Gather ’round children, as I weave you a tale of isotropes and kilowicks…

Developed in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev to help illustrate commonalities in the various properties of elements, the Periodic Table has been both boon and bane to high school chemistry students around the world (my own experiences fell definitely to the “bane” side.)

Fast forward about 140 years, and we have a more modern version, and infinitely more useful, thanks to James the ComputerSherpa. In his first Visual Design class he came up with this little beauty – the Periodic Table of Storytelling.

Periodic Table of Storytelling, by ComputerSherpa

James really did his research, turning to TVTropes.org for inspiration and information on “tropes” –  which TVTropes defines as “devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations.” Writers (and Hollywood types) can use these fictional elements to craft endless variations of story lines. Being a wiki, TVTropes has vast quantities of information and discussion threads, so James’ graphical version of the Periodic Table is a real timesaver.

Beyond the concept as a whole, I love the examples at the bottom, illustrating how one might describe certain shows, movies, games, etc, using formulas based on this Periodic Table.  For instance, when you combine:

  •  A Five-Man Band (5ma – made up of a Hero, Lancer, Smart Guy, Big Guy, and a Chick)
  • Conflict (C)
  • The Empire (Emp)
  • Dragon-The Chosen One-You Have Failed Me (DraNeoFai)

…and you get Star Wars. Not sure about the “Dragon” element on this one, but then, I have mentioned my chemistry is not my super power.

James very kindly put the image up for purchase as a poster – it would be fun to sit around with a bunch of geeks and work out formulas for various shows and book storylines. Maybe I’ll have to get one for my son to take to college in the fall, for he will surely find himself a gang of geeks to hand out with, and I wouldn’t want them to run out of things to talk about.

[Via: BitRebels]

Periodic Table Roundup

Who doesn’t love science and the periodic table?!  I recently made a set of periodic table elements as wall art for my sister’s house, and I was wondering what other exciting periodic crafts you people have come up with!  Here is an awesome roundup of everything elemental, from food to furniture!

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Periodic Table Roundup

9. Cupcakes!!!!

Jono Haysom (@JonoH) made the periodic table taste better than ever before…

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Periodic Table Roundup

8. Periodic Table Vehicles

The Oxford Science Park of Oxford, UK has a collection of buses and taxis, check out the locals and tourist photos here!

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Periodic Table Roundup

7. Crafty Periodic Wall Art

Cheryl at A Pretty Cool Life made these wall art elements as a submission for SYTYC…. love the color choice, perfect for a craft or art studio

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Periodic Table Roundup

6. Element Quilt

fadinghippie on flickr made this as a gift for a friend working on her chemistry PhD

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Periodic Table Roundup

5. Periodic Picnic

Students at Arizona’s Wake Forest University made this amazing picnic table on campus for a project on public art… you know, I’d hang out at this table all the time :)

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Periodic Table Roundup

4. Elemental Ink

Flickr user timmurtaugh has this sweet tattoo on his forearm, I wonder if that’s considered cheating in a classroom…

Check out a whole gallery of science related tattoos here on the Science Tattoo Emporium

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Periodic Table Roundup

3. Silver/Gold/Platinum Jewelry

itsno.name, a husband and wife team from Brooklyn, NY created this sciencey jewelry

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Periodic Table Roundup

2. Geek Element Pillow

ShopGibberish on Etsy has a whole line of periodic table arts and crafts!  This pillow was sold, but take a look at their other items for sale…. I’ll be watching these guys, I need some new shirts!

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Periodic Table Roundup

1. Periodic Wall Clock

Chemtastic Designs on CafePress has this clock for sale!

(I must be in the mood to check the time a lot, second clock in one week!)

Happy Friday everyone!!

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If science fascinates you as well, check out how to become a
forensic scientist
.

12 Best of 2010

Here are my choices for the 12 best geek crafts of 2010:

January – Super Mario Vest by The Happy Seamstress
Super Mario Sweater Vest

February – Minimalist Take on Star Wars by Justin Van Gendern
Minimalist Take on Star Wars

March – Tiny Harry Potter Paintings by JennaDickes
Tiny Harry Potter Paintings

April – Periodic Table of the Elements Table by Abigailscrafts
Periodic Table of the Elements Table

May – Buffy the Vampire Slayer button by ButtonBettie
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Button

June – Tardis Schrapnel by Irishdaydreamer
Tardis Schrapnel

July – Crocheted Spock Head by Amy
Crocheted Spock Head

August (we didn’t have anything, so here’s one I like from May) – Origami Dinosaurs by essemde
Origami Dinosaurs

September (we also didn’t have anything, so here’s another one from June) – Mario Mushroom Grill by Greg.Matta
Mario Muchroom Grill

October – Darth Vader Princess Costume by mayamagination
Darth Vader Princess Costume

November – Tardis Star Quilt by Wendy
Tardis Star Quilt

December – Steampunk Cthulhu Goggles by RobinRed
Steampunk Cthulhu Goggles

Platinum Element Necklace

What girl doesn’t want a nice piece of platinum jewelry for Christmas? ShopGibberish is selling this perfectly geeky Platinum Element Necklace on etsy. It comes with the above pictured re-purposed Scrabble tile and a handmade envelope explaining your chosen element (other Periodic Table pendants are available).