A 3-D Periodic Table -- the Alexander Arrangement
A Conceptual Break-Through

An examination of the accuracy and educational value of a three-dimensional periodic table of the elements

The three-dimensional arranging of elements is historic. The use of the third dimension, when portraying the elements with true periodicity AND in order of their weights, was a break-through from the view of chemists, but not so much for a geologist, the inventor.

Alexandre-Emile Beguyer de Chancourtois's form of the first periodic table - seven years before Mendeleev's - the three-dimensional vis Tellurique of . The vis (screw) was followed years later by a flat and 3-D version by the second developer, Lothar Meyer. Many developers who followed also worked in three dimensions, but the convenience of sketching ideas and solutions out on paper ,and publishing in printed media, pushed 3-D to the sidelines.

Mendeleev - who is popularly considered the originator of the periodic table charts which were flat, for textbook convenience - "was quite flexible when it came to graphical representation" of an element system, and decried the "leaps, breaks in continuity" of element system representations according to W. Jensen, and appeared to favor a 3-D format for his system of elements, but did not continue the 3-D trend himself.

Despite the primacy of 3-D in the design of periodic tables, therefore, the dimensional form is often considered 'an alternative'. The spiral reoccurs in many 3-D periodic tables and often in drawings with a perspective quality. De Chancourtois's vis (fr.; screw), a single line of elements descending on the surface of a tube is, technically, however, a helix, a strict and literal conformation to the Periodic Law's primary tenet "that all elements be arranged in order".

By thus connecting all the elements to the elements before and after on atomic number, a 3-D periodic table model will, if used in the classroom for the lesson prior to that of introduction to the flat periodic table, will provide the student with a glimpse of reality - just as a lesson before the Mercator Projection should be the World Globe.

As 'common knowledge' has it, the periodic table is a thing of dread and an example of educational difficulty and general uselessness. A fun, motivational, informative lesson with something different (bearing identical information) could easily promote familiarity with, and credibility for, the features of the periodic table. , a requirement for the study of Chemistry, by

Several periodic table versions were independently arrived at in the 20th century which are similar; Janet's, Courtine's, Gamov's, Denker's, Olga's, Giguere's and possibly others - some earlier, some later than when the Alexander Arrangement of Elements was patented, in 1976.



Elsewhere on this website I describe some of the Alexander Arrangement of Elements features for introduction of the periodic table to students, for the, as Mendeleev says; "systematic presentation of chemical facts to beginners"[p.64, Jensen].

• "The DeskTopper is the quick and easy form" (see assembly steps below)
• "students learn of the blocks and the connections by holding them in their hands" (the assembly instructions repeatedly emphasize this)
• "building a periodic table of their very own" (hands-on, interactivity, creation, ownership; all that good stuff for middle and high school)
• "flat table build[s] into the three dimensions" (no disrespect to the flat table, just adding a twist cure)
• "envisaged by the developer of the first periodic table" (historically accurate: de Chancourtois)
• "continuity (of atomic number sequence)" (following "Mendeleev's line")
• "contiguity (of chemical similarities - families)" (all agree here... finally... perhaps.)
• "the Alexander Arrangement of Elements, of all periodic tables, depicts them accurately and completely" (none of the leaps and breaks in continuity at the beginning and end of every period, between successive elements in the short periods, and repair of the exile of the Rare Earths - because, as a non-chemist, I took the Periodic Law seriously, ignoring recent precedent)
• "a handy reference tool" (the Alexander Arrangement of Elements is more easily manipulated than other 3-D models)
• "Alexander Arrangement of Elements's Hydrogen Crown resolves...[Hydrogen's] many possible relations with other elements, directly, by diad, triad, etc.", and "dimensionality of the model provides grounds for increasing relations not previously perceptible"
• "inserting the [Alexander Arrangement] into the curriculum just prior to the standard periodic table lesson with a flat chart", "avoiding the questionable form of the flat table in reference to the Periodic Law will speed and improve learning" (which is detailed here)
• "it can be made flat as can be! " (still without the leaps and breaks, the next element will be just around the corner)

Rotation of the Alexander Arrangement (pictured below, left) is required for a complete view of all the data - hands-on interaction by the student - adding tactile and kinetic experiences to the intellectual exercise just of looking at it. This follows the tactile and kinetic experiences of assembling it. The novel and interesting look of the table is a major attraction for many non-academically inclined students, and the class effort of assembly is motivational, fun, and educational at the same time.

The images below, following #1, are of an Alexander Arrangement of Elements model rotated clockwise approximately 45 degrees from the previous image.

Privacy Statement   -   About Us
© 2011 AlexanderDESIGN 4851 N. Washtenaw Ave., Chicago, IL 60625  773.271.0318