Melting Point
The temperature at which an element turns from solid to liquid at standard pressure.
See melting point colored on the interactive table →Across a period (left → right)
Rises through the early transition metals, then falls sharply toward the nonmetals and noble gases.
Down a group (top → bottom)
Varies by block — generally falls down the main-group metals, but the pattern is less consistent among nonmetals.
Why it happens
Unlike radius or ionization energy, melting point depends on *how* atoms bond to their neighbors in the solid, not just on individual-atom properties — so it doesn't follow one clean rule. Metals in the middle of the transition series (tungsten, rhenium, osmium) have some of the highest melting points of any element because their d-electrons form unusually strong metallic bonds. Molecular nonmetals and noble gases, held together only by weak intermolecular forces, melt at very low temperatures by comparison.
This is the most irregular trend on this page — treat "across a period" and "down a group" here as loose tendencies, not rules.