Moment of Science: The Periodic Table [Video]

Last week, we explored the evolution of the periodic table, with all its elements in order. Now that we’re well-organized, let’s dive into the reasoning.

* The table is generally sorted by the number of protons, or positive charges in an atom of that element, one for hydrogen, two for helium, and so on. But there’s a lot more to consider here, namely, why the heck does it look more pixelated than an 8-bit video game? There’s a method to the madness: elements in the same row are in the same “period” with similar physical properties. It helps to think of electrons orbiting around a nucleus in “shells,” but there are only so many electrons each shell can hold before a new one is necessary. The elements in each period have the same amount of shells, while the columns or “groups” mean those elements have the same amount of electrons …