3242: Aperiodic Table

2026-05-08T03:41:46Z

203.62.28.65: Added fourth paragraph. It definitely needs to be extended, but I'm not sure exactly how, so if someone could work on that, that would be great.

{{comic
| number = 3242
| date = May 6, 2026
| title = Aperiodic Table
| image = aperiodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created APERIODICALLY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The {{w|periodic table of the elements}} is a diagram often used to show the properties of the {{w|chemical elements}} that make up the world. Its structure represents several properties of the elements. Atoms increase in {{w|atomic number}} from left to right and continue on each new row, going top to bottom. Elements in a single column will have similar chemical properties, with allowance for any crossing of the {{w|dividing line between metals and nonmetals}}, and each row exhibits a similar trend to adjacent rows for the gaining or losing electrons and other physical properties.

[[Randall]] spoofs this concept by creating a similar view that is much less useful. The original table is "periodic" because it has consistent, repeating patterns that are represented by the horizontal position of the elements. Randall's 'table' is "aperiodic", meaning it has no consistent, repeating patterns. Instead, it is just a meandering line ordered by atomic number. To fit into a compact space, the sequence snakes back and forth and (roughly) down the page. This presentation is not actually helpful{{cn}}, since it contains little information other than the atomic number of each element. Faint colouring on each box does show its category, but due to the dull colours that is also quite inconvenient to use, and depicts this information in an unnecessarily unhelpful and hard-to-read format.

The title text suggests that the creation of {{w|Types of periodic tables|alternative periodic table layouts}} is due to them not having enough work to do. However, it frames this by comparing them to animals kept in enclosures, with a lack of {{w|Behavioral_enrichment|enrichment activities}} to keep them occupied and satisfied in their lab, implying that this is a form of aberrant dysfunctional behaviour. Researcher enclosure enrichment was previously mentioned in [[3052: Archive Request]].

This comic may be a critique about how an excessive amount of ways to display the periodic table have been created over the years, many of which make Randall's periodic table look fairly normal by comparison.

==Trivia==
* Element 81, Thallium, should be labeled "Tl", but is incorrectly labeled "Ti", which is the abbreviation for Titanium (element 22).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon. All 118 elements and their number should be included in a full transcript.}}

:The Aperiodic Table of the Elements
:[Rectangles showing the atomic symbols and atomic numbers from H (1) through Og (118) are arranged in a serpentine chain. Each rectangle has the atomic number in small numerals at the upper left and the atomic symbol in large letters. The color of each rectangle matches the the pattern of a standard periodic table. For example, the noble elements all have a red background.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Periodic table]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

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3242: Aperiodic Table