Chapter 5 is the one on “categorizations of the elements,” and it is interesting to note how the author discusses and classifies such groups as: Metals, chemically week metals (amphoteric), non-metals, metalloids, supermetals, refractory metals, noble metals, rare earth metals, superheavy elements and even ephemeral elements ( i.e. Ĭhapters 5 to 14 deal with topics based on the chemical properties of different elements and the similarities, even if placed in different positions of the Periodic Table. In Chapter 3 the author discusses some old problems of locations of the elements, like the “First-Period problems,” in particular dealing with the question: Where should hydrogen be placed? Like some other recent textbook writers, the author defends the view that it should be central, as shown in the figure above.Ĭhapter 4 discusses in some detail “The Group 3 problem ” this case in fact is still very actual, also within IUPAC but in the end the author gives strong arguments for the 15 lanthanoids and 15 actinoids, as used in the current IUPAC Periodic Table, grouped below the 7 th row. As the author states: “the book is designed to make the many concepts of elemental relationships become alive and stimulating, not boring and soporific.” It appears that the author has been quite successful in that approach, and I trust that students and chemistry teachers will find this a great set of introductions.Ĭover Figure of The Periodic Table: Past, Present, and Future used with permission from the book author. A second introductory chapter deals with electronegativities and their discovery, but also with oxidation states and relativistic effects, all properly documented with almost 60 original references. From the 118 currently known elements, only 80 of them have at least one stable isotope. The book comprises 14 chapters, starting with isotopes and nuclear patterns, including the long-known Ni-Co and Te-I anomalies in atomic weights, and the additions of the latest new element additions (2016). The reader will quickly become interested in the subject and will be taken on tour through this Periodic Table in a very readable way, both for students and teachers. Indeed, many of such questions are dealt with in a clearly written way in this stimulating and innovative book. Why do silver(l) compounds resembling so closely those of thallium(l)? But this is not just another book, as the author claims-and I do agree. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, this Periodic Table ends at meitnerium, as from later elements not enough is known about their chemical properties.Ī logical question, that I also asked myself, is: Why has another book on the Periodic Table been written? We have already so many, and why do we need to describe what Mendeleev devised over 150 years ago and which is worldwide shown in classrooms and cover pages of textbooks. As a result, certain elements even occur in two different positions of the periodic table! And also pseudo-elements, like ammonium and cyanide, are presented. In fact, the extended book titles could well have been “The Periodic Table for Chemistry”, or “ The Chemistry behind the Periodic Table”, as the book is primarily written to show chemical relationships between the different chemical elements.Ī specially composed periodic table on the front cover of the book, visualizes in multicolor coding how certain groups of elements are related chemically. In this case it is a book focused on the chemistry of the chemical elements, or more precisely on trends in the chemical properties of the elements of the periodic table. With the International Year of the Periodic Table just behind us ( it was a pleasure to learn that a new book has appeared dealing with the Periodic Table of chemical elements. By Geoff Rayner-Canham, World Scientific Co, Singapore (2020) ISBN 978-981-121-848-4