It's true! Scientists HAVE written the world's smallest periodic table

(PhysOrg.com) -- 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.

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."