Jeff Moran's Periodic Spiral
The periodic table, unrolled.
Every element on one unbroken path, from hydrogen at the center outward. Scroll, and watch the table you learned in school curl into it.
01
One unbroken path
The standard table leaves big gaps so its columns line up. The spiral has none. Each element fires into its seat in atomic order, and hydrogen to oganesson becomes a single line you can trace with a finger.
02
Hydrogen gets the center
On the usual table hydrogen sits awkwardly above the alkali metals. Here it starts everything, touching the alkali metals on one side and the halogens on the other, which is how it actually behaves.
03
The f block comes home
The lanthanides and actinides usually live in a strip below the table, like a footnote. On the spiral they sit in line, in order, right where the path reaches them.
04
Families are spokes
Chemical relatives line up along lines from the center, numbered 1 to 18 like the table's groups.
- 1 · Alkali metals
- 17 · Halogens
- 18 · Noble gases
05
Rings are rows
Each loop of the spiral is one period of the table. The letters K to R name them after the outermost electron shell in that row.
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
06
A canvas for data
Because families sit together, trends show up as shapes. Raise the spiral by any property and the patterns become ridges, peaks and valleys.
- Density
- Melting point
- Crustal abundance
- Discovery
07
Room to grow
Labs in Russia, the US, Japan and China are racing to make elements 119 and 120. The table would need a new row. The spiral already saved them a seat.
Follow Row 8 Watch →
