Preface 5
Chapter 1: What's on the Periodic Table? 19
Let's attack the periodic table from both ends! _ Typical elements that are similar vertically, transition elements that are similar horizontally _ The unknown element whose prediction came true _ What is quantum chemistry? _ The probability of electrons surrounding the nucleus _ Electrons fill the orbits from the innermost _ The 'leftover electrons' that determine the properties of elements _ The human body that confuses elements _ Friends of alkali metals _ Cesium and malignant tumors _ Friends of alkaline earth metals _ The dangers of radioactive strontium _ Cell division and cancer _ What is a period? _ The electron garden determines the period.
│One Step Further│Four Principles for Determining Electron Orbits 50

Chapter 2: Unraveling the Universe with the Periodic Table 57
Elements cannot be born on Earth _ High temperatures of over 10 million degrees create elements _ This is how the primitive universe was born _ The most stable element, iron _ Chemical evolution of elements born from supernova explosions _ When does Betelgeuse's celestial show occur? _ The universe is filled with hydrogen
One Step Further: Did a Comet Bring the Light of Life? 75

Chapter 3: The Human Body: Repeating Chemical Reactions 79
Repeated selection and selection for 3.8 billion years _ Precision device made of 4 elements _ Minor elements that make up the body _ Heavy elements are not abundant in the human body _ The useless efforts of alchemists and chemistry _ Why does helium not exist in the human body? _ What is a chemical reaction? _ Why is there only a small amount of beryllium in the universe? _ Even atomic numbers are stable _ We live dependent on elements _ A precious metal that carries oxygen

Chapter 4: What Principles Drive Us? 109
Animals can move thanks to two elements _ Sodium is an unstable metal _ Potassium and radioactive potassium _ What makes ghost poses? _ Elements that are very similar but slightly different _ The element chosen by single-celled organisms _ Salt cravings cause high blood pressure _ Nutrient intake and elements _ Excess potassium intake

Chapter 5: Rare Earth Elements Are Not a Distinction 131
Powerful magnets in rapidly increasing demand _ Rare earths, rare metals, non-metals _ Seventeen rare earth elements _ Why did China take the lead? _ The bottom of the periodic table _ Various forms of the periodic table _ How powerful magnets are made from rare earths
│One Step Further│150 Hidden Features of Cycles 6 and 7

Chapter 6: Beautiful Rare Gases 155
The beautiful orbits of rare gases _ Helium, the excellent gas _ Neon, the well-hidden element _ Pollen allergies and argon _ Krypton and xenon _ Radon and hot springs _ The pitch of the voice is determined by the weight of the gas _ Heliox, which helps professional divers _ Helium is a beautiful spherical shape _ Xenon is an ideal anesthetic

Chapter 7: Toxic Elements 179
Zinc, cadmium, mercury _ Zinc (Zn) _ Cadmium (Cd) _ Mercury (Hg) _ The key is whether they get along well with sulfur _ Human body exposed to mercury _ Light and shadow of detox therapy _ Other typical elements that are toxic _ Rubidium clocks have not been wrong for 100,000 years _ Cesium and standard clocks _ Barium is deadly poison _ Transition elements have similar properties in horizontal lines
Conclusion 209
Search 212

From the universe, stars, the Earth, our bodies, to the tiniest electrons…
“You can read everything with the periodic table.”
If you're not impressed, you don't know how to read the periodic table yet.

“It was different for me, who already had experience learning quantum chemistry.
I still vividly remember looking at the periodic table with a heart that felt like the fog was clearing from my eyes.
To me, who was interested in the elements, (…) a series of evolutionary trends began to appear in the composition ratios of the elements… … ”
_From the text

· Why should we pay attention to both ends of the periodic table?
· Why is the human body made up of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen?
Why does our body mistake cesium for potassium?
· Why do rare earth elements have similar properties?
· What are the characteristics of toxic elements? ·

Why does the periodic table look the way it does? It has prominent vertical columns at each end and horizontal corridors running through the middle.
Takayoshi Yoshida's "Reading the World with the Periodic Table" (original title: How to Read the World with the Periodic Table) is a popular science book that introduces how to read the periodic table and what the periodic table means to us.
It provides a friendly introduction to key strategies for reading the periodic table, such as attacking it from both ends or focusing on electrons left over after filling electron orbitals.


