⚛️ The Periodic Table
All 118 chemical elements · interactive, colour-coded, with fact files
The periodic table of the elements is chemistry’s map of everything: all 118 known chemical elements, ordered by atomic number and arranged so that elements with similar behaviour fall in the same vertical column. Tap any tile — or pick an element below — for its full fact file, physical properties and a plain-language summary of what it is and what it does.
A quick way to read the table
Across each period (row) the atomic number climbs by one proton at a time. Down each group (column) the atoms gain a full electron shell, which is why lithium, sodium and potassium all react with water in the same dramatic way. The far-right column is the noble gases — chemically satisfied — while the reactive metals cluster on the left. Elements coloured grey have been made only a few atoms at a time and their properties are still predicted, not measured.
Reactive nonmetal
Elements that readily gain or share electrons — the building blocks of water, air, living tissue and most organic chemistry.
Hydrogen (H) · Carbon (C) · Nitrogen (N) · Oxygen (O) · Fluorine (F) · Phosphorus (P) · Sulfur (S) · Chlorine (Cl) · Selenium (Se) · Bromine (Br) · Iodine (I)
Noble gas
Full outer electron shells make these gases almost inert: they barely react, glow in discharge lamps and are used to create unreactive atmospheres.
Helium (He) · Neon (Ne) · Argon (Ar) · Krypton (Kr) · Xenon (Xe) · Radon (Rn)
Alkali metal
Soft, wildly reactive metals of group 1 — they fizz in water and never occur pure in nature. Lithium, sodium, potassium and friends.
Lithium (Li) · Sodium (Na) · Potassium (K) · Rubidium (Rb) · Cesium (Cs) · Francium (Fr)
Alkaline earth metal
Reactive group-2 metals a step calmer than the alkalis: magnesium, calcium and the structural and biological workhorses among them.
Beryllium (Be) · Magnesium (Mg) · Calcium (Ca) · Strontium (Sr) · Barium (Ba) · Radium (Ra)
Transition metal
The dense, strong, catalytic heart of the table — iron, copper, gold, titanium — responsible for most of metallurgy, jewellery and industry.
Scandium (Sc) · Titanium (Ti) · Vanadium (V) · Chromium (Cr) · Manganese (Mn) · Iron (Fe) · Cobalt (Co) · Nickel (Ni) · Copper (Cu) · Zinc (Zn) · Yttrium (Y) · Zirconium (Zr) · Niobium (Nb) · Molybdenum (Mo) · Technetium (Tc) · Ruthenium (Ru) · Rhodium (Rh) · Palladium (Pd) · Silver (Ag) · Cadmium (Cd) · Hafnium (Hf) · Tantalum (Ta) · Tungsten (W) · Rhenium (Re) · Osmium (Os) · Iridium (Ir) · Platinum (Pt) · Gold (Au) · Mercury (Hg) · Rutherfordium (Rf) · Dubnium (Db) · Seaborgium (Sg) · Bohrium (Bh) · Hassium (Hs) · Copernicium (Cn)
Post-transition metal
Softer, lower-melting metals beside the transition block — aluminium, tin, lead — abundant in cans, foils, solders and pigments.
Aluminium (Al) · Gallium (Ga) · Indium (In) · Tin (Sn) · Thallium (Tl) · Lead (Pb) · Bismuth (Bi) · Polonium (Po) · Flerovium (Fl)
Metalloid
In-between elements that behave as semiconductors: silicon, germanium and boron underpin electronics, glass and solar cells.
Boron (B) · Silicon (Si) · Germanium (Ge) · Arsenic (As) · Antimony (Sb) · Tellurium (Te) · Astatine (At)
Lanthanide
The rare-earth “inner transition” metals that give strong permanent magnets, screen phosphors and catalyst polish.
Lanthanum (La) · Cerium (Ce) · Praseodymium (Pr) · Neodymium (Nd) · Promethium (Pm) · Samarium (Sm) · Europium (Eu) · Gadolinium (Gd) · Terbium (Tb) · Dysprosium (Dy) · Holmium (Ho) · Erbium (Er) · Thulium (Tm) · Ytterbium (Yb) · Lutetium (Lu)
Actinide
Mostly radioactive, heavy metals — several made only in reactors — whose fission powers nuclear energy and weapons.
Actinium (Ac) · Thorium (Th) · Protactinium (Pa) · Uranium (U) · Neptunium (Np) · Plutonium (Pu) · Americium (Am) · Curium (Cm) · Berkelium (Bk) · Californium (Cf) · Einsteinium (Es) · Fermium (Fm) · Mendelevium (Md) · Nobelium (No) · Lawrencium (Lr)
Unknown properties
Superheavy synthetic elements made atom-by-atom, existing for fractions of a second; their true chemistry is still unmeasured.
Meitnerium (Mt) · Darmstadtium (Ds) · Roentgenium (Rg) · Nihonium (Nh) · Moscovium (Mc) · Livermorium (Lv) · Tennessine (Ts) · Oganesson (Og)