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A periodic table is more than a classroom grid: different versions help readers look up evaluated atomic data, explore isotopes and trends, teach safety or accessibility, and encounter chemistry in public spaces. Here are ten useful ways to think about periodic tables, drawn from named resources and installations—not a reconstruction of the ten items in Emma Stoye’s 2019 Chemistry World feature.
Why there is more than one periodic table
The familiar grid organizes chemical elements, but a table can emphasize different information and serve different readers. Some are concise references; others foreground isotope data, trends, safety, accessibility, history, or public display. There is no single layout that is best for every use.
The examples below are grouped by what they help a reader do. They are independent, source-backed examples, not a claim about the contents of the 2019 feature titled “Ten periodic tables you really should know about.”
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1. NIST’s evaluated-data table
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) presents its periodic table as a reference containing its latest critically evaluated data for atomic properties. Its page identifies the publication as NIST Special Publication 966 and says it was last updated in June 2024. NIST offers PDF versions and says the PDF is suitable for high-resolution color printing as a desk reference or wall chart. View NIST’s periodic table.
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This is a useful choice when the numbers matter as much as the element names: NIST describes a process of collecting experimental and theoretical atomic-property data, then critically evaluating it to determine the best estimates. It is one evaluated reference, not the only legitimate periodic table.
2. IUPAC’s element-and-isotope table
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) created its educational Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes (IPTEI) to familiarize students, teachers, and non-specialists with isotopes and why they matter. Modeled on the familiar element table, it adds isotope information; the accompanying element-by-element review includes charts for stable and radioactive isotopes. The associated review appeared in Pure and Applied Chemistry, volume 90, issue 12, pages 1833–2092 (2018). Explore IUPAC’s IPTEI.
An isotope-aware reference is especially helpful when the question concerns forms of an element with different nuclear properties, rather than only an element’s place in the standard grid.
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3. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s interactive table
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) offers an interactive periodic table that lets visitors change the view by classification, group, block, period, state, or property. Its resource also includes history, alchemy, podcasts, videos, trends, and detailed element pages. Open the RSC interactive table.
Unlike a fixed chart, a filterable interface can make a particular relationship visible across multiple elements. It is suited to exploration and teaching as well as quick element lookups.
Tables designed around people and teaching
4. The Periodic Table of the Elements of Safety
The American Chemical Society (ACS) gallery links to a Periodic Table of the Elements of Safety from its Division of Chemical Health & Safety. This is an example of adapting the table format to foreground safe practice rather than treating the element grid only as a store of chemical properties. See the ACS gallery of unique periodic tables.
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5. A table recognizing chemists with disabilities
The same ACS gallery includes a table about elements discovered by chemists with disabilities, associated with the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities. It connects the familiar scientific framework with the people and history behind chemical discovery. Find the example in the ACS gallery.
6. A Spanish-language interactive table
ACS also links to an interactive Spanish-language periodic table created by a University of Puerto Rico student chapter. Its audience and language make it a distinct teaching resource among the gallery’s examples. Browse ACS’s linked table projects.
The gallery also points readers to resources from organizations and projects including IUPAC, PubChem, RSC, Science, and Tableau. Rather than implying that every linked table does the same job, it shows how the format can be adapted for different topics and audiences.
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Tables that connect chemistry to other subjects
7. A history-rich view of the elements
The RSC interactive table offers historical material alongside element details and trends. That makes it possible to approach the table as a record of discovery and changing knowledge, not just a lookup chart.
8. An alchemy and transformation view
Alchemy is another subject included in the RSC resource. Placing it beside modern element information gives readers a route into the long history of ideas about matter and transformation.
9. A table for trends, rather than isolated facts
The RSC’s property and trend views let readers shift attention from one element at a time to patterns across the table. NIST’s Ben P. Stein has also noted that the periodic table connects beyond chemistry: “It’s also about mathematics and engineering and even nonscientific areas of knowledge including history, geography and the origins of words.” Read NIST’s discussion of the table’s wider connections.
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10. The University of Murcia’s permanent display
A 2019 Chemistry World search-result excerpt described a periodic table on the chemistry faculty building at the University of Murcia, made from 118 metal squares measuring 75 × 75 cm each and covering 150 m². The excerpt said it was “thought to be the biggest permanent one in existence” at the time. That is a dated, qualified description, not a verified current record. See the 2019 Chemistry World feature.
A large installation changes the table’s role: it is a public display as well as a scientific reference. NIST’s 2019 educational article described 118 elements as observed by humans; that figure is reported there, not independently re-established here. Read NIST’s article on the periodic table.
Quick Recap
Choosing a table for the task
- For evaluated atomic-property data: use NIST’s reference and consult its update information.
- For isotope context: use IUPAC’s IPTEI and its isotope charts.
- For changing views and exploring patterns: use the RSC interactive table.
- For safety, accessibility, or language-specific teaching examples: start with the ACS gallery and its linked projects.
- For a memorable physical display: the Murcia installation is a notable example reported in 2019, with its record claim kept in that historical context.
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