new-periodic-tableThe periodic table has been imprinted in the minds of so many people that it’s universally known in it’s shape and use, but researchers at Microsoft believe that they’ve found a new design for the classic infographic that conveys more data such as atom size.

So why change it? According to Mohd Abubakr from Microsoft Research in Hyderabad, the table can be improved by arranging it in circular form. He says this gives a sense of the relative size of atoms–the closer to the centre, the smaller they are–something that is missing from the current form of the table. It preserves the periods and groups that make Mendeleev’s table so useful. And by placing hydrogen and helium near the centre, Abubakr says this solves the problem of whether to put hydrogen with the halogens or alkali metals and of whther to put helium in the 2nd group or with the inert gases.

via Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: A New Graphical Representation of the Periodic Table.