Bernard’s version stands out, he said.
“There are some limitations to the traditional format. ... It’s not unusual for a new version to be proposed,” Dr. Oldham said, “but I think his has some merit, and we’ll see how well it takes off.”
Dr. Bernard said he has spoken to about 10 manufacturers who were “very interested” in producing his invention. But he declined to speculate how much money the patent will bring.
He developed the first version of the table in 1977, when he was a high school chemistry teacher and the science chairman at Northeastern College in Sangre Grande, Trinidad. In the years since, the model served as a “hobby” that Dr. Bernard said he did not have much time to work on.
Even though his 30-year mild obsession is over, Dr. Bernard doesn’t feel a driving need to invent something new. The patent-seeking process took four years, he said, and involved a lot of paperwork and patience. He said he’d like to focus on research and writing for some time, unless another project strikes his fancy.
“Inventions come out of necessity,” he said.
-
Video: Local inventorUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor Dr. Hinsdale Bernard has been working on a three-dimensional model of the periodic table of the elements since he was a chemistry teacher in Trinidad in the late 1970s. He recently received a patent for the model he has been developing. His "Periodic Table in Three-Dimensional Form" is meant to be a learning tool that would appeal to youngsters from elemetary school to college age.
The atomic number is not "the number of protons and neutrons in the atom" as stated in the article. Atomic number is = number of positive charges (protons) in the nucleus of an atom.
Or login with:
New Account