Difference between revisions of "3242: Aperiodic Table"
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The {{w|periodic table of the elements}} is a diagram often used to show the properties of the {{w|chemical elements}} that make up the world. Its structure represents several properties of the elements. Atoms increase in {{w|atomic number}} from left to right and continue on each new row, going top to bottom. Elements in a single column will have similar chemical properties, with allowance for any crossing of the {{w|dividing line between metals and nonmetals}}, and each row exhibits a similar trend to adjacent rows for the gaining or losing electrons and other physical properties. | The {{w|periodic table of the elements}} is a diagram often used to show the properties of the {{w|chemical elements}} that make up the world. Its structure represents several properties of the elements. Atoms increase in {{w|atomic number}} from left to right and continue on each new row, going top to bottom. Elements in a single column will have similar chemical properties, with allowance for any crossing of the {{w|dividing line between metals and nonmetals}}, and each row exhibits a similar trend to adjacent rows for the gaining or losing electrons and other physical properties. | ||
| − | [[Randall]] spoofs this concept by creating a similar view that is much less useful. The original table is "periodic" because it has consistent, repeating patterns that are represented by the horizontal position of the elements. Randall's 'table' is "aperiodic", meaning it has no consistent, repeating patterns. Instead, it is just a meandering line ordered by atomic number. To fit into a compact space, the sequence snakes back and forth and (roughly) down the page. This presentation is not actually helpful{{cn}} | + | [[Randall]] spoofs this concept by creating a similar view that is much less useful. The original table is "periodic" because it has consistent, repeating patterns that are represented by the horizontal position of the elements. Randall's 'table' is "aperiodic", meaning it has no consistent, repeating patterns. Instead, it is just a meandering line ordered by atomic number. To fit into a compact space, the sequence snakes back and forth and (roughly) down the page. This presentation is not actually helpful,{{cn}} since it contains little information other than the atomic number of each element. Faint colouring on each box does show its category, but due to the dull colours that is also quite inconvenient to use, and depicts this information in an unnecessarily unhelpful and hard-to-read format. |
| − | The title text suggests that the creation of {{w|Types of periodic tables|alternative periodic table layouts}} is due to scientists not having enough work to do. However, it frames this by comparing them to animals kept in enclosures, with a lack of {{w| | + | The title text suggests that the creation of {{w|Types of periodic tables|alternative periodic table layouts}} is due to scientists not having enough work to do. However, it frames this by comparing them to animals kept in enclosures, with a lack of {{w|Behavioral enrichment|enrichment activities}} to keep them occupied and satisfied in their lab, implying that this is a form of aberrant dysfunctional behaviour. Researcher enclosure enrichment was previously mentioned in [[3052: Archive Request]]. The reference to 'enrichment' could also be a pun on the process of chemical enrichment (particularly of [https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/uranium-enrichment-explained uranium]), or on the {{wiktionary|enrichment}} of scientists by gaining funding. |
| − | This comic may be a critique about how an excessive | + | This comic may be a critique about how an excessive variety of ways to display the periodic table have been created over the years, many of which make Randall's periodic table look fairly normal by comparison. Alternatively, it may be intended to highlight how useful the original idea of the periodic table was, since the version in the comic is essentially what scientists were faced with before it was invented. |
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
Revision as of 14:43, 8 May 2026
| Aperiodic Table |
 Title text: Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures. |
Explanation
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This is one of 48 incomplete explanations: This page was created APERIODICALLY. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
The periodic table of the elements is a diagram often used to show the properties of the chemical elements that make up the world. Its structure represents several properties of the elements. Atoms increase in atomic number from left to right and continue on each new row, going top to bottom. Elements in a single column will have similar chemical properties, with allowance for any crossing of the dividing line between metals and nonmetals, and each row exhibits a similar trend to adjacent rows for the gaining or losing electrons and other physical properties.
Randall spoofs this concept by creating a similar view that is much less useful. The original table is "periodic" because it has consistent, repeating patterns that are represented by the horizontal position of the elements. Randall's 'table' is "aperiodic", meaning it has no consistent, repeating patterns. Instead, it is just a meandering line ordered by atomic number. To fit into a compact space, the sequence snakes back and forth and (roughly) down the page. This presentation is not actually helpful,[citation needed] since it contains little information other than the atomic number of each element. Faint colouring on each box does show its category, but due to the dull colours that is also quite inconvenient to use, and depicts this information in an unnecessarily unhelpful and hard-to-read format.
The title text suggests that the creation of alternative periodic table layouts is due to scientists not having enough work to do. However, it frames this by comparing them to animals kept in enclosures, with a lack of enrichment activities to keep them occupied and satisfied in their lab, implying that this is a form of aberrant dysfunctional behaviour. Researcher enclosure enrichment was previously mentioned in 3052: Archive Request. The reference to 'enrichment' could also be a pun on the process of chemical enrichment (particularly of uranium), or on the enrichment of scientists by gaining funding.
This comic may be a critique about how an excessive variety of ways to display the periodic table have been created over the years, many of which make Randall's periodic table look fairly normal by comparison. Alternatively, it may be intended to highlight how useful the original idea of the periodic table was, since the version in the comic is essentially what scientists were faced with before it was invented.
Trivia
- Element 81, Thallium, should be labeled "Tl" (with a lowercase "L"), but is incorrectly labeled "Ti", which is the abbreviation for Titanium (element 22).
