The Disappearing Spoon...and other true tales from the Periodic Table
Sam Kean
Why did Gandhi hate
iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of
cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's
reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold
rush in history?
The periodic table is one of our crowning
scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion,
adventure, betrayal and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon
follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold and every single element on the
table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology,
conflict, the arts, medicine and the lives of the (frequently) mad
scientists who discovered them.
Why did a little lithium (Li, 3)
help cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness? And how did gallium (Ga,
31) become the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Disappearing Spoon
has the answers, fusing science with the classic lore of invention,
investigation, discovery and alchemy, from the big bang through to the
end of time.
iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of
cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's
reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold
rush in history?
The periodic table is one of our crowning
scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion,
adventure, betrayal and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon
follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold and every single element on the
table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology,
conflict, the arts, medicine and the lives of the (frequently) mad
scientists who discovered them.
Why did a little lithium (Li, 3)
help cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness? And how did gallium (Ga,
31) become the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Disappearing Spoon
has the answers, fusing science with the classic lore of invention,
investigation, discovery and alchemy, from the big bang through to the
end of time.
Categories:
Year:
2011
Publisher:
Transworld
Language:
english
ISBN:
B004X0BU8E
File:
MOBI , 1.09 MB
IPFS:
,
english, 2011
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