Nu Periodic Chart, Anti-matter,
Here's another way to look at the elements.
The "Nu" periodic table begins with the neutron rather than hydrogen. And, another difference is that deuterium (D) is considered the element with a single electron, not hydrogen (H). Thus, one can add or subtract a neutron, which characterizes the isotopes of deuterium (D) as either tritium (T), or hydrogen (H). Chemically you can continue to look to hydrogen (H) as the preponderant element of the universe and in chemical reactions, but as a building block for understanding the periodic table, neutron (Nu) and deuterium (D) provide a better foundation. Consider, all the elements, beginning with deuterium (D) have within their nucleus not only protons but neutrons as well. The isotope, hydrogen (H) is the sole exception, lacking a neutron.
To visualize the different elements, in sequence of increasing atomic number, it is proper to organize them by the order of electrons in shells and subshells. Remember for each electron there is a proton in the nucleus, so if you add up the number of electrons you will arrive at the atomic number of the element which is the number of protons in the nucleus. The following table shows the arrangement of the electrons as they appear in many textbooks. What is added in the notes which follow the table is an explanation of how the individual electrons fill the orbitals in a graphic depiction of placement of each electron.
PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS - ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
Shell..................1...........2.............3.............4...............5...............6...............7
Orbital
name.......... .........s........s..p........s..p...d.....s..p...d...f....s..p...d...f.....s..p...d...f.....s..p...d...f
Electrons in
orbit..................2........2..6........2..6...10....2..6...10..14...2..6...10..14....2..6..10..14....2..6..10..14
# Symbol...Name
0 Nu.Neutron.....0
1 H..Hydrogen...1
2* He.Helium....2
3 Li.Lithium.....2........1
4 Be.Beryllium.2........2
5 B..Boron.......2........2..1(br)
6 C..Carbon......2........2..2
7 N..Nitrogen....2........2..3
8 O..Oxygen.....2........2..4
9 F..Flourine.....2........2..5
10*Ne.Neon......2........2..6
11 Na.Sodium....2........2..6........1
12 Mg.Magnesium.2........2..6........2
13 Al.Aluminum..2........2..6........2...1
14 Si.Silicon......2........2..6........2...2
18*Ar.Argon.....2........2..6........2...6
19 K..Potassium.2........2..6........2...6.........1
20 Ca.Calcium...2........2..6........2...6.........2
21 Sc.Scandium..2........2..6........2...6......1..2
22 Ti.Titanium..2........2..6........2...6......2..2
23 V..Vanadium..2........2..6........2...6......3..2
24 Cr.Chromium..2........2..6........2...6......5..1
25 Mn.Manganese.2........2..6........2...6......5..2
26 Fe.Iron......2........2..6........2...6......6..2
27 Co.Cobalt....2........2..6........2...6......7..2
28 Ni.Nickel.....2........2..6........2...6......8..2
29 Cu.Copper....2........2..6........2...6.....10..1
30 Zn.Zinc........2........2..6........2...6.....10..2
31 Ga.Gallium...2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..1
32 Ge.Germanium.2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..2
33 As.Arsenic.....2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..3
34 Se.Selenium..2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..4
35 Br.Bromine...2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..5
36*Kr.Krypton...2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6
37 Rb.Rubidium..2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......1
38 Sr.Strontium.2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......2
39 Y..Yttrium...2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......1..2
40 Zr.Zirconium.2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......2..2
41 Nb.Niobium...2........2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......4..1
42 Mo.Molybdenum.2.......2..6........2...6.....10..2..6.......5..1
[Sorry, word processing program can't handle the table.] While the imaging of electrons as being a cloud of negative
particles about the nucleus is helpful in teaching that electrons are held in close (but not too close) proximity to the central
positive charge; the concept of orbitals lands on deaf ears. We have trouble with an image of 2, 6, 10 or 14 negative
particles buzzing about in an orderly fashion. So the "Nu" periodic chart provides a means of conceptualizing the placement
of electrons so that reason can be made of chaos.
Picture first a central nucleus. We draw this as a cube with six equal sides. This particle is the most dense of all matter and contains a single neutron (if you accept my premise that the neutron (Nu) should be considered an element). Adding protons (and neutrons) to the core adds mass and accompanying each proton is a circling electron. The exception of course is Nu which should be considered the most noble of the noble gases; Nu has no electrons, a proton having captured one and incorporated it within the nucleus to form Nu. If our nucleus has circling about a single electron, why of course the element is deuterium (D) perhaps the more frequently found isotope, hydrogen (H) or the extremely rare isotope tritium (T), dependent upon the number of neutrons contained within the nucleus. Now add a second electron (and accompanying proton, and you have helium (He). One can imagine that each electron would be spaced so that it would be as far away from the other as possible and still be found in the circle (orbital), so one can picture these electrons forming a cloud; not too close to the nucleus and yet not too far away. Let's picture this as the two electrons being on opposite sides of the cube. The cube can be rotated any way you like, so long as the electrons stay pretty much on opposite sides, spin the cube rapidly in all directions and the electrons on the cube's sides would appear as spherical clouds.
