It's Elementary Locationless, Locationless, Locationless
By 2y'stassies on 29-Aug-12. Waypoint GA4563

Most people have come across the Periodic Table in high school science. For many, the encounter would have been brief but for others it is a very familiar organisation of the chemical elements. This locationless cache will revive memories (both positive and negative) as cachers attempt to link vehicle number plates to the elements in The Periodic Table.

There are many variants on the presentation of the Periodic Table. A common depiction is:

To claim a find you must locate a vehicle number plate (regular or personalised) which has the chemical symbol for an element not already logged. The symbol must be stand-alone in the registration number. This means that the symbol must be between non-letter characters (space or digit) or be at the start or end of the registration number with a non-letter character on the other side. For example, to claim a find for the element carbon (C) possible registration numbers could be C 294 EX, 27C384 and C1. The registration numbers WAC 786, 439 CES and D 396 CA would not be accepted for the element carbon (C). On the other hand D 396 CA would be ideal for the element calcium (Ca). 

Each element may only be logged once and each caching team may only log one element. Only elements listed in the above version of the Periodic Table will be accepted. The elements listed are those accepted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 indicated by a "?" have been reported as being synthesised but have yet to meet IUPAC criteria for being recognised officially as a new element.  

An acceptable log for a find will have

• the coordinates where the number plate was observed
• list the chemical element name and symbol for an element not already logged
• contain the make of the vehicle (model not necessary), type (eg sedan, utility, truck, motorbike) and general location (eg carpark in Footscray)
• a photograph of the number plate clearly showing the registration number (GPS is not required because of the situations in which a number plate may be photographed)

If a log is posted which does not meet the above criteria (stand-alone chemical element symbol and the log requirements), the geocacher will be contacted and given the opportunity to rectify any matters. In the unlikely event that the requirements are still not met, the log will be deleted.

To help geocachers ensure that each element is only logged once, the above Periodic Table will be updated regularly. When an element symbol is logged, the element will be "greyed-out" and the date at the top changed. Hence when logging a find, if the chemical symbol is still on a white background, you only need to check logs since the last update.