• Considers the fundamental nature of the periodic table to the physical sciences
• Explores the history of the discovery of trends among elements, to the construction of various forms of the table, and the growth of understanding of its meaning
• Touches on key ideas about both early atomic theory and quantum mechanics, showing how they have proved key to the meaning of the table
• Ideal for those who are curious to learn more about the periodic table and essential for any student of physics and chemistry

  
Here, Eric Scerri looks at the trends in properties of elements that led to the construction of the periodic table, and how the deeper meaning of its structure gradually became apparent with the development of atomic theory and quantum mechanics, so that, as Scerri puts it, one science, physics, arguably came to colonize another, chemistry, although such a view is resisted by chemists. Scerri shows that quantum mechanics is absolutely central to chemistry, as it underlies the behaviour of all of the elements and their compounds, and therefore underpins the structure of the periodic table. 

Concluding with an overview of the huge variety of periodic tables that have been proposed in the print media and on the Internet, he explores the debated question of whether there is an optimal periodic table and what form it might take.