The Lost Elements: The Periodic Table's Shadow Side
The Lost Elements: The Periodic Table's Shadow Side collects the most notable of these instances, stretching from the nineteenth century to the present. The book tells the story of how scientists have come to understand elements, by discussing the failed theories and false discoveries that shaped the path of scientific progress. We learn of early chemists' stubborn refusal to disregard alchemy as a legitimate practice, and of one German's supposed discovery of an elemental metal that breathed. As elements began to be created artificially in the twentieth century, we watch the discovery climate shift to favor the physicists, rather than the chemists. Along the way, Fontani, Costa, and Orna introduce us to the key figures in the development of today's periodic table, including Lavoisier and Mendeleev. Featuring a preface from Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann, The Lost Elements is an expansive history of the wrong side of chemical discovery-and reveals how these errors and gaffes have helped shape the table as much as any other form of scientific progress.
The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements
As one of the most recognizable images in science, the periodic table is ingrained in our culture. First drawn up in 1869 by Dmitri Mendeleev, its 118...
Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc
Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from t...
How It Works Book of the Elements
The How It Works Book Of The Elements covers all known elements on the planet in the order in which they appear in the periodic table. From lanthanoid...
Nonmetals (Periodic Table of the Elements)
Materials that are poor conductors of electricity are generally considered nonmetals. One important use of nonmetals is the ability to insulate agains...
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics: Schrodinger Equation And Path Integral
After a consideration of basic quantum mechanics, this introduction aims at a side by side treatment of fundamental applications of the Schröding...