Copyright: Billy Klein - Computer Programming


Contents for BK Periodic Library

Welcome to BK Periodic Library online help. We have tried to make the program as intuitive and self explanatory as possible, but if you are stuck, you will probably be able to find the answer you are looking for here.

•	About BK Computer Programming & Copyright Information

•	Licensing And Ordering Information

•	Working With the Table

•	The Element Information Window

•	Searching for Specific Elements

•	Manipulating the Temperature

•	Viewing Periodic Trends


Working With the Table

See Also

The main part of BK Periodic Library is the periodic table - the window you see first when you run the program. Working with the table itself is simple and intuitive. You will notice that as you pass the mouse pointer over the different elements, a small popup window indicates to you the full name of the element which you are currently over. Also, on the left of the status bar (at the bottom of the main window), you will see the number of the element which you are currently passing over, its name, symbol, and its electron configuration (please see the help section about The Element Information Window for more information about the format of the electron configuration).

To select a particular element, simply click on it with the default mouse button. You can also navigate the elements using they keyboard arrow keys, or the Tab key. If you would like more information about an element, you can right-click on it and choose Element Information or, alternatively, you can simply double-click on the element or press Enter on the keyboard. If you would like to find an element, right click on the table and choose Find Element.

In order to change the temperature, you can manipulate the temperature slider on the right side of the toolbar (at the top of the main window). As you move the handle on the temperature slider, you can keep track of what temperature you are currently at by observing the right side of the status bar which is updated as you change the temperature. If you would like more control over how the temperature is changed, right-click on the table and choose Change Temperature.

To change the color configuration of the table, simply right-click on the table and choose Setup Colors. You will be presented with a dialog box which lets you change the background color of the periodic table, and the color of the different phases and properties of the elements. This is particularly useful if you are running Windows with a non-standard palette or color setup and are having trouble distinguishing or viewing certain element properties because of conflicting colors.


The Element Information Window

Searching for Specific Elements

Manipulating the Temperature


The Element Information Window

See Also

The Element Information Window can be displayed by either right-clicking on an element and choosing Element Information, choosing Element Information from the Element Menu, or clicking on the Element Information button on the toolbar which is the second button from the left. You can also bring up this window by double-clicking on the desired element, or simply pressing Enter on they keyboard when the desired element is selected.

The Element Information Window displays all the information about the currently selected element organized by property. The units of a specific property are given beside the value. Note that values with an asterisk next to them (ex. 42*) indicate that the values are only estimates. Also, the electron configuration is not given in the standard format; where regularly a number would be given in superscript, it is here represented by a regular number followed by a comma like so:

Carbon:	1s2,2s2,p2

All of the values listed besides their respective properties are able to be selected (highlighted) with the mouse or keyboard. When the value you want is selected, you can press Ctrl-C on your keyboard to copy what you have selected to the clipboard. Alternately, you can click the Copy All Info button to copy all the information listed to the clipboard. Note that although you can cursor through the different values, you cannot edit them.


Working With the Table


Searching for A Specific Element

See Also

To display the Find Element window, you can either right-click on the table and choose Find Element, select the Find Element… option from the Elements Menu, or click on the Find Element button which is the third button from the left on the toolbar.

The dialog box that you are presented with has three tabs for different search requirements. The first tab lets you search for an element by its name, and the second by its symbol. Simply type in the name, or symbol of the element, or just the first few letters of it, and that element will become selected in the list below the text box. When you click the OK button, or double-click on the element name of choice, the dialog box will disappear and you will be returned to the periodic table where the element you have found will be selected.

The third tab allows you to search for an element by one of its properties. For example, if you were trying to find out which element had a Heat of Fusion between 5.55 and 6.05 kJ/mol. First you would first choose from the list box the property Heat of Fusion. Then you would type 5.55 into the Lower Limit text box, and 6.05 into the Upper Limit text box. When you click the Refresh button, the elements (in this case only one) which meet the criteria are displayed in the list box. You can now double-click on the element, or click on the OK button to return to the periodic table with the found element selected. If, when in the search dialog box, you wish to reset the values to their defaults, simply click on the Reset button and then click Refresh.


