Substance ID

The Gudersnipe Foundation classifies elements according to their Substance ID, which describes both primary elements and isotopes. The first number refers to the number or protons, while the second is the number of neutrons.

So, the Substance ID of hydrogen would be:

• Substance 1

Deuterium would be:

• Substance 1/1

Tritium would be:

• Substance 1/3

In cases where the second number is omitted, it generally refers to either the most stable or the most common isotope. So, saying "Substance one" would generally be interpreted as Hydrogen.

The standard periodic table is still widely used, and even the Foundation employs it when it comes to the standard or naturally occuring elements. Substance IDs are mainly employed when it comes to artificially produced super-heavy elements, such as transuranics. With the technology to custom-build atoms in any configuration, it was decided to stop adding elements to the universally recognized perodic table. At one point, the Foundation's periodic table included 990 elements with a variety of increasingly ridiculous names. Having long since run out of unique 2-letter combinations, and dealing with a rash of cheeky Gudersnipe School students building and naming elements for fun, the Foundation elected to "trim the fat".

Therefore, the Foundation now recognizes 120 elements, while the Substance ID list has grown exponentially.