User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox

In this section of the CZ:Chemistry style guide article, the use of the Template:Elem Infobox is advocated for use in the main article page of articles devoted to any of the chemical elements listed in the Periodic table of elements. However, neither the chemistry style guide nor the template articles provide any simple, understandable instructions on how to install the Elem Infobox in an article.

Some of the articles about specific chemical elements already have the Elem Infobox template installed in them. However, some have installed the Template:Basic elemental info which is similar but much less desirable because:

• In addition to the infobox, it automatically generates the first three paragraphs of the article's introductory section (also called the "lede") and they are are not editable (i.e., not visible on the article's Edit page).

• It automatically creates hyperlink <ref></ref> references to a website page of the Los Alamos National Laboratory which result in a "Not found" error message. The hyperlink references are also not visible on the article's Edit page and therefore cannot be simply removed.

As stated in the CZ:Chemistry style guide, the Elem Infobox is preferable. It is simpler and it does not automatically generate any non-editable lede paragraphs or any hyperlinks. The author of the article is free to write the lede and to provide any references as he/she desires.

Installing the Elem Infobox

This article provides an explanation how to install the the Elem Infobox at the top right-hand position in the lede of articles devoted to any of the chemical elements.

In the Edit page of any article about a chemical element, copy the Elem Infobox template exactly as shown below and revise the example element name (elName) of Copper to the name of the specific element desired. Don't worry about entering anything else, if you don't know what to enter. Someone knowledgeable will eventually fill in other information or you can ask a Chemistry editor for help.

{{Elem_Infobox
|background1=f2f2f2
|align=right
|elementColor=f5f5f5
|elName=Copper
|eltrnCfg=
|elgroup=
|elperiod=
|elblock=
|no1=
|no2=
|no3=
|no4=
|properties=
|compounds=
|uses=
|hazard=
}}

The Infobox will be displayed on the right-hand side of the article's main page as shown just below, once you have copied the above template into the article's Edit page, revised the element name to the name desired (Gold, for example), and then saved the Edit page.

Gold 196.96655   Au 79 [ ? ] Transition metal:

The Elem Infobox template automatically obtained the information it contains from the Periodic table of elements article.

The large, dark blue letters Au are the chemical symbol of the element. The number 196.96655 in the upper left is the Atomic weight and the number 79 is the Atomic number of that element. The bottom part of the infobox contains a miniature reproduction of the Periodic table of elements and the location of the element within that table is indicated by coloring it black.

See the Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Gold articles as examples of how the Elem Infobox looks when it is filled in with additional information.

A suggested and simple, optional first paragraph for the lede

The following two-sentence paragraph is a suggested and optional, optional first paragraph for the introductory part of the article (i.e., the lede):

Gold is a chemical element having the chemical symbol Au. Its atomic number (the number of protons) is 79 and its standard atomic weight is 196.96655. It is typically found as a solid in its elemental form.

All of the items colored green in the above optional lede should be changed as needed for the specific desired element. Also, look at the edit page of this article to see how to correctly create the blue wiki links in the optional lede.

Following the lede and the infobox, the article text may then be expanded and reformatted in whatever way you wish.