Discovery of periodic tables for molecules

[Still Waters]

The periodic table of elements was proposed in 1869, and thereafter became one of the cornerstones of the natural sciences. This table was designed to contain all the elements found in nature in a special layout that groups them in rows and columns according to one of their most important characteristics, the number of electrons. Scientists have used the periodic table for decades to predict the characteristics of the then-unknown elements, which were added to the table over time.

Could there be such a periodic table for molecules? Although some researchers have thought about this possibility and proposed periodic rules for predicting the existence of certain molecules, these predictions were valid only for clusters of atoms with a quasi-spherical symmetry, because of the limitations of their own theory. However, there are many clusters of atoms with other shapes and other types of symmetries that should be accounted for with a better model. Thus, a research team from Tokyo Tech, including Dr. Takamasa Tsukamoto, Dr. Naoki Haruta, Prof. Kimihisa Yamamoto and colleagues, proposed a new approach to build a periodic table for molecules with multiple types of symmetries.

https://phys.org/news/2019-09-discovery-periodic-tables-molecules.html

[+Desertrat56]

This does not seem like a discovery, more like a collaboration to design a periodic table for molecules.

[zep73]

1 hour ago, Still Waters said:

This table was designed to contain all the elements found in nature in a special layout that groups them in rows and columns according to one of their most important characteristics, the number of electrons.

Here's a brilliant mini-series about the discovery of the elements and the making of the periodic table:

Mystery of matter 1: Out of thin air (56:42)
Mystery of matter 2: Unruly elements (56:42)
Mystery of matter 3: Into the atom (56:42)

According to this mini-series, the arrangement in the table had very little to do with electrons, but more to do with their type, weight and which other elements that reacted in the same way. It wasn't until later, that they discovered that each element number correlated with its amount of protons (and therefore subsequently their amount of electrons).