The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Tab... (Paperback)
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Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?* The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also......more
Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?* The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery--from the Big Bang through the end of time.
*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.
Sam Kean spent years collecting mercury from broken thermometers as a kid, and now he is a writer in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, Air & Space/Smithsonian, and New Scientist. In 2009 he was a runner-up for the National Association of Science Writers' Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for best science writer under the age of thirty. He currently writes for Science and is a 2009-2010 Middlebury Environmental Journalism fellow.
- Author:
- Kean, Sam
- Genre:
- SCIENCE / Chemistry / General
- Audience:
- General/trade
- Edition Detail:
- Reprint
- Format:
- Paperback
- Pages:
- 391
- Language:
- English
- Publisher:
- Back Bay Books
- Publish Date:
- 06/06/2011
- Copyright Year:
- 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780316051637
- Height:
- 8.25 in
- Wdth:
- 5.5 in
- Thickness:
- 1.0 in
- Unit weight:
- 0.8 lb
- 5 Stars 1
- 4 Stars 0
- 3 Stars 0
- 2 Stars 0
- 1 Stars 0
Overall Rating: 5
Most Recent Reviews
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A great read!
This book, The Disappearing Spoon, has proven interesting to the scientist in the family, and made science more accessible to the non-scientist in the family! We first saw this in a bookstore and so we knew it had a fascinating approach to bringing behind-the-scenes information about the elements of the periodic table and the scientists to light. We were happy to find the book available through Overstock.com. And at a nice savings over the bookstore price! Now we are enjoying talking about the book as the scientist in the family reads it.
- How did the image on site compare with the actual product? Accurate
- How accurate was the on site description of the product? Right on target
- Please tell us about the quality of the product. well-made paperback
- Would you recommend this to a friend? Yes
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