Looking at the periodic table, most of us have no issues identifying the use of certain elements. Sodium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and others are no-brainers but what about the less talked about ...

Some alkali metals have been known and put to good use long before Mendeleev created the periodic table. For instance, the Old Testament mentions salt – a combination of the alkali metal sodium ...

For the past dozen years, the Marshalls have been planning their vacations around the periodic table, visiting cities, villages, mines, and labs in 30 different countries and compiling maps and ...

Columns in the periodic table are called groups or families. Elements within the same group share similar properties because they have the same number of valence electrons (electrons in the ...

All of which go to show how the periodic table of elements has become the iconic symbol of science. Mark Lorch is Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry at the University of Hull, U.K.