Working With the Table


Manipulating the Temperature

See Also

When you first use BK Periodic Library, the temperature is set to 25 degrees Celsius; you can see what the current temperature is by looking at the right side of the status bar (at the bottom of the main window). At a given temperature different elements can be either gaseous, solid or liquid, and this is reflected by the color of the element symbols on the table.

The scroll bar on the right of the tool bar is the temperature slider. You can use it to quickly change the temperature and watch the resulting change in the colors of the element symbols on the periodic table to indicate what phase they are in at the given temperature.

A more precise way to change the temperature is through the Temperature dialog box. You can access this dialog box by either right-clicking on the table and choosing Change Temperature, clicking on the Elements Menu and choosing Set Temperature…, or clicking on the Set Temperature button on the tool bar which is the fourth button from the left. Using this dialog box, you can set the temperature to two decimal places in your choice of Kelvin, Celsius or Fahrenheit by choosing the desired tab, typing in the desired temperature, and clicking the OK button, or pressing Enter on the keyboard.

If you wish to convert between temperature units, simply click the tab whose unit you already know the temperature in, type in the temperature, and then click the tab of the unit you desire. The temperature you just typed in will be converted automatically and displayed in the new tabs text box.


Working With the Table


Viewing Periodic Trends

See Also

There are two ways to view periodic trends in BK Periodic Library. The first is by selecting the property you wish to view the trend of from the Trends Menu. Upon doing so, the elements on the table will reflect the propertys trend by adjusting their height. For instance, if you choose the property Atomic Weight, where the trend is that the Atomic Weight goes up as the atomic number increases, the perceived height of the element number 1 (Hydrogen) will be at the lowest level, while the perceived height of Meitnerium (number 109) will be much higher - the highest of all the elements.

For a more in depth look at periodic trends, you can graph them. To bring up the graphing module you can either choose Graph Trends choice from the Trends Menu, or click on the Graph Trends button which is the fifth button from the left on the tool bar. In the Trend Graph window you are presented with a graph representation of a periodic trend with the element numbers going from lowest to highest on the x-axis and the value of the chosen property on the y-axis. By observing the visual patterns created by the specified property (which can be selected in the Property Menu or by right clicking), periodic trends are revealed.

As the mouse pointer is passed over the graph, the right portion of the status bar (at the bottom of the window) reflects which element is at that point. If you wish to have a more direct view of the actual element positions, you can select the Show Element Positions choice under the Properties Menu or by right-clicking and choosing that option. Doing so will place a small green circle around the positions where elements exist on the graph.

When the mouse pointer is over the desired element, you can get more information about that element by either double-clicking, or right-clicking and choosing Element Information. Upon doing so, the Trend Graph window will retreat behind the main and element information window (or minimize if its always on top property has been checked) so as not to obscure your view, and you will be presented with the periodic table with the element you chose selected.


Working With the Table


About BK Computer Programming & Copyright Information

BK Periodic Library was designed and created by Bill Klein Computer Programming.

Copyright © 1996 Bill Klein.

All rights reserved.

You have the right to use this program freely and on an unlimited basis if you are a student, and are using it on a non-public computer. If you do not fit this criteria, see Licensing And Ordering Information.

You have a right to redistribute this program as long as all the files originally included with it are also included in the redistribution. You may not charge specifically for this program without permission from the author, although a general shareware distribution charge may be applied to it if it is not specific to this program.

Unauthorized use, duplication, or distribution is strictly prohibited by law.

Bill Klein - <bklein@total.net>

7907 Wavell Rd.

Cote St. Luc

Quebec, Canada

H4W-1M1


Licensing And Ordering Information

You have the right to use this program freely and on an unlimited basis if you are a student, and are using it on a non-public computer.

If you do not fit into this category, the price for using BK Periodic Library, after a 30 day trial period, is $30.00 US per computer on which it will be accessible. Upon payment, you will be sent a personalized copy of the latest version of BK Periodic Library (both 16bit and 32bit versions). You will also have updates and new versions sent to you free of charge for one year after your initial purchase.

Please send a check or money order to:

Bill Klein

7907 Wavell Rd.

Cote St. Luc

Quebec, Canada

H4W-1M1