The Chemical Touch: Lite Edition

The Chemical Touch: Lite Edition is essentially a portable periodic table. Designed by Christopher J. Fennell and updated on October 31, 2009, this application is free to download from the iTunes Store. There is a full version that can be bought for $0.99 at the iTunes Store. Since I have not used the full version, I cannot say what the differences are (other than a different icon). I will only describe the features of the Lite Edition of The Chemical Touch.

The Chemical Touch: Lite Edition features a full periodic table, including Lanthanides and Actinides, as well as information about each element. When you click on an element, the white boxes above the periodic table group numbers will show details about that element. The white box on the left will indicate the element's natural state as well as oxidation numbers. The bigger white box will show a larger chemical abbreviation, the full name of the element, its atomic number, and a value. This value can change, depending on what property you are looking at. At the bottom of the screen, below the periodic table, is a row of properties. These properties include:

-mass (in g/mol)
-density (in g/mL)
-melting point (in K)
-boiling point (in K)
-electronegativity
-specific heat (in J/gK)
-standard enthalpy of fusion (in kJ/mol)
-standard enthalpy of vaporization (in kJ/mol)
-atomic radius (in pm)
-covalent radius (in pm)

The property that is selected will be shown on the right of the bigger white box, listed with its units. The value in the big white box will change depending on which property is selected. When a property is selected, the periodic table will be color-coded accordingly. At the bottom right of the screen is a color spectrum. Clicking this spectrum will open up a legend that will explain what the colors correspond to. The color-coded representation of the periodic table gives a good holistic view of how the elements are arranged and can help users discern patterns and reveal relationships between elements.

At the bottom left of the screen, there is a button that links to the Wikipedia entry for the selected element. You need to be connected to the Internet to access Wikipedia.

At the bottom right of the screen, there is an information button that takes you to a page with more information. From this page, you can go back to the periodic table, visit the App Store, or change some settings. You can change the language, font type, and temperature units. This page also has a Credits button that gives some information about the maker of the application.

The latest update includes:

-language support for French and Hungarian
-additional properties: specific heat, covalent radius, standard enthalpy of fusion, standard enthalpy of vaporization
-some bug fixes

This nifty little application will take up less than 1 MB on your iPod device and is highly recommended for anyone, from students just starting to learn chemistry to graduates doing research in a pharmaceutical laboratory. If you are in need of a periodic table and do not want to have to pull out a paper copy of it every time you want to refer to it, then get this application. Whenever you need to look something up, just open up this useful little tool.