Instead of listing all the elements, this book groups them by their characteristics to help readers grasp the core concepts.
It is characterized by allowing the flat periodic table to be understood in three dimensions because it is explained hierarchically rather than in order of atomic number.
So, as you read through the book, you will not only be amazed by the exquisite laws hidden within the periodic table, but you will also clearly understand how the periodic table is related to the universe, the Earth, and the human body.


So, how should we read the periodic table? The author, who once studied quantum chemistry, says it wasn't until he became a doctor that he finally saw the true nature of the periodic table, "like a fog clearing from my eyes." He introduces several approaches he's discovered.
According to the author, the Schrödinger equation used in quantum chemistry shows the probability of the existence of electrons, and the periodic table is an excellent work that “expresses the conclusions of quantum chemistry without relying on formulas.”


Attack both ends first!

First of all, to effectively understand the periodic table, it is best to attack both ends first.
On the left are Group 1 and Group 2, and on the right are Group 18.
Group 1 consists of elements with one 'valence electron (the electron orbiting the outermost orbit)', Group 2 consists of elements with two 'valence electrons', and Group 18 consists of elements with the outermost orbit completely filled with electrons.
For reference, the general properties of an element are determined by the number of valence electrons, and a vertical line in the periodic table often has similar 'valence electrons'.
The reason we attack from both ends rather than from the left is because the characteristics of the elements lined up vertically become more apparent as you go towards both ends of the periodic table.


For example, cesium and calcium are both group 1 elements with one 'valence electron'.
Our body tends to actively try to absorb potassium, so when cesium is present, the body mistakes it for potassium and absorbs it into the body.
A similar phenomenon occurs between strontium and calcium, which are group 2 elements. Since strontium and calcium both have two valence electrons, our body mistakes strontium for calcium and easily absorbs it into the body.
The problem is that cesium and strontium are harmful elements when they enter our bodies.

In contrast to groups 1 and 2, where valence electrons orbit unstable outermost orbits, the rare gases in group 18 have their outermost orbits completely filled with electrons, making them non-reactive with other atoms.
These gases include helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon.
Because it does not react with other atoms, helium is used in airplanes and balloons, argon is used to treat allergies, and xenon is used as an anesthetic with few side effects.


Once you've explored both ends of the periodic table, the next step is to look at the transition elements, which are lined up horizontally.
Elements from groups 3 to 11 are transition elements, and these transition elements have the characteristic that the properties of the elements are almost similar in the horizontal direction.
So, for these transition elements, we need to look at the elements in the horizontal direction (period) rather than the vertical direction (group).
All transition elements in the 4th period are elements that our body needs in small amounts, and all transition elements in the 5th period are elements that are weakly toxic to the human body.
The transition elements of the sixth period (including the lanthanides) are extremely rare in the universe, and our bodies tend not to need them.

Among the transition elements, the rare earth elements are the transition elements.
Rare earth elements are elements in the 6th period of the 3rd group, and their properties of making magnets stronger have made them essential for making high-tech products.
Because the properties of the seventeen elements, including neodymium and dysprosium, are generally very similar, it is best to understand rare earth elements together.


The human body actively utilizes the properties of elements

Next, it is effective to look at the elements that make up the universe and the human body by composition ratio, because the characteristics and laws of the elements that make up the universe, the Earth, and the human body can be seen at a glance.
Among the characteristics the author discovered were that the human body is composed of elements that make up a large percentage of the elements that make up the universe, that many of the elements that make up the Earth and the human body were created in supernova explosions, and that the elements immediately below the elements that the human body primarily uses are toxic.

In particular, we can find that living organisms actively utilize the properties of sodium and potassium, which are group 1 elements, to transmit nerve impulses or contract muscles.
The phenomenon in which nerves transmit stimuli and muscles contract actively utilizes the phenomenon in which sodium outside the cell moves into the cell and potassium inside the cell moves out of the cell due to a specific signal.
Sodium and potassium are elements that become ionic by losing one electron from their outermost orbit.


In this way, this book is a book that effectively teaches how to read the periodic table, allowing you to feel the greatness of the periodic table, which places elements in the right places.
For those who want to know more deeply, the author also explains in detail the quantum chemical principles that allow us to determine the orbit of an electron using the principal quantum number, azimuthal quantum number, and magnetic quantum number in a separate section ('One Step Further').