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The Periodic Table CD
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Alton J. Banks North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8204 Jon L. Holmes University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396 |
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Note: |
This issue is out of print. See Periodic Table Live!, SP 17. |
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The Periodic Table CD is a digitized version of our all-time favorite publication, The Periodic Table Videodisc (1). On a single CD-ROM that can be used by both Macintosh and Windows computers it contains a database of visual information--still images and motion sequences--about the chemical elements. The motion sequences show reactions (if any) of each element with air, water, acids, and base; the still pictures show most of the elements as well as common and not-so-common uses and applications of each element. The CD contains files for still images and motion sequences organized by element. Within the folders (subdirectories) for most elements there are four files showing still images of the element in its stable form at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure. There are two close-ups, one labeled with the element's name and symbol, and one unlabeled. This makes it possible to ask students to identify an element based on its visible characteristics. The other two files are medium shots (one labeled, one unlabeled) that give perspective on the size of each sample.
Additional files in an element's folder contain motion video sequences of up to half a minute or so that show the element reacting with air, water, aqueous acids (6 M and 12 M HCl; 6 M and 15 M HNO3), and aqueous base (6 M NaOH). Such movie files are available for nearly every case in which a reaction is known to occur. Each begins with a label that identifies the element being reacted, and each type of reaction (with water, with acids, etc.) can be identified because the experimental setup is always the same. This facilitates comparisons among reactions of different elements with the same reagent, and such comparisons can be made easily, within seconds, as a consequence of the CD-ROM player's ability to find any sequence rapidly. When a reaction is slow enough that more than 30 s would be required to follow it to completion, the CD contains the beginning and end as well as an indication of how long the reaction actually took. To provide a feeling for reaction rates, slower reactions are afforded more time than faster ones but not in direct proportion to the actual time required.
Uses and applications of the elements comprise the third major type of information on the CD. Files containing still images that show up to a dozen applications for each element are included. For each application there is a text frame that indicates what the application is and in what form, (pure element, oxide, etc.) the element is used. This is followed by a picture of one or more items in which the element is found. These have been made into a slideshow for each element. A movie player is included in this issue so that the still images, motion video sequences, and slide shows can be played back on both Macintosh and Windows computers. The media player can be used to edit motion video sequences--for example, to remove labels from the beginning of a sequence that shows a reaction, so that students can be asked to identify an element or reaction as part of a quiz or examination. Hardware and Software Requirements
Macintosh requirements:
Windows requirements:
Literature Cited |
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Last Updated: August 14, 2001 Created: December 3, 1996 |
Created by: J. L. Holmes Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu |
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| © 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved. | |