Transcript
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This is one of 45 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. All 118 elements and their number should be included in a full transcript. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
- The Aperiodic Table of the Elements
- [Rectangles showing the atomic symbols and atomic numbers from H (1) through Og (118) are arranged in a serpentine chain. Each rectangle has the atomic number in small numerals at the upper left and the atomic symbol in large letters. The color of each rectangle matches the the pattern of a standard periodic table. For example, the noble elements all have a red background.]
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And the award for turning the periodic table into Chutes and Ladders goes to... 18:18, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- I don't see any chutes or ladders (or snakes for that matter), so this looks more like Candyland. 2600:1001:B02D:5F1A:A53B:AB2A:3F1B:CF1D 23:33, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
FIRST! also how has this not been explained? explain it! 2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:2583:32c8:f9de:2888 (talk) 18:31, 6 May 2026 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- Actually, I was first, I just took a while explaining it. -- Teddy (talk) 18:46, 6 May 2026 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- Well, you weren't first, were you. Moved you to chronologically after the actual first comment here. HTH, HAND. 81.179.199.253 20:26, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
Hey guys, don't forget to sign your comments with 4 tildes. 18:54, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- Hmm, something seems to be wrong with the signature code. It's putting in the timestamp, but not the username. Barmar (talk) 18:55, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- And now the username is back! Barmar (talk) 18:56, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- If you sign with "~~~~~" (five tildes), you get just "20:26, 6 May 2026 (UTC)" (for this edit, note that it is identical to the timestamp this edit's end-signature of four tildes will have given). You/whoever else might have accidentally done that. 81.179.199.253 20:26, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- And now the username is back! Barmar (talk) 18:56, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
The first paragraph currently ends with "and the elements increase in size when reading it left-to-right and top-to-bottom (like a book)." This is incorrect. Actually, they do get larger going down a column, but they get smaller going left to right along a row. This causes a staircase effect. The short explanation is that as you add protons, they pull in the electron cloud more tightly, making the atom smaller, but when you add an electron in a new primary energy level, it's enough larger to overcome the effect of the additional protons resulting in a larger atom. This page has a more complete explanation. So, should we just remove the claim that the atoms get larger in size? We could make it accurate, but I'm not sure how to phrase it in a way which actually adds to the explanation. Mootstrap (talk) 20:50, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- Increase in 'size' is differently interpretable. The atomic number itself increases. The typical nucleon count/atomic weight (almost identically) tends to rise (give or take choice of isotopic variation), and the nucleus itself will therefore be larger by the same degree (if not slightly more, for the same reason as the electron shells/orbitals get pulled inwards a bit for any given model) if that's something that you care to measure.
- Maybe just a different word, to replace the ambiguous "size". Although I'm also personally not enamoured of the "like a book" bit, which seems to be trying to just say that the table isn't unusually ordered, like it potentially could have been (e.g. a bottom-up version). 81.179.199.253 21:16, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
The "they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures" is a suggestion that scientists are being treated as zoo animals, and unless they have enough toys to play with they start coming up with strange concepts. -- Dtgriscom (talk) 21:00, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
It should be noted that element 81 in the table is incorrectly labeled “Ti” (as in titanium) instead of “Tl” (Thallium) Vekkizunt (talk) 21:11, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- Strange that Name Explain had a YouTube video recently, where he made the same error. SDSpivey (talk) 21:21, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- The colors are also peculiar to me, in particular, why is hydrogen colored as an alkali metal, or bismuth colored as a metalloid? Vekkizunt (talk) 21:51, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- Hydrogen is generally placed as "Group 1", as per the actual Alkali Metals. Unless you 'float' Hydrogen (and sometimes even Helium, not actually above Group 18) as entirely apart from the rest of the table, there's no better placement than above the left-(and right-)most column.
- Metaloid classification is... fuzzy. Bismith is metaloid, for some listings/tables, as well as others just off the 'main sequence' diagonal. Or it's one of the other metalloid-like subset demarcations that float around the potentially rather variably-defined metal/non-metal demarcation line. 81.179.199.253 22:16, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
- The colors are also peculiar to me, in particular, why is hydrogen colored as an alkali metal, or bismuth colored as a metalloid? Vekkizunt (talk) 21:51, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
It's... not a table though? So wouldn't it be the Aperiodic Non-Table of the elements? 198.27.229.162 (talk) 16:53, 7 May 2026 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Am I the only one who started reading all the elements with the Animaniacs 'Yakko's World' song music running through their head? 22:23, 7 May 2026 (UTC)
By inventing an alternative periodic table layout in this comic, Randall is telling us *HE* doesn't have enough enrichment in his enclosure. Could someone please go enrich his enclosure ASAP? Martin (talk) 22:35, 7 May 2026 (UTC)
- Webcomic artists are a dying species, this is a serious issue, someone notify the Wildlife service. RG (talk) 03:20, 14 May 2026 (UTC)
I actually disagree with the last sentence of the explanation. This comic is about the genius of the invention of the periodic table. Initially all scientist had was something like it is depicted above, but with some repetition in the properties of the elements (here colors), but not in regular intervals, but in increasing ones, and with holes. The periodic table made sense out of it. --2001:4091:A245:85A4:B3F7:458A:62CB:C68D 05:57, 8 May 2026 (UTC)
May also be a nod to how some paths in some games where they are relevant are randomly chosen. 2001:4C4E:1C0F:2600:1507:76:E696:AF71 13:33, 8 May 2026 (UTC)
Has anyone noticed it ended in "cul-de-sac", without any easy way to add more elements? SDSpivey (talk) 17:06, 8 May 2026 (UTC)
- Clearly, the creator of this periodic table knows something that no other creator of a periodic table knows... There are no other elements possible, despite what 'normal' theoretical physics says... ;) 81.179.199.253 19:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC)
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