A block of the periodic table of elements is a set of adjacent groups. The respective highest-energy electrons in each element in a block belong to the same atomic orbital type. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital; thus, the blocks are:
g-block (no elements belonging to the g-block have been observed)
The block names (s, p, d, f, g, h,...) are derived from the quality of the spectroscopic lines of the associated atomic orbitals: sharp, principal, diffuse and fundamental, the rest being named in alphabetical order.
