Reinventing the Table An earth scientist has rejigged the periodic table to make chemistry simpler to teach to students. (46)But Bruce Railsback from the University of Georgia3 says he is the first to create a table that breaks with tradition and shows the ions of each element rather than just the elements themselves. 'I got tired of breaking my arms trying to explain the periodic table to earth students,' he says, criss-crossing his hands in the air and pointing to different bits of a traditional table.(47)But he has added contour lines to charge density, helping to explain which ions react with which. 'Geochemists just want an intuitive sense of what's going on with the elements,' says Albert Galy from the University of Cambridge4,(48). (49)He explains that sulphur, for example, shows up in three different spots -- one for sulphide, which is found in minerals, one for sulphite, and one for sulphate, which is found in sea salt, for instance. He has also included symbols to show which ions are nutrients, and which are common in soil or water.(50).