The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements / Sam Kean.
The periodic table of the elements is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, obsession, and betrayal. These tales follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and all the elements in the table as they play out their parts in human history. The usual susp...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Back Bay Books,
2011.
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| Edition: | First Back Bay paperback edition. |
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Table of Contents:
- Orientation : column by column, row by row. Geography is destiny ; Near twins and black sheep : the genealogy of elements ; The Galápagos of the periodic table
- Making atoms, breaking atoms. Where atoms come from : "We are all star stuff" ; Elements in time of war ; Completing the table-- with a bang ; Extending the table, expanding the Cold War
- Periodic confusion : the emergence of complexity. From physics to biology ; Poisoner's corridor : "Ouch-ouch" ; Take two elements, call me in the morning ; How elements deceive
- The elements of human character. Political elements ; Elements as money ; Artistic elements ; An element of madness
- Element science today and tomorrow. Chemistry way, way below zero ; Spheres of splendor : the science of bubbles ; Tools of ridiculous precision ; Above (and beyond) the periodic table.