What do you think?
Rate this book
The Periodic Table: A Field 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 elements make up not only everything on our planet but also everything in the entire universe.
The Periodic Table looks at the fascinating story and surprising uses of each of those elements, whether solid, liquid or gas. From the little-known uses of gold in medicine to the development of the hydrogen bomb, each entry is accompanied by technical data (category, atomic number, weight, boiling point) presented in easy-to-read headers, and a colour-coding system that helps the reader to navigate through the different groups of elements.
A remarkable display of thought-provoking science and beautiful photography, this guide will allow the reader to discover the world afresh.
The Periodic Table looks at the fascinating story and surprising uses of each of those elements, whether solid, liquid or gas. From the little-known uses of gold in medicine to the development of the hydrogen bomb, each entry is accompanied by technical data (category, atomic number, weight, boiling point) presented in easy-to-read headers, and a colour-coding system that helps the reader to navigate through the different groups of elements.
A remarkable display of thought-provoking science and beautiful photography, this guide will allow the reader to discover the world afresh.
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
186 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
June 24, 2020
If you have five spare minutes this is a nice book to pick up if you wanted to read some facts about any element you might be interested in. Or simply opening up on a random page and reading whatever it opens on. Nicely presented.
It’s not something you’d read for hours on end, but rather, here and there for a few minutes (or elements) at a time.
It’s not something you’d read for hours on end, but rather, here and there for a few minutes (or elements) at a time.
Read
December 30, 2020Not the kind of book you read cover to cover, but that was exactly what I did.
It's all there is. Frozen energy with different flavours, like ice cream, making up ALL there is*. HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO READ MORE!
*Yes, there are other things, but come on, it is a lot of the world we directly experience.
Pages and pages on each element, who discovered it (or best guesses), its properties, and its uses throughout history.
You get into a rhythm. Each Period is like a family. Dinner with the Alkalis always ends up with someone yelling at the dinner table. Then you watch paint dry as you have tea with the Noble gases.
Each Class feels like a generation. First and second Classes of all the families in the neighbourhood? They are like the old photos of your great grand-parents, no one smiling. Respectable Oxygen bothering everyone with good intentions. Florine has a temper, sure, but still, he'll sit still for the camera all the same.
Fast-forward a few Classes and the kids are doing speedballs after school. They have all that extra atomic mass, and the neutron stuffed isotopes, multiple valances of electrons--geez that's a lot of energy. They are getting UNHINGED and WEIRD. 4th and 5th generations of the families? Chill out, everyone! Are your parents even home? Is that Caesium, old aunt Sodium's nephew, on the diving board? Dude, get away from the pool- Nooooo!
Ah, this book was great. Though I may be indirectly rating the elements more than the book, which I think is okay? Will everyone experience the book this way? Proton poetry in motion set to the tune of a TV-sitcom? No? Fine, but it's your loss.
What made me so curious? I came for the lanthanides (the magnetic weirdos) and actinides (the atomic weirdos) but I stayed for the common elements. They are far more fascinating than I ever had any idea. Potassium in our bodies is incredible. Mercury- Dang, we made some bad choices with limited information on that one.
Anyways. The table goes on and on.
It was extremely satisfying reading. The author certainly recognized that there is a risk of getting repetitious/boring, so he would mix in history, culture, and editorial tones. Sentences like "...but now back to the poisonings" were Parsons style and he really relished the discovery of golden cod-pieces in tombs. These are the sentences you can look forward to inside this book. And boiling points, neutrinos from radioactive decay, sure, all that but like, okay, okay, how about this!
Here are just some of my random notes while reading.
YTTRIUM has a radioactive isotope that easily bonds to parts of white blood cells. As the white cells seek out cancer cells, Y-90 atoms are carried along for the ride, then hangout next to the cancer for awhile, killing the cancer in life-saving super targeted treatment.
NEPTUNIUM is a rare material almost never found anywhere in the natural world BUT It is briefly in existence in your home right now! As the artificially produced Americium in your smoke-detector is radioactively decaying, random neutron events will produce single clusters of this trans-uranium metal ever so briefly. We are talking actual alchemy, the change of one element to another, quietly occurring in your smoke-detectors right now. No big deal? It's a big deal! But, safe, so don't worry at all. Just cool.
TERBIUM! discovered in 1843, it can make an alloy with crazy properties! An alloy of terbium, dysprosium and iron lengthens and shortens in a magnetic field with a special property called magnetorestrictivity. The way the atoms respond, they actually stretch outward in a very immediate, responsive manner. On tiptoes, pulsing to magnets and electricity. They will get longer or shorter at a molecular level!
So what? You can make a speaker that will vibrate directly into the atoms of the thing next to it. Something called a SoundBug speaker was invented because of this! Want an entire flat table to vibrate with the sound of WOOD to your favourite Van Halen track? Each material has its own 'sound' so experiment around the home. Who needs air to vibrate! Vibrate the thing! Put a Terbium speaker on the door of an unsuspecting neighbour and their entrance becomes a rock concert. It is SO GOOD that I do not own one of these speakers.
IRIDIUM is very rare on Earth, very common on comets. Understanding this provided strong evidence for the theory of why the dinosaurs died, because there is this iridium sediment all over the world at a very specific period of time. It's like a who-dunnit but it is a really coldcase. Solved! Well, theorized until proven otherwise!
