En Martin Poliakoff ha proposat a Nature Chemisry que la Taula Periòdica habitual es presenti de forma intertida horitzontalment, és a dir, amb els elements més pesants a dalt (és a dir, actínids i lantànids): Does the periodic table make more sense upside down?
No acabo de veure-hi la gràcia, però és interessant veure les raons que s’hi donen, i també com s’ha fet un estudi de moviment ocular, semblant als que es van servir en neurociència i màgia.
Primer, raons d’ordenació:
They argue that displaying the table upside down makes sense in many ways. The lighter, more fundamental elements are at the base of the table, and properties such as reactivity, atomic number and atomic mass increase from bottom to top. This provides a better visual representation of the aufbau principle – which states that electrons fill up the lowest energy orbitals first.
I segon, raons de percepció:
The group showed the new design informally to a number of chemists, including a member of the relevant International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry committee, and says it received a ‘surprisingly positive reception’. Experimental psychologists then analysed the perception of both designs by showing them to 24 non-chemists and tracking their eye movements. This revealed a slight preference for the existing periodic table, although the team point out this may just be due to familiarity. They say the next step is for the inverted table to be tested on a wider scale, and are encouraging chemistry educators to give it a go.
Caldria provar d’invertir altres formes de la Taula Periòdica, com la de Janet. Algun dia podríem fer-ho.
Article de Nat. Chem: DOI: 10.1038/s41557-019-0253-6