The periodic table of elements scaled to show the actual abundance of the elements on Earth by Prof. Wm. F. Sheehan in 1976. Roughly, the size of an element’s own niche is proportioned to its abundance on Earth’s surface, and in addition, certain chemical similarities are suggested by the positioning of neighbors. The chart emphasizes that in real life a chemist will probably meet 0, Si, AI, … and that he better do something about it. Periodic tables based upon elemental abundance would, of course, vary from planet to planet. If you want to learn more about the periodic table, you should check The Elements Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table from Smithsonian Institution.
