Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements

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It’s strange to read the other reviews on this book - because they seem to vary so much on the level of knowledge required to enjoy this read. The first is that of the story of him deciding to create his own collection of elements from periodic table, now some are incredibly easy to source others are near on impossible. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second. The smokescreen that phosphorus produces remains moral as well as literal," notes Aldersey-Williams.

Periodic Tales The Curious Lives of the Elements - NHBS Periodic Tales The Curious Lives of the Elements - NHBS

Aside from the introduction of the cultural perspective of the elements (which is not explored with any theoretical or critical depth), this book is not breaking any new ground. One person can't assess the cultural significance of neon lights, the treasure of the Incas, water fluoridation and the work of Agatha Christie among many, many other things, and it's sort of ridiculous to try. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colourful pasts, "Periodic Tales" is a voyage of wonder and discovery, showing that their stories are our stories, and their lives are inextricable from our own. I would recommend this book to people who wants to grow up to be some type of scientist, people who's great in science, or people who really want to learn more about the elements.Swedish rock -- Europium union -- Auerlicht -- Gadolin and Smarksy, everymen of the elements -- Ytterby Gruva. Some of the connections to themes such as “power” and “beauty” are a bit tenuous at times, lending to a rather haphazard structure.

Periodic Tales | Financial Times Periodic Tales | Financial Times

His ingots — worth a dozen times more than silver — were admired at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1855 by Emperor Napoleon III of France, who offered financial support to Deville. Aluminium, for example, was first named aluminum by Humphry Davy, who repeatedly tried to isolate it from its oxide, alumina.Book Review: Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc by Hugh Aldersey-Williams".

Periodic Tales - Wikipedia

In 1855, a French chemist, Henri Sainte-Claire Deville, managed to extract the metal by heating anhydrous aluminium chloride with sodium. For those of us with an affection for literary treasure-hunting, it is time to pick up some of the glowing tablets suspended in the air. Physicists then started bombarding existing elements with high-energy particles to create synthetic ones. The combinations of elements into molecules, then compounds, and then possibly into living organisms is endlessly variable and oh, so fascinating.Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon was published last November, both books giving similar treatment to the periodic table of elements. In brief, I'm just going to say that he manages quite well to work in some of the more obscure, lesser known elements along with the big names successfully, though there's not much one can do with some of the modern, synthetic ones produced in a lab.

Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements (PDF) Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements (PDF)

While some elements are consistent in their history (gold signifying value, iron offering strength and stability, etc), others have a more checkered history (such as mercury’s transition from potential cure to poison). Forced to choose one or the other at school and university, I chose the latter, gaining an MA in natural sciences from Cambridge. Elegant Solutions: Ten Beautiful Experiments in Chemistry is accessible to all readers, including those without a scientific background and can provide an unusual point of entry into some of the basic concepts of chemistry. The authors of these two books make much of this story in their peregrinations through the periodic table while also waxing lyrical about the Nobel prize's constituent metal.

Organizing the elements, the fundamental building blocks of the universe, into a readily accessible and understandable format has been a revolutionary development in the history of science, allowing chemists and physicists to make enormous leaps and bounds in discovering new elements. org, please contact us first for permission and consult our permission guidance prior to making your request. Periodic Tales Penguin, 2011 ‘Science writing at its best fascinating and beautiful if only chemistry had been like this at school to meander through the periodic table with him . Tā kā šāda tipa grāmatas es jau pāris esmu izlasījis, man grāmata lielāko devumu sniedza mākslas un kultūras vēstures kontekstā. It is through this cultural life rather than through experimental encounter in a laboratory that we really come to know the elements individually, and it is a cause for sadness that most chemistry teaching does so little to acknowledge this rich existence.