World's Tiniest Periodic Table of Elements Engraved on Human Hair

The 2012 Guinness World Records confirms that this hair holds the record for worlds smallest periodic table. (The University of Nottingham)

NOTTINGHAM, England – British scientists were celebrating Monday after breaking the record for writing the world's smallest periodic table -- on a strand of hair.

Scientists at the University of Nottingham, in central England, engraved the table of 118 chemical elements on a strand of hair belonging to Martyn Poliakoff, a chemistry professor at the university.

A team of nanotechnology experts used a beam of accelerated gallium ions to create the tiny table, which is so small that a million of them could be replicated on a typical sticky note.

Guinness World Records officially confirmed the table as the world's smallest.

"I am delighted," Poliakoff said. "In my wildest nightmares, I have never imagined being in the Guinness World Records, least of all in connection with my hair."