The Disappearing Spoon

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.

ISBN 0552777501   Pages 400 ISBN13 9780552777506 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 283 Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd   Published in London Imprint Black Swan   Height (mm) 198 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 128 Publication date 28 Jul 2011   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY 546   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

 Be the first to write a customer review