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Rachel Smith | IndyStar

Erin Easterling (Purdue College of Engineering)

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Chemistry class, for most, hearkens back to images of test tubes, glass beakers and bubbling concoctions. It does not, however — at least not unless accompanied by an audible sigh — immediately draw to mind the periodic table of elements.

That table is made up of the chemicals that fill the tubes and beakers, and that occasionally bubble over in experiments gone wrong. They also are the chemical elements that make up what we eat, drink, and breathe every day.

You may recall some of the easy ones — oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, and carbon. But exactly how many of the 118 elements can you remember? What about dysprosium? Meitnerium? Oganesson?

Vilas Pol recalls them all. And in record-breaking fashion.

Pol, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, recently arranged all 118 elements in order in just 8 minutes and 36.25 seconds.

He did so under the watchful eye of a representative from Guinness World Records — part of Pol's effort to not only set a record but to draw Purdue students’ attention to the fundamental role of chemistry in society.

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On his third attempt of the day, more than 200 supporters watched as Pol placed the last, homemade mosaic tile into place, perfectly completing the periodic table of elements and setting the baseline record for this feat.

“All of the [chemical engineering] school was rooting for him, and of course, Purdue as a whole was behind him and the world record attempt,” said Jennifer Merzdorf, the communications director for Purdue’s School of Chemical Engineering. “It created a buzz on campus that day and a lot of positive energy.”

Why the periodic table?

This specific world record is Pol’s brainchild – he is the first person to formally attempt and successfully set this record.

As an instructor of undergraduate chemistry courses, he teaches students about the chemical elements, their properties and how elements come together to form compounds. He wanted to find a unique way to highlight the importance of these chemistry fundamentals and motivate his students to learn more about chemistry and its role in advancing science and technology.

That said, the periodic table of elements is nothing new. The Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev, first designed the periodic table of elements in 1869, nearly 150 years ago. In fact, the American Chemical Society has deemed 2019 the “Year of the Periodic Table” to celebrate this anniversary.

The periodic table is a framework that organizes the chemical elements based on their number of protons, how their electrons are arranged, and their chemical properties. The table can be used to infer relationships between different elements and to understand their chemical attributes.

Vincent Walter (Purdue University)

Although only 63 elements were known at the time, Mendeleev predicted the existence of additional elements based on his organizational scheme. Of the 118 elements known today, only the first 92 elements are actually found in nature. Over time, scientists have created the remaining elements, and the last added element was discovered in 2016.

“I do believe strongly that if our next generation knows this periodic table, that can build their career and eventually make a better world for us,” Pol said. “Why not try to inspire the next generation?”

Pol thought that setting a Guinness World Record with the periodic table of elements just might spark his student’s curiosity.

Getting a rule book

Still, the record took a bit more work than just arranging the elements. To turn his brainchild into a reality, Pol contacted the Guinness Book of World Records with his idea for a new world record. Initially he wanted to set the record for the fastest writing of the periodic table, but the organization suggested an even trickier challenge.

Why not label tiles with the element symbols, jumble them up, and then organize them in the shape of the periodic table from memory?

“It is very tricky,” Pol said. “If you take 118 elements at a time and if you play with all of them together, then it is a big mess in your brain.”

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According to the Guinness World Record organization, for each new, potential record title, they assess and establish a unique set of guidelines that dictate how the record can be attempted. These rules ensure that each record title and attempt is standardized and verifiable.

For Pol’s record, the rules allowed him to arrange his tiles on a standardized grid. His tiles had to be homemade and without the atomic numbers common to commercial products. That would have been a dead giveaway.

The record also had to be completed in less than 10 minutes to qualify as a world record. Oh, and he got only three attempts to get it right and set his best time.

Practice makes perfect

Once the Guinness World Records approved the rules for the record, Pol had only three weeks to prepare for his record attempt. With no time to waste, the professor practiced at least three times a day, with his family, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students acting as timekeepers.

His first attempt left room for improvement, taking him more than 20 minutes. But over the weeks, Pol continued to shave down the minutes.

“Although I thought that three weeks back that I couldn’t do it myself, I continued to do it and tried to push the boundaries,” said Pol, hoping his perseverance and resolve will also be a model for his students. “The key to success is to continue persistently at doing something, and if you want to really do it, you can do it.”

To cut down his time, Pol divided the chemical elements into four different “blocks” — s, p, d, and f — based on how the electrons are arranged. After practicing with each block individually, he started grouping blocks together, slowly adding additional elements over time.

Then, once he got really good, one of Pol’s post doctoral scholars, Palanisamy Manikandan, tried to trick him by hiding elements from him during his practice attempts.

“Everyday we improved a little bit,” said Manikandan, “It took this kind of practice to improve our confidence.”

Vincent Walter (Purdue University)

At the end of the day, though, everything comes backs to Pol’s students. Now that he has set the baseline record, he challenges them to beat his time, and in the process, learn more about chemistry and the periodic table.

“Our human body has only 30 elements…but your smart phone has 75 elements, and that’s why it is smart,” Pol said. “If we know what are the properties of those elements, the next generation of scientists can utilize them and make better devices, better science and technology for us.”

Although Pol is convinced that he could still beat his own record, he thinks it is his student’s turn to make the next attempt.

“I already donated my clock and the whole periodic table that I made to the department because I want students to get motivated,” the Purdue professor said. “But I can make another one to practice if I really want."

Rachel Smith is a 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media and Science Engineering Fellow. She is being hosted by IndyStar and working collaboratively with its environmental reporting team that is made possible through the generous support of the non-profit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.