URANIUM is...well. Fiestaware. Fiestaware. What a choice. Radio-active dinner plates painted with Uranium Oxide. Just sitting on your table for decades.
Scientific discovery and the freedom for science to give us undesirable news is so important. Otherwise you are going to get Fiestaware over and over again.
It's all there is. Frozen energy with different flavours, like ice cream, making up ALL there is*. HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO READ MORE!
*Yes, there are other things, but come on, it is a lot of the world we directly experience.
Pages and pages on each element, who discovered it (or best guesses), its properties, and its uses throughout history.
You get into a rhythm. Each Period is like a family. Dinner with the Alkalis always ends up with someone yelling at the dinner table. Then you watch paint dry as you have tea with the Noble gases.
Each Class feels like a generation. First and second Classes of all the families in the neighbourhood? They are like the old photos of your great grand-parents, no one smiling. Respectable Oxygen bothering everyone with good intentions. Florine has a temper, sure, but still, he'll sit still for the camera all the same.
Fast-forward a few Classes and the kids are doing speedballs after school. They have all that extra atomic mass, and the neutron stuffed isotopes, multiple valances of electrons--geez that's a lot of energy. They are getting UNHINGED and WEIRD. 4th and 5th generations of the families? Chill out, everyone! Are your parents even home? Is that Caesium, old aunt Sodium's nephew, on the diving board? Dude, get away from the pool- Nooooo!
Ah, this book was great. Though I may be indirectly rating the elements more than the book, which I think is okay? Will everyone experience the book this way? Proton poetry in motion set to the tune of a TV-sitcom? No? Fine, but it's your loss.
What made me so curious? I came for the lanthanides (the magnetic weirdos) and actinides (the atomic weirdos) but I stayed for the common elements. They are far more fascinating than I ever had any idea. Potassium in our bodies is incredible. Mercury- Dang, we made some bad choices with limited information on that one.
Anyways. The table goes on and on.
It was extremely satisfying reading. The author certainly recognized that there is a risk of getting repetitious/boring, so he would mix in history, culture, and editorial tones. Sentences like "...but now back to the poisonings" were Parsons style and he really relished the discovery of golden cod-pieces in tombs. These are the sentences you can look forward to inside this book. And boiling points, neutrinos from radioactive decay, sure, all that but like, okay, okay, how about this!
Here are just some of my random notes while reading.
YTTRIUM has a radioactive isotope that easily bonds to parts of white blood cells. As the white cells seek out cancer cells, Y-90 atoms are carried along for the ride, then hangout next to the cancer for awhile, killing the cancer in life-saving super targeted treatment.
NEPTUNIUM is a rare material almost never found anywhere in the natural world BUT It is briefly in existence in your home right now! As the artificially produced Americium in your smoke-detector is radioactively decaying, random neutron events will produce single clusters of this trans-uranium metal ever so briefly. We are talking actual alchemy, the change of one element to another, quietly occurring in your smoke-detectors right now. No big deal? It's a big deal! But, safe, so don't worry at all. Just cool.
TERBIUM! discovered in 1843, it can make an alloy with crazy properties! An alloy of terbium, dysprosium and iron lengthens and shortens in a magnetic field with a special property called magnetorestrictivity. The way the atoms respond, they actually stretch outward in a very immediate, responsive manner. On tiptoes, pulsing to magnets and electricity. They will get longer or shorter at a molecular level!
So what? You can make a speaker that will vibrate directly into the atoms of the thing next to it. Something called a SoundBug speaker was invented because of this! Want an entire flat table to vibrate with the sound of WOOD to your favourite Van Halen track? Each material has its own 'sound' so experiment around the home. Who needs air to vibrate! Vibrate the thing! Put a Terbium speaker on the door of an unsuspecting neighbour and their entrance becomes a rock concert. It is SO GOOD that I do not own one of these speakers.
IRIDIUM is very rare on Earth, very common on comets. Understanding this provided strong evidence for the theory of why the dinosaurs died, because there is this iridium sediment all over the world at a very specific period of time. It's like a who-dunnit but it is a really coldcase. Solved! Well, theorized until proven otherwise!
URANIUM is...well. Fiestaware. Fiestaware. What a choice. Radio-active dinner plates painted with Uranium Oxide. Just sitting on your table for decades.
Scientific discovery and the freedom for science to give us undesirable news is so important. Otherwise you are going to get Fiestaware over and over again.
August 25, 2024
I realized as I was putting together some book lists for my various liaison departments at work that chemistry is one of my weak areas. This was originally published in 2013, so there are almost certainly details that are out-of-date, but I was drawn to the "visual guide" aspect in the title (pictures make the nonfiction go down easier) so I decided to give this a shot.
This book covers each of the 118 known elements, including a page or two for almost all of them. Each element gets a picture or two (either of the element in its pure form, when possible, or of something related to the element), basic information about it (melting point, boiling point, crystal structure, color, phase, etc.), and a text section detailing how/when the element was discovered, what its properties are, what its commercial and medical uses are (if any), how common it is, etc.
This isn't meant to be read from cover to cover, although that's essentially what I did. I used it as bedtime reading material, getting through a few elements each night. It could be a bit repetitive, especially near the end, so I occasionally skimmed info that was the same from one element to the next. For me, the most interesting parts were the properties of the elements and their applications.
The slightly dated aspