Periodic Table Staircase

Name: Clifford
Status: student
Grade: 9-12
Location: IA

Question: In the Periodic Table, there is the staircase that separates the
gases from the metals.  What is that staircase called in scientific terms?
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I am not sure it has a "special" name nor a "special scientific function".
There are many representations of the periodic table. One even orders the
elements according to their geological location and properties. These
various representations are not just games. They are intended to emphasize
some property relations of the elements.

Vince Calder
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