Breaking the chemical code
Our critic on a periodic table that stirs the imagination
Elements and compounds may be imprinted onto the minds of many students here at Imperial but for others they are factors that would send them to sleep. Last Wednesday the Dana Centre aimed to merge this divide with the first in their series of `code breaking' events.
Philip Stewart, lecturer of ecology at Oxford University, led the event- accompanied by a delicious two-course meal!
Have you ever wondered when Chemistry actually began? The evening began on this topic; explaining early questions on the nature of matter and the persecution suffered by those who discovered it. He mentioned early followers of alchemy who discovered acids such as nitric and sulphuric acid during their search for gold which then lead to the slow but steady identification of the world's elements.
Stewart explained his excitement about chemistry as a child and how inspired he was by an artistic model of the periodic table he had seen at the Festival of Britain in 1951. The model was a spiral, illuminated version of the table with chemical groups identified by radius rather than columns.
Dmitri Mendeleyev designed the original table in 1869. He designed this predicting the discovery of future elements but Stewart stated his dislike of the sequence being broken into blocks as every element was not shown next to its neighbour. Using his childhood, aweinspiring memories, Stewart decided to create a diagram that represented the table in spiral form like the model had. He wanted to "stir the imagination of our students and inspire them to study chemistry."
Many had tried to redesign the table in the past but were never successful. Stewart's table was recognised by Nature and the Royal Society who requested 7000 copies to distribute throughout schools in England.
Stewart's intention was not only to complement the original table, but provide an alternative that gave a feel for the nature of the universe. He presented the table on a galaxy because "the chemical elements are what galaxies are made of " he explained.
A scrumptious Thai Curry was served after the talk, followed by a questions and answers session. Members of the public had plenty of questions as Stewart's enthusiasm was clear from the outset. When asked to state his favourite element, he went on to explain the importance of carbon in our future-its limited use as fuel, as well as its prevalence in the air due to deforestation in order to feed the ever increasing population. A well rounded scientist!
He told us about the extremes his students go to, trying to reduce carbon emissions- some of them refuse to fly anywhere due to the large emissions created by planes. Any Imperial students tempted?
Stewart wants the future of chemistry to be imaginative and colourful. Lets hope his diagram has kickstarted this new age of chemistry.
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