Let us Celebrate “International Year of Periodic Table (IYPT 2019)”

The United Nations has designated 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements(IYPT2019). The year will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Table’s creation by Dmitri Mendeleev.

After the declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry ( IYC 2011) by the United Nations, the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon, in its official capaci t y as t he Nat i o n a l Adhering Organisation for IYC 2011, joined the world community in its celebrations. It was an immense success due to the cooperation of UNESCO and other relevant public and private sector institutions, educational organisations, private sector industrialists and media organisations. The biggest ever Education and Trade Fair conducted by the Institute at BMICH in 2011 brought immense benefits to schoolchildren, chemical industrialist and the general public. As a result of the public demand, the Exhibition was conducted by the Institute in several subsequent years.

Every person learning chemistry is familiar with the Periodic Table of Elements. It is one of the most significant achievements in science and is the key scientific symbol and the map of our knowledge, particularly in chemistry. We need the Periodic Table for scientific research and in scientific communication.

1869 is considered as the year of discovery of the Periodic Classification of Elements ( Periodic System) by the Russian chemist, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev. Mendeleev found that, when all the known chemical elements were arranged in order of increasing atomic weight, the resulting table displayed a recurring pattern or periodicity, of properties within groups of elements.

Dmitri also predicted some properties of uniden- tified elements that were expected to fill gaps within the table. Most of his forecasts proved to be correct. Mendeleev’s idea has been s l owly expanded and refined with the discovery or synthesis of further new elements. The subsequent proof of many of his predictions within his lifetime brought fame to Mendeleev as the founder of the periodic law.

The elements from atomic numbers 1 ( Hydrogen) through 118 ( Oganesson) have been discovered or synthesized, completing seven full rows of the Periodic Table. The first 98 elements occur naturally, though some are found only in trace amounts and a few were discovered in nature only after having first been synthesized. Elements 99 to 118 have only been synthes i zed in laborat o r i e s or nuclear reactors. The synthesis of elements having higher atomic numbers is currently being pursued: these elements would begin an eighth row, and theoretical work has been done to suggest possible candidates for this extension. Numerous synthetic radionuclides of naturally occurring elements have also been produced in laboratories.

The development of the Periodic Table of the Elements is one of the most significant achievements in science and a uniting scientific concept, with broad implications in Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and other natural sciences. The modern periodic table provides a useful framework for analyzing chemical reactions, and continues to be widely used in chemistry, nuclear physics and other sciences. Periodic Table and its understanding had a revolutionary impact on nuclear medicine, the study of chemical elements and compounds in space and the prediction of novel materials.

Year 2019 has been proclaimed the “International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements ( IYPT 2019)” by the United Nations which is 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Periodic System by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. The International Year of the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements will coincide with the Centenary of IUPAC ( IUPAC100). In proclaiming an International Year focusing on the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and its applications, the United Nations has recognised the importance of raising global awareness of how chemistry promotes sustainable development and provides solutions to global challenges in energy, education, agriculture and health. It will bring together many d i f ferent stakeholders including UNESCO, scientific societies and unions, educational and research institutions, technology platforms, non-profit organisations and private sector partners to promote and celebrate the significance of the Periodic Table of Elements and its applications to society during 2019.

The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements will give an opportunity to show how the Periodic Table is central to linking cultural, economic and political aspects of the global society through a common language, while celebrating the genesis and development of the periodic table over the last 150 years. It helps the young minds to continue to be attracted to chemistry and physics in order to ensure the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators in this field.

A.M.Jayasekara Additional Registrar Institute of Chemistry

Ceylon