Philosophy

Ok. You may be wondering what philosophy has to do with the chemistry. Not much. But some of my philosophical bents have impacted how the table functions.

Just Say “No!” to Clicking

Most importantly, for myself, this application primarily uses mouse “RollOvers” rather than clicks. This is because I have carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist and I am trying to do anything to reduce the total times I click. But, this turns out to be a good thing! It makes much more sense for the displays to be updated automatically just by mousing around than to have to click an individual element. In some places, where components are used, that is checkboxes, radio buttons, comboboxes, etc., these already have some known functionality and I certainly don’t want to start re-inventing how user interface components operate. Also there is the ability to click on a cell to call up a new window with information from Wikipedia. But I’m open to suggestions. If something is hard to use and you can think of a better way, email me.

Placing Helium

Also, I do realize why helium appears in the noble gas column. It’s because its electron completes the last energy sublevel of its energy level, as is the case with all noble gases. But, because it also is the an electron in the "s" block, I wanted to give the option to alternatively have it appear in the same column as other elements that complete the “s” sublevel. I suspect that chemistry instructors cringe when I do so. If you have a compelling argument as to why I shouldn’t, please let me know. Please note that I also provide the alternate placement of hydrogen with the halogens.

Pseudo Quantum Numbers

Also, on the Electron Configuration Graph (ECG), I use m* and s* rather than m and s. M and s have very specific definitions that allow you to calculate the corresponding electron orbital and other details. My m in particular does not range from –L to +L. And I represent s simply as an up or down arrow rather than the more standard -½ and +½.