Learn how to The Disappearing Spoon
- set item rating to 0.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 5 out of 5.
Add a Comment
Add Tags
Add More
Save to a List
-
Save to a Shared List
Print
Details
- Description
- Full Record
- Author Notes
- Contents
- Excerpts
- Reviews
- Summary
- A\\V Summary
Searching for more content…
The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human
… More »The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON.
« LessCommunity Activity
Quotes
Add a QuoteDonald Glaser - a lowly, thirsty, twenty-five-year-old junior faculty member who frequented bars near the University of Michigan - was staring one night at the bubbles streaming through his lager, and he naturally started thinking particle physics.
Find it at MCL
Loading...
Please keep in mind that some of the content that we make available to you through this application comes from Amazon Web Services. All such content is provided to you "as is". This content and your use of it are subject to change and/or removal at any time.
Comment
Add a CommentFastastic book with intriguing and exciting stories about Science. Very cool.
You don't have to be a science geek to love this book. Easy to read stories about the history of the Periodic Table. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, you'll be amazed!
Well-written, entertaining, chockful of knowledge - applause for Sam Kean!
If you want to learn about the history of the invention of chemistry and physics in a charming and witty way, this is the book for you. Who knew there was so much politics between reseachers and about their idiocyncracies and competition for the Nobel prize. Delightful!
One of the most consistently interesting and entertaining books on the development of this area of science for the general reader - This books relates the explorations (successful and unsuccessful) into defining and discovering the elements to the social and political history of the times - fascinating "back stories" that kept me enthralled. Covers a lot of material, includes enlightening information on many related side issues as well.
A great read, science presented in an accessible way.
Read this book!
This book gives the history of the periodic table and discovery of the elements that are contained within. Author Sam Kean has arranged elements both into their well known groupings, but also into the groups of elements that share a commonalities. Well written, the anecdotal stories of the elements discovery and use help engage the reader in what could be a very boring story.
Need to buy
This is a fascinating study of the periodic table of the elements, its structure, and what makes the elements tick. As the elements are the basic material out of which everything else is made you learn a little about everything reading this book. The book is well-written and is like the entertaining physics class you never had. Highly recommended.