Period 2 element inert. It is one of the so-called "noble gases". Neon is a trace component of the atmosphere without any biological role. Period 2 element A period 2 element is one of the chemical elements in the second row (or period) of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases; a new row is started when chemical behavior begins to repeat, creating columns of elements with similar properties. The second period contains the elements lithium, beryllium, boron,
History of the periodic table known as isotopes, from the Greek "" ("same place"). In 1914, a year before he was killed in action at Gallipoli, the English physicist Henry Moseley found a relationship between the X-ray wavelength of an element and its atomic number. He was then able to re-sequence the periodic table by nuclear charge, rather than by atomic weight. Before this discovery, atomic numbers were sequential numbers based on an element's atomic weight. Moseley's discovery showed that atomic numbers were in fact based upon experimental measurements. Using information about their X-ray wavelengths, Moseley placed argon (with an atomic number Z=18) before potassium