This is a HyperCard stack which offers an interactive look at the Periodic Table of the Elements. I could go into a lot of detail about that, but it's just better to check out the stack for yourself. Basically you just click on an element and you get a bunch of info on that element. Really. It's very intuitive.
REQUIREMENTS for full color: (all that I know of, anyway)
A Macintosh-compatible computer with:
A mouse
HyperCard 2.1 or later
HyperCard's Color Tools 2.0 stack installed
System 7.0 or later
A color monitor capable of 640 by 480 pixel resolution
4MB of RAM for HyperCard on a 680x0, 8MB for PowerPC (that's Apple's recommendation, not mine)
32-bit color QuickDraw (incl. w/ System 7)
If anyone finds any bugs in this stack, has any questions, or has any suggestions, etc., please feel free to e-mail me at 98clawson@kamsc.k12.mi.us (preferred) or gary.lawson@wmich.edu any time. This product is (for now) shareware. If you like it and use it, send $10 US (cash, U. S. check, or money order only, please) to:
CHRIS LAWSON
2608 STRATHMORE
KALAMAZOO MI 49009
USA
(You can also mail bug reports, suggestions, etc. to this address. Please DO NOT send stamps or foreign checks.)
PLEASE PAY THE SHAREWARE FEE! I'm only an unemployed high school student and besides really needing the money, I need INCENTIVE to produce future (and better) updates. If $10 seems too steep, then send what you feel is appropriate. (But then again, if you like this MORE than $10 worth, don't feel limited! :-))
If you want multiple copies, the following payment stucture applies (no exceptions):
Copies 1-10: $10 each
Copies 11-20: $8 each
All additional copies: $5 each
NOTE: when opening the stack for the first time, click immediately on the help icon in the window's upper corner to see how to use the stack. It's pretty intuitive, but just in case you get stuck . . .
Also, be patient when returning to the initial card you see when the stack opens. There's a lot of stuff to draw there and the computer may take a minute. I wrote this on a Power Mac and even on my machine it takes about 5-10 seconds for HyperCard to redraw all the color on the first card. On slower Macs, there will be even more of a slowdown, so be patient with all the cards! Sorry, but I haven't figured out a way to speed up the Color Tools.
If anyone wants to include this on a CD-ROM or disk of shareware/freeware or as part of a shareware/freeware collection, I only ask that you e-mail me (see above) to ask about it and let me know, etc. and that you snail mail me a copy of the CD-ROM, disk, or collection at the above address. Anyone with FTP access to some of the better shareware sites (U of AZ Bookstore, etc.) that I can't upload to should feel free to upload it and then contact me to let me know.
Incidentally, if anyone knows of a ResEdit hack to override that stupid HyperCard stack icon (short of making a custom Finder icon), PLEASE let me know.
Also, I've had some questions about a PC/Windoze port of this stack. As Apple doesn't make any converter, I can't do it easily. However, I do know of a way that I can have it done, but it's going to cost me a lot of money (about $300-500) and a lot of time. If enough people are interested and send me e-mail and/or the shareware fee AHEAD OF TIME with the promise that the software will get to them (really, I will), I will port this to Windoze.
Just to let you know, BD Software endorses products made by the following companies:
Apple Computer, Inc. (Get a Mac. They rule. But then again, if you're reading this, you probably already know that.)
SyQuest Technology, Inc. (Buy an EZ 135. They really rock.)
Texas Instruments (TI graphing calculators are the best for the money. What can I say?)
Netscape Communications Corp. (No, MIE is NOT as good, and all you faculty, staff, and students can use Netscape for free anyway.)
Add information on crystal structure, atomic radius, ionization energy, electrical conductivity, electronic structure, etc.
Find (or record) some better music
Add a picture of each element to the cards
Change Density field to Specific Gravity and recalculate
Version 2.2:
Added search capabilities for name, density, atomic number, atomic weight, year of discovery, and discoverer
Added an EASTER EGG to the stack (Have fun SEARCHING!)
Added balloon help (Well, sort of. No balloons, but less annoying and easier to turn off) to all cards (thanks a bunch to Kevin Calhoun for the help on this one)
Finished changing all the "return to table" cursors from the hand to a watch
Added a couple "To Table" buttons where they should have been in the first place (thanks to Steve Wilson for pointing that one out)
Un-disposed of menus and added a "Periodic Table" menu with the same functions as the corresponding buttons (thanks to Carl Bäckström for the help there)
Optimized the stack script to compile faster on startup
Version 2.1.2:
Fixed (hopefully!) a reported bug that caused the stack to run in b&w
Version 2.1.1:
Changed the cursor when returning to the Table card from the hand to a watch.
Version 2.1:
Switched to IUPAC group notation
Added more general information about the Periodic Table itself
Made background buttons global for Help, Info, and Home
Disposed of menus
Fixed a bug which caused buttons to be either disabled or missing altogether when certain cards were accessed
Changed Valence field to Oxidation State
Changed music
Fixed the unlocked fields on the Group cards
Re-grouped Lactinides and put La and Ac back in the table where they belonged
Fixed the buttons for groups 3B-6B to actually work.
Version 2.0:
First color release of the Periodic Table
Enlarged card sizes, buttons, and all text
Added group cards
Added Valence field
Recalculated all melting and boiling points and densities
Version 1.x (never officially released, more of an alpha and beta version)
