Periodic Table X - Chemistry, Coming Your Way!

very good
key review info
application features
  • Quick access to a wide variety of atomic properties
  • (5 more, see all...)

The periodic table, also known as The Table of Mendeleev, is the most useful tool in the study of Chemistry. It provides users with basic information about the chemical elements, including the general classification into gases, liquids, solids and the atomic properties of elements.

Periodic Table X, published by Synergy Creations, is an advanced scientific application useful for both students and Chemistry teachers. It helps improve the educational process by showing a wide range of information about all the chemical elements discovered. The program not only includes the basic table of elements, but also provides users with many other element classifications and tables.

The Looks

Although the interface of Periodic Table may seem very complicated at first sight, if you look closely, you will realize that everything in that main window is very well organized.

The main window of the application is divided into six categories, each presenting a different type of properties of the chemical elements. The table categories are color-coded, making it easy for you to find the type of information you need. The red group contains the physical properties of the elements (atomic weight, melting and boiling points, metals and nonmetals), the orange group shows some nuclear characteristics (atomic number, radioactivity), the blue category includes bonding information (atomic radius, valences) and we're still left with three more groups. The violet group deals with abundances (atmospheric, oceanic); the green category shows the crystal properties of elements (density, resistivity); finally, the yellow group presents some miscellaneous facts about the chemical elements, like the discovery year and nation.

Who said Chemistry is a difficult subject? As you can see, Periodic Table presents a large variety of information about all the chemical elements and classifies them into categories, thus improving the search results. If you know the type of information you need, finding it in this application is very simple indeed.

The Works

If you choose a table from any of the categories displayed in Periodic Table's main window, you will see the exact same layout of the basic periodic table, keeping the program simple and consistent at all times. The only difference is that each of the classification tables has its own gradient scale, showing the value of the element property through the intensity of the color. If you don't like the red scale default, you can customize it and use another color gradient.

All the property tables in the main window have some items in common. Even if they show different properties of the chemical elements, the table window includes the same items: the color scale for the element classification, the actual table and two more buttons: View Options and Line Graph.

The View Options window allows you to customize several aspects of the current window: you can modify the gradient style, choosing one of the presets included, enable or disable the scale log and select the options to be visible in the element box. The Line Graph window displays a line chart showing the variation of the atomic property's values related to the atomic number of elements. This view is also customizable, allowing you to select the preferred line type, marker and symbol size and to adjust the minimum and maximum values of the axes.

If you're only interested in one chemical element and you don't want to go through all the property tables to find out useful information about it, you can search for that specific element in the program's main window, either by its symbol or by its name. A new window opens showing all the atomic properties of the chemical element. The information is still organized and color-coded so that you can easily differentiate the groups of properties. In this window, there are more features you can explore, Bohr, Isotopes and X-Ray being the ones available in the trial version of Periodic Table. Bohr opens a secondary window showing you the Bohr electron shell model of the selected element, Isotopes shows the number of isotopes of the element and in the X-Ray window, you will see the element's X-Ray spectral information.

While using Periodic Table, if you find a scientific term you don't fully understand, you can easily access the program's glossary by clicking on the unknown property in the Element Details window or by pressing the Glossary button in the main window. The Glossary provides the user with definitions for the atomic properties of the elements and for many other related terms.

The Preferences window enables you to adjust the application's behavior to fit your needs. You can change the measurement units, the program's responsiveness level, the general gradient style to be used in all tables and some other options.

The Good

As the motto of this application says: "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." (Marie Curie) Periodic Table makes sure that Chemistry becomes a lot easier to understand, even for beginners. Although Periodic Table X offers a great number of features, its interface is simple, very well organized, making it easy for the user to find the information he is looking for.

The Bad

Periodic Table comes as a 30-day trial, but with many features disabled. The physical properties of elements is the only category included in the trial, so if you want to learn more about the other types of atomic properties, you have to purchase a license of the application. The price of a Periodic Table license is $25 and may seem a bit high to a college student or a casual user. The application is definitely worth its price in the case of Chemistry teachers or professionals who use it frequently.

The Truth

I can't say I know much about Chemistry, but Periodic Table managed to grow my interest in this subject. It's a professional tool that contains both the basic and some more advanced properties of the chemical elements, therefore it can be easily understood by any user.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 4
pricing / value 3


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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