Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

The current periodic table seen in physics and chemistry textbooks are direct descendants of the original scheme proposed by Mendeleev in the nineteenth century. With the advent of quantum mechanics, a better understanding of atomic structure was attained, allowing chemists in the 1930's to propose a better periodic table that allows students to see the chemical and physical periodicities of atoms. This new organization was called the 32 column atomic structure periodic table. In the 1960's, Linnett proposed a modification of the Lewis-Langmuir octet rule which allowed him to create molecular models that greatly reduced the use of the resonance. Luder quickly followed this development with a clear presentation of what a static picture of each element would look like, building on the cubical atom of Lewis. We have used VisualPython to create an interactive 32 column periodic table that allows students to see the Newtonian pictures of the chemical elements.