The periodic table clock exudes a nerdy charm

The periodic table clock exudes a nerdy charm

Arduino Team — March 3, 2023

The periodic table is arguably the most popular symbol of nerd pride. Everyone knows what it is, but few people know it well enough to actually use it. There aren't, for example, many people who can tell you the atomic number of darmstadtium. If you're one of the few nerds who can do this, then Görkem Bozkurt's Periodic Table Clock is for you.

This clock displays the time by illuminating different elements on a translucent periodic table. The blue color corresponds to the hours, the green corresponds to the minutes and the red corresponds to the seconds. So if you see Calcium lit blue, Indium lit green, and Lanthanum lit red, then military time is 20:49:57 (8:49:57 p.m.). If two should share the same item, like when it's 3:10:10, then it will mix the two colors (yellow in this case). If three share the same item, like 2:02:02, it should be obvious because only one item will be lit.

Frame and faceplate are 3D printable. There are different ink printing techniques to create the periodic table overlay, or the user can perform a filament swap technique to 3D print in two colors. Lighting comes from a strip of WS2812B individually addressable RGB LEDs controlled by an Arduino Nano board. It uses a DS1307 RTC module for precise timing. Three push buttons positioned on the frame allow the user to set the current time.