The periodic table is traditionally organized by atomic number and electron configuration, producing descriptive trends but not a generative structure. This paper identifies the minimal scientific requirements for a valid classification system and demonstrates that polarity is the only primitive that satisfies all of them. A polarity‑based reorganization of the periodic table is presented, revealing a four‑pole structure—positive, negative, neutral, and zero—that unifies electronegativity, ionization energy, metallic character, and reactivity under a single field principle.
James Reeves (Fri,) studied this question.