This is helium (He). Helium neither desires the addition of more electrons to its "cube", nor is it willing to readily give up an electron. Which is why it is an inert, rare or noble gas. Oh, by the way, we have just described the first shell (1) and the accompanying s electrons which, is represented by 1s(2 superscript).
The next step is to explore the second shell and neon (Ne), the next noble gas. We draw another cube, but we no longer write "Nu" in the center; instead writing "He" instead. Thus, the nucleus of He plus its two electrons is represented in an abbreviated form and as we shall see each noble element incorporates the nuclear and electronic structure of the noble element that preceded it. By adding more electrons (and their accompanying protons in the nucleus), we "create" other elements. These added electrons are placed on the sides of the cube, just as we placed the electrons for deuterium (D) and helium (He). After we have added two more electrons, we have the electron configuration of the element beryllium (Be, atomic number 4). Just like the two electrons in helium's (He) s orbital, we have an addition two electrons in another s orbital. You can imagine that the electrons will be spaced as far away from the others as possible and again, if the cube is rapidly spun, the electrons in their orbitals would describe a circular cloud. These electrons are in the 2s(superscript 2) subshell of the second shell of electrons. To contain additional electrons, other positions on the boxe's sides are occupied. As we add these electrons we place one on each side of the box. Remembering to keep the electrons as far away from the others as possible, we put electrons on opposite sides of the box as we fill in the open spaces. Now we have placed six electrons on the sides of the box. This is the element, oxygen (O). If you look at our box of electrons, you see that all sides are full but still we need to add two additional electrons to reach the next inert or noble gas configuration. This can be accomplished by shifting the electron's positions from the sides of the box to the corners of the box. With this shift, there is now space for two additional electrons (from six sides to eight corners). Adding one additional electron gives the element, fluorine (F), the most electro-negative of the elements. And, finally with the addition of another electron we have neon (Ne). Neon, like helium which came before has extreme stability, giving up, or accepting electrons with difficulty. Neon's electron configurations can be described as 1s(superscript 2); 2s(superscript 2), 2p(superscript 6).
On to the next shell (number 3) and its noble gas which is argon (Ar). We represent the central nucleus by the noble gas, neon (Ne), which is the noble gas just described. About this box is draw another box, just as before. And just as before we add electrons and the accompanying protons, so that when completed, we will have added eight electrons to fill this shell. Placement of the first and second electrons on the sides of the cube produces as you would expect, an element which behaves in an analogous manner to beryllium (Be), and that's just what this element, magnesium (Mg) does. Continuing on, as we fill the sides, we arrive at a total of six electrons which is the number of electrons (and accompanying protons) for sulfur. Once again, a rearrangement of the position of the electrons from the sides of the box to the corners permits addition of two additional electrons and when this is done we have arrived at argon (Ar) with an atomic mass of 18 and 18 electrons in its orbitals. This is often represented by; 1s(2superscript), 2s(2superscript), 2p(6superscript), 3s(2superscript), 3p(6superscript).
Continuing on to the 4th shell, in which lies the next noble gas, krypton (Kr). Again the cube is drawn and the nucleus is represented as the preceding noble gas, which in this case was argon (Ar). And, encasing the cube we draw yet another cube encasing both. On the sides of the outermost cube can be placed two electrons, just as we did when we began to build argon (Ar). Voila, we have calcium (Ca). And, calcium has the same reactive characteristics of manganese and beryllium that preceded. However, as we add an additional electron, Instead of going to an outer cube(orbit), it begins to fill the inner one. This inner cube, as we shall see, is to contain 10 electrons, not the 6 or eight with which we have become familiar, and is called the "d"subshell. This first electron added gives the element, scandium (Sc). Adding a second and third electron gives vanadium (Va). Now three sides of the cube contain an electron. What happens next is surprising but is the first example of how orbital filling is energy driven. Addition of the next electron which is represented by chromium (Cr) results in a forth side of the cube being filled, but also a fifth is filled as well as an electron is "pulled" from the outer cube "orbital". Now returning to filling of the outer cube with the addition of the next electron gives manganese (Mn). Manganese, for reactive purposes, is similar to calcium, magnesium and beryllium which were the first in a series where two electrons appear in the outer cube (orbital). Filling the sides of the interior cube now continues with the addition of each successive electron until you have all sides filled which is the element iron (Fe). As before, the next electron causes a shift of the electrons from the sides of the cube to the corners permitting an accommodation of eight electrons or the element, nickel (Ni). Now another shift of electrons occurs as another electron is added. The "d" orbital is to accommodate 10 electrons, which can be visualized as having filled the corners of the cube, the cube sides are once again available for electron placement. Accordingly, with the addition of the next electron, one is "pulled" from the outer cube and is matched to the added one on the cube side. The element is copper (Cu). As might be expected, the next electron added goes to the side of the outer cube, yielding zinc (Zn). Now with the inner cube complete and two sides of the outer one as well, other sides of the cube are added to, in order, until all six sides of the cube are filled. We have arrived at the element krypton (Kr), which is another of the noble gasses. Krypton's electronic configuration is: 1s(2superscript), 2s(2superscript), 2p(6superscript), 3s(2superscript), 3p(6superscript), 3d(10supersrcript), 4s(2superscript), 42(6superscript). If you add the number of electrons in the various shells and subshells you find 36 which is the atomic number for Kr.
To continue, we draw our familiar box and place krypton (Kr) inside to represent all that has gone before, and we add another cube for the electrons of the "d" subshell of the 4th shell and a cube for the 5th shell which will contain the noble gas, xenon (Xe). Adding two electrons yield strontium (Sr) with characteristics much like manganese, calcium, magnesium and beryllium. The next electron added goes to the sides of the inner cube, maintaining the lower energy state of the electrons, and is represented by yttrium (Y). Pairing of electrons occurs with zirconium (Zr) on the inner cube, and with the next addition, an electron is given up by the outer cube to pair with an electron on the inner cube; which is representative of niobium (Nb). Inner cube filling continues until the element palladium (Pd) is formed. Palladium is most unusual in that all electrons have been "pulled" from the outer-most cube to balance those interior and give a final "d" subshell of 10 electrons. Now cadmium becomes the element with two electrons on the sides of the outer cube, making it similar to strontium and the like, which explains its toxicity as a divalent ion when encountered in biological systems. The sides of the outer cube are now filled with electrons until, as before, there is a shift of electrons from the side to the corners permitting accommodation of eight electrons and giving the noble gas, xenon (X). Xenon has a configuration of: 1s(2superscript), 2s(2superscript), 2p(6superscript), 3s(2superscript), 3p(6superscript), 3d(10superscript), 4s(2superscript), 4s(6supersript), 4s(10superscript), 5s(2superscript), 5p(6superscript). Add up the superscripts and you get 54 which is the atomic number for xenon (Xe). The next noble gas in the series is radon (Ra), and orbital filling gives us our first exposure to suborbital f . Now in our familiar cube, we write xenon (Xe) to represent the 54 electrons that have come before; and we add not two but three cubes to enclose the central "nucleus". Adding two electrons to the side of the outermost cube gives the element barium (Ba) which has characteristics of the other "divalent" ions. However, when the third electron added to our xenon (Xe) configuration, it goes all the way back to the innermost cube, the f orbital in the 4th shell. This shell is filled in sequence until all sides are filled, there is a shift to the corners from the sides to accommodate 8 electrons and then as we observed when the "d" orbital was being filled with 10 electrons, the sides of the cube are used to accept additional electrons. This time all corners and sides are filled or eight corners plus six sides for a total of 14 electrons, which is representative of ytterbium (Yb), atomic number 70. Additional electrons go to fill the sides of the cube which is representative of the "d" orbital of the 5th shell. Filling is orderly until platinum (Pt) is reached. With platinum, an electron is "borrowed" from the outer most cube (shell) and added to the side of the "d" orbital cube. Next comes gold (Au) providing an electron to the opposite side of the cube. Gold being the most noble of elements can be seen to have a single electron in the outermost orbit and because of the propensity to shift electrons between the inner cube (orbital) and outer cube (orbital) is relatively inert. Having filled the "d" orbital, the next addition of an electron gives Mercury (Hg). As might be expected, mercury can be substituted for other divalent ions, which explains its particular toxicity. Now as electrons are added once again to the sides of the outermost cube, we have a shift from sides to corners until finally there is a total of eight electrons filling the corners of the cube. We have radon (Ra). Radon's electron configuration can be represented by: 1s(2superscript), 2s(2superscript), 2p(6superscript), 3s(2superscript), 3p(6superscript), 3d(10superscript), 4s(2superscript), 4p(6superscript), 4d(10superscript), 4f(14superscript), 5s(2superscript), 5p(6superscript), 5d(10superscript), 6s(2superscript), 6d(6superscript).
This introduces us to the first 6 shells and the subshells; s, p, d, f. Being able to visualize placement of electrons about the central nucleus and seeing the repeating characteristic of elements based on the outer-shell electrons helps to demystify the periodic table and its elements. Nu, a suggested addition to the table, provides a centerpiece for building the successive elements by the addition of an electron and its accompanying proton. Stacking the interior of each successive noble gas with the preceding noble gas, simplifies the organization of the universe in which we live.
I am indebted to Dr. P. W. Atkins for his thought provoking book, "The Periodic Kingdom" which I highly recommend to those who want another view of as Dr. Atkins says, "A journey into the land of the chemical elements."
ABOUT Joe Wortham