io9

Customized Periodic Tables Of Tattoo Ink, Song Lyrics and Star Trek

By Mark Strauss Published December 1, 2014, 12:20 pm ET

Reading time 1 minute

At Claremont McKenna college, chemistry professor Babak Sanii and his students have created an online tool that allows users to create “Elemental Cardograms” — periodic tables where the area of each element is made larger or smaller to reflect the chemical composition of specific items, ranging from tattoo ink to corn.

Other fun projects: How many (real) elements are mentioned in Star Trek episodes and how frequently chemical elements are referenced in song lyrics.

[H/T FlowingData]

Explore more on these topics

Chemistry Elements

Share this story

Sign up for our newsletters

Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more.

Related Articles

Plastic,waste,in,lake.,ocean,pollution,,marine,debris.,marine,litter.

Researchers Turned Acid From Car Batteries Into Something Surprisingly Useful

This won’t fix the ongoing plastics problem, but it’s a good side plan.

Energy Gayoung Lee Apr 7

Explosion,of,colored,powder,isolated,on,black,background.,abstract,colored

The Most Elusive Color in Chemistry Might Surprise You

The answer is a “perfect red,” and its discovery might be worth billions of dollars.

Physics & Chemistry Gayoung Lee Feb 26

Formic Acid Chirality C Inst Nuclear Physics Goethe University

Flat Molecules Aren’t Actually Flat. Blame Quantum Physics

In chemistry, molecules with a "flat" geometry are often stable enough to support a wide range of reactions. But in the quantum world, that's not technically true.

Physics & Chemistry Gayoung Lee Feb 23

Yellowstone Hot Spring

Earthquakes Did Something Unexpected to Life Deep Beneath Yellowstone

Researchers took a look at how earthquakes change what's available on the underground microbial menu.

Biology Margherita Bassi Nov 26

a car's dashboard display showing GPS navigation

6 Women Inventors Who Changed Your Life, Even if You Didn’t Know It

These are some of the women behind the technologies that make our modern world go round, from WiFi to windshield wipers.

Human History Ellyn Lapointe Nov 19

Alabaster Vase

In Ancient Egypt, Opium Was a ‘Fixture of Daily Life,’ Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed brown residue in an incredibly rare alabaster vase.

Human History Margherita Bassi Nov 14

Sign up for our newsletters