Periodic table and 3D molecules. Built by hand.

01 / 07Periodic table

All 118 elements, one pinch away.

The full periodic table floats above the scene. Each cell is framed in the colour of its family: alkali metals, halogens, noble gases and the rest.

1. Point at a cell. A card opens with the atomic number, mass, period and group, electrons by shell, the state at room temperature and a short fact.
2. Pinch it. The atom is in your hand: a nucleus with electrons moving along their shells.
3. Drop it in the reactor. Let go inside the ring at the bottom. A quick pinch sends the atom there on its own.

02 / 073D molecules

The right atoms become a real molecule.

Atoms drift in the reactor until their set matches the formula of a substance. Then they snap into its real 3D shape.

1. Real geometry. Bond lengths and angles are computed with RDKit, an open-source chemistry toolkit; the simplest molecules use reference data. A double bond is two sticks, a triple bond three.
2. Proportions count. Four hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms make two molecules of water.
3. Look from every side. Pinch the molecule and turn it. With head-tracked 3D on, the screen becomes a window: move your head to look around the molecule.

03 / 07Crystals and ions

Metals and salts build a lattice.

Not everything is a molecule. Atoms of one metal form a piece of crystal lattice, and table salt and oxides form an ionic lattice.

1. Metals. Iron, copper, gold, sodium and others come together as a crystal fragment. Pale atoms show the neighbours.
2. Ionic lattice. Table salt, potassium chloride, calcium and magnesium oxides: every ion is labelled with its charge, such as Na⁺ and Cl⁻.
3. A small piece. Each crystal is shown as a small fragment, enough to see how its atoms are packed.

04 / 07Isomers

One formula, different substances.

Some formulas hide more than one substance. M2 builds one of them, and the Other variant button switches to the next.

1. C₂H₆O. Ethanol or dimethyl ether.
2. C₄H₁₀. Butane or isobutane.
3. C₆H₁₂O₆. Glucose or fructose.
4. Carbon. Graphite or diamond.

05 / 07Tasks

Find it, build it, tick it off.

A side panel lists all 86 substances in nine groups. Every one you build gets a tick, and your browser remembers it.

1. Take a task. M2 names a substance and you build it yourself. The hint shows its formula.
2. Get unstuck. Until a substance forms, a card shows what you can make from the atoms already in the reactor and which atoms are missing.
3. Or watch it build. Tap a substance in the list and its atoms fly out of their cells and assemble it for you.

06 / 07What's inside

86 substances, from hydrogen to caffeine.

Nine groups, from simple gases to the molecules in a first-aid kit and a kitchen cupboard.

Gases and non-metals

H₂, O₂, ozone O₃, N₂, F₂, Cl₂, Br₂, I₂, sulfur S₈, white phosphorus P₄, He, Ne, Ar

Carbon, silicon, metals

graphite, diamond, silicon, Li, Na, K, Mg, Al, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ag, Au

Water and oxides

H₂O, H₂O₂, CO, CO₂, SO₂, SO₃, NO, NO₂, N₂O, quartz SiO₂, CaO, MgO, Fe₂O₃

Acids

HCl, HF, H₂S, H₂SO₄, HNO₃, H₃PO₄, H₂CO₃

Bases

NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)₂, ammonia NH₃

Salts

NaCl, KCl, NaF, CaCO₃, Na₂CO₃, baking soda NaHCO₃, CuSO₄, CaSO₄, NH₄Cl

Hydrocarbons

methane, ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, ethylene, acetylene, benzene, naphthalene

Alcohols, acids, sugars

methanol, ethanol, dimethyl ether, glycerol, formaldehyde, acetone, formic and acetic acids, glucose, fructose

Molecules of life and home

urea, glycine, lactic acid, vanillin, aspirin, vitamin C, caffeine

07 / 07Questions

Questions and answers.