The elements on Google

Tom Lehrer is a singer-songwriter and mathematician who became well-known in the 1950s and 60s for writing off-the-wall smart songs. This little animation uses one of his well-known songs in which he sings the names of the elements on the periodic table. The tune is the “Major-General’s Song” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s light opera, Pirates of Penzance. Screen shots from Google illustrate the song, making it fun to watch, and at the same time, showing how useful Google is as a research tool.