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The 2012 Guinness World Records has been published and confirms that scientists at The University of Nottingham hold the record for writing the world’s smallest periodic table: http://tiny.cc/smallestperiodictable
They engraved the table on a strand of hair belonging to Green Chemist Professor Martyn Poliakoff. It took the skills of experts in the University’s Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Centre, a beam of accelerated gallium ions and clever imaging to create a table so small that a million of them could be replicated on a typical post-it note.
Professor Poliakoff said: “I am delighted. In my wildest nightmares, I have never imagined being in the Guinness World Records, least of all in connection with my hair! The fact that I am is a tribute to the University’s Nanotechnology Centre.”
Professor Poliakoff is one of the stars of the Periodic Table of Videos: www.periodicvideos.com The world’s tiniest periodic table was presented to him as a birthday present. His contributions to PTOV have turned him and his colleagues into YouTube stars.
Professor Poliakoff is currently on a lecture tour in Australia where his green chemistry and social media work is getting rave reviews in the media. He is travelling with the creator of the Period Table of Videos, Australian, Brady Haran.
Brady said: "We never set out to break a word record, so it's really a pleasant surprise. The main aim of our videos is getting people to think about chemistry. So having our tiny periodic table printed in such a best-seller can only help our cause."
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news