The layout of the periodic table demonstrates recurring ("periodic") chemical properties.
Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number (i.e. the number of protons in the atomic nucleus).
Rows are arranged so that elements with similar properties fall into the same vertical columns ("groups").
According to quantum mechanical theories of electron configuration within atoms, each horizontal row ("period") in the table corresponded to the filling of a quantum shell of electrons.
There are progressively longer periods further down the table, grouping the elements into s-, p-, d- and f-blocks to reflect their electron configuration.
In printed tables, each element is usually listed with its element symbol and atomic number; many versions of the table also list the element's atomic mass and other information, such as its abbreviated electron configuration, electronegativity and most common valence numbers.
As of 2006, the table contains 117 chemical elements whose discoveries have been confirmed. Ninety-two are found naturally on Earth, and the rest are synthetic elements that have been produced artificially in particle accelerators.
Elements 43 (technetium) and 61 (promethium), although of lower atomic number than the naturally occurring element 92, uranium, are synthetic; elements 93 (neptunium) and 94 (plutonium) are listed with the synthetic elements, but have been found in trace amounts on earth.
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular method of displaying the chemical elements.
Although precursors to this table exist, its invention is generally credited to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869.
Mendeleev intended the table to illustrate recurring ('periodic') trends in the properties of the elements.
The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time, as new elements have been discovered, and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior.
The periodic table is now ubiquitous within the academic discipline of chemistry, providing an extremely useful framework to classify, systematize and compare all the many different forms of chemical behavior.
The table has also found wide application in physics, biology, engineering, and industry. The current standard table contains 117 confirmed elements as of October 16, 2006 (while element 118 has been synthesized, element 117 has not).
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