The IYPT in Crystals Project: What is it? YOU can be a part of it!
The Periodic Table is a display of the chemical elements that scientists have identified. The layout of the elements helps people learn and understand the physical and chemical properties of the elements and the relationships between them. In 1869 Russian Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published the first recognizable periodic table. To celebrate this amazing feat, the year 2019 was proclaimed the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
We wanted to be part of this celebration. At the beginning of 2019, Claire Murray from the Diamond Light Source in collaboration with the CCDC and the British Crystallographic Association (BCA), launched the “IYPT in Crystals Project”. We wanted to involve all the wonderful people in the crystallographic community, so made the project “community-led” and asked for volunteers to contribute content for the webpages. Since the project began many of you have had lots of fun finding out about chemical elements and associated molecular structures in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD).
Check out the webpages here by clicking on each element symbol. See if you can find your favourite “Fun Fact”. Will it be the element that gives you garlic breath? Or the element named for being lazy? Or maybe the element that could have killed Napoleon? You can read about everyone who has worked hard on creating these fun facts and all the other information about the chemical elements and molecular structures here.
Take part and be a winner!
There are still a few element webpages to complete, so YOU can be part of the IYPT in Crystals Project! Check out how to contribute here or email for more details. Don’t delay volunteer today!
We have announced our IYPT in Crystals Project Competition. The competition will launch next month and you can vote on your favourite chemical element webpage from our Periodic Table. Check out the competition rules here.
We won’t stop there. This extensive compilation of information and data about the chemical elements and associated molecular structures in the CSD will be used to create an educational resource for anyone who wants to learn more about chemistry. So watch this space!