Periodic Table of QR codes – QR codes are those little black and white boxes that look like a messed up barcode, which is essentially what they are, 2D barcodes. They’re becoming almost ubiquitous. Every event you attend, every restaurant you pass, almost every site you visit seems to have a QR code. You can embed all kinds of information and even add logos without breaking their functionality. But, best of all you can use them to visit a website with your smartphone by simply aiming its camera at the QR (either on a screen or printed in a shop window, for instance) and up pops the appropriate page.
I’ve added a QR to Sciencebase and re-enabled the QR for Sciencetext. You can thank Brady Haran of PToV fame for inspiring me to do so. He emailed me earlier today to alert me to the Periodic Table of QR Codes. Each QR is basically a link to a video in the PToV from Nottingham Uni’s chemistry department. Point and shoot and up pops the appropriate Youtube clip. Simple. Brilliant. Fun. Ubergeek. Chemical.
Of course, you have to know which element’s QR code you’re pointing your camera at if you want to bring up a specific video, but there’s half the fun and a boon for testing chemistry students. Print off the high-resolution version, post it on the lab wall and let the students give it a try. If you’re using it on screen it works best if you open the original uploaded graphic from Brady.