Disappearing Spoon : And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

English

ISBN: 0316051640

EAN: 9780316051644

Category: Science / Chemistry / General/Science / Chemistry / Physical & Theoretical/

Publisher: Little Brown & Company

Release Date: 07/06/2010

Synopsis: The Periodic Table is one of mans crowning scientific achievements. But its 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 shed 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, its all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON.

Awards: Royal Society Prizes for Science Books (formerly Aventis Prizes for Science Books) – null 

Disappearing Spoon : And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Illustrated: Yes

Format: Hardcover

Height: 1.26 inches

Width: 6.25 inches

Length: 9.63 inches

Weight: 22.12 oz

Pages: 400