Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements

Product Information

is speculated to have originated from the meteorites instead of a volcanic eruption. Richard Ford discovered that by varying the amount of coal or coke added to the ore, one could produce iron which was brittle or tough. William Ramsay, the professor of chemistry at University College London, discovered five of the inert gases. Furthermore, the book is also primarily written for a Western audience, and the history of science that is told is almost entirely European/American centered. Again, due to the scope of the project, this is understandable. Yet, there’s not much new in terms of content. 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. Rather, it is a textbook work of popular science, which retells history and scientific discoveries in an accessible and engaging way. 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. Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements/A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc

Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from

When Pierre-Louis Dulong first made the highly explosive liquid nitrogen trichloride, it cost him and eye and three fingers. Whenand his calculations boiled down to 6 mg per tonne of seawater. At this level, the total reserve of gold in the world's oceans

Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams | Waterstones

Wollaston was a precise and self-controlled man. He could write on glass with a diamond with the script being so small that

N=81) е описано в книгата на Агата Кристи "Сивият кон", чиято популярност води до разкриване на истински случаи на отравяне - някои поради рискови условия на труд, но други като опит за убийство. Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9866 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-2000287 Openlibrary_edition Also interesting were the seemingly universal reactions to certain elements - disgust at the “yellow vomit of light” in sodium (mostly in street lamps), respect for the “purity” of silver, awe at the “immortality” of gold, and so on. I also liked the historical examples of thallium and arsenic securing their place in the world as dangerous poisons used by stealthy murderers.

Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements eBook Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements eBook

urn:lcp:periodictalescul00alde_0:epub:bf0ba959-4fdc-4ca1-9259-54f2e8e65f20 Extramarc University of Alberta Libraries Foldoutcount 0 Identifier periodictalescul00alde_0 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3kw93m8f Invoice 1213 Isbn 9780061824722 Louis Catrier changed the rules of high-society jewellery by using platinum as it was hard as opposed to gold and silver But you also have historical stories of the elements. However rather than just dry stories of their discovery and who made them there are also side stories about how they were used or even how they became famous and had their 15minutes of fame (from St Pauls cathedral to Napoleons death).

If you really want to get ahead, Eliot Rintoul has created a series of free lessons on A level topics. I would’t suggest you watch too many as you may find them confusing, but if you want to get ahead on how we develop atomic structure, which is one of the first topics in year 12, then try watching that one

Periodic Tales - Hugh Aldersey-Williams - Google Books Periodic Tales - Hugh Aldersey-Williams - Google Books

Grāmatas pamatā ir ķīmisko elementu periodiskā tabula. Autors lasītājam pavēsta zināmu un ne tik zināmo elementu vēsturi. Savulaik jau cilvēki pazina tikai dažus elementus -zeltu, dzelzi, alvu, sēru, dzīvsudrabu, varu. Pārējie elementi bija pazīstami tikai savienojumu veidā. Ķīmijas pirmsākumi noteikti meklējami alķīmijā, cilvēku centienos jebkuru vielu pārvērst zeltā. Katra jauna elementa atklāšana radīja pavērsienu cilvēces attīstības vēsturē. Mākslinieki meklēja veidus, kā šo novitāti iekļaut savos darbos, jaunie elementi kļuva par modes simboliem un beigu beigās par sacensību elementu, lai noteiktu, kura sabiedriskā iekārta ir pārāka – komunisms vai kapitālisms. Dažādas ražošanas nozares savukārt iekļāva jaunos elementus savos ražojumos. Nekas nedod skaistāku zaļo krāsu par arsēnu, un hlors ir tīri labs pamats ķīmisko ieroču ražošanai.

Penguin, 2011

It’s easy to see how an element like gold was appreciated and has many historical uses. It doesn’t tarnish, can be used as currency and is desirable purely as ornament. What to do with neon though? It is a relative late-comer to the table, isolated in 1898. Eventually in the 1940s, 50s and 60s it had a glorious life. Viva Las Vegas! Alas it is expensive, found largely in unpleasant places and in short supply today. surface when it is exposed to the air. Marine phosphorescence occurs when enzymes trigger chemical reactions in bioluminescent bacteria but does not involve phosphorous directly. The book is organized by rough, anthropological categories. Rather than giving a chronological retelling of the elements (either historically or by atomic number), Aldersey-Williams organizes them by their cultural significance. For example, in the first section, titled “Power,” Aldersey-Williams focuses on elements that have been utilized to amass wealth (such as gold, silver, etc) and exert control over other people (iron, carbon, plutonium). He continues organizing the elements by cultural significance, with subsequent sections titled, “Fire,” “Craft,” “Beauty,” and “Earth.” By reclassifying the elements in this way, Aldersey-Williams hopes to shift our perspective on the elements, seeing them as imbued with cultural significance as a result of their physical properties. As such, Aldersey-Williams wants us to see that the elements are not just the property of chemistry labs; rather, “they are the property of us all” (12). I remember while taking a chemistry class not too long ago that though the nitty gritty details were sometimes daunting, boring, or downright frustrating, it was always the stories about the elements or their discoverers that helped put everything in context, making it a richer learning experience. Seeing as how the history behind the elements wasn't the point of taking the chemistry class I sought out books that would help fill the gap. The discovery of elements (the famous table is longer than it was when I took chemistry), the scientists and properties and uses are discussed. You’ll read some great stories. There was a time when arts and sciences were closer. Alchemy became just too fanciful for science. When the Enlightenment era came along leading scientists, artists and poets could all sit down and appreciate each other’s work. Difficult to imagine today.