Elements of the Periodic Table works best using modern browsers, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer 9.
By clicking on the image above, you'll be able to explore:
- The history of the Periodic Table in just 2 minutes
- How certain elements changed the course of history
- How the different parts of our planet are made up of the same elemental building blocks
- Where different elements occur, and what places they get their names from
- Which elements make up the human body
- The elements that are vital, and dangerous, to human life
2011 was the International Year of Chemistry. Visit the Royal Society of Chemistry site to learn more. You can also explore other articles and videos below for even more about the elements.
If this has whetted your appetite for learning about chemistry, try our Level 1 course Exploring Science.
Take a closer look at the elements
Noble gases
Jakob E under CC-BY-NC-SA licence
Noble gases. Some balloons. A rooftop. Watch what happens... Read more : Noble gases
Alkali metals
The Open University
Discover the explosive results when water and alkali metals come together - and the science behind the reaction Read more : Alkali metals
Putting the elements in order
The Open University
See how patterns and trends between the chemical elements helped to shape the Periodic Table Read more : Putting the elements in order
Properties of gold
Celeste33 under CC-BY-NC licence
Open University chemist Mike Bullivant outlines the properties of gold Read more : Properties of gold
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By originator.
Fluorine - essential Element for life?! NO it is not!
Where did you get this 'fact' from - a dentist?! A dentist might know all about my mouth, but they have no knowledge of the endocrine disruption that is a result of Fluoride ingestion. A least you do not call it a mineral or vitamin, so thank you, but honestly, where is this fact from, an outdated journal?
I would not ask a dentist to give me a prostrate exam, so why accept that this very TOXIC element, with a very active electron, has anything to do with good health, or indeed is essential. It is not mineral or a vitamin needed for life or growth, it is in fact excreted as soon as possible, only our kidneys can only get rid of about 50%, the rest then is deposited in our bodies as it actively replaces the much needed calcium and thyroxine!
You diagram shows, it is actually HIGHLY toxic http://media.open2.net/periodictable/body-chemistry.html
There is NO evidence that systemic absorption does anything positive to the teeth and bones, and in fact the USA Environment Protection Agency (EPA) have just raised concern that the present levels of fluoridation in the USA are too high by over 30% and that the National 'outbreak' of Fluroisis in over 30% of the adolescent population, that is destroying of their teeth, was an outcome of too much Fluoride in kids diets and from the air and fluoridated public drinking water! In 2008 the American Dental Association and the Centre for Disease Control warned ALL parents and carers NOT to make up feed for ANY Baby/child under 12 months with fluoridated water, and that is at 1 part per million! No one in the UK have been warned of this!!!
Breast milk removes fluoride to 250 time below the level presently set as safe by those who want to add this to public drinking water. So mother nature tries to get all of it out of the food supply for its young!
The evidence that Fluoride is needed for bone strength is not conclusive, and in fact it now looks like it makes bones and teeth brittle, replacing much needed Calcium.
This supposedly factual Periodic Table is totally undermined by this inclusion of Fluoride as an Essential element to life, and would seem to indicate that the factual scientific basis for the Open University and the Big Bang programme is built on sand, not rock.
See http://www.fluoridealert.org/ for more scientific investigation that goes beyond the poor 1940s science that bull-dozed the truth that fluoride is not essential for life (which you are repeating here at the Open University) and is so toxic it is never safe to be exposed to it...
Fluoride is not, has never been' an essential element' for life, this is a false statement,, one perpetuated by those who seek to add this toxic muck to our public drinking water and protect their use of fluorides in pesticides and everyday products . Shame on you for bring this poor science into a factual document.
Dear Jonathan Many thanks for
Dear Jonathan
Many thanks for your comment. You’re quite right to highlight the important and ongoing debate that surrounds the role of fluoride in human health. We’ve made some changes to our interactive that reflect this, as well as adding extra sections for people to explore the elements in the world around us, and how some elements changed history.
Thanks again for your feedback, and we hope you enjoy the completed interactive.
OpenLearn Moderator
Fluorine is Not an essential element for life
I appreciate that you have changed some of the wording relating to Fluoride, thank you.
However, there is NO scientific evidence that fluoride is essential for life. It is not an essential vitamin or mineral, or part of them.
The body will function perfectly well, if not better, without it, as it is a known toxin.
You must therefore remove it from where you have placed it, as it is NOT essential for life!
You are correct to state that its addition to drinking water as an additive medicine is controversial, and all the latest science points to extensive long term negative health impacts.
The only science that supports it use says that the ONLY possible positive effect on dental health is through topical application, not through systemic ingestion. So its direct contact with enamel that might be strengthening the teeth, however over 40% of USA adolescences now suffer from fluorosis, the damage this 'strengthening process' it self engenders!
Please remove it as an essential element at the soonest to maintain your scientific credentials at the OU
Regards
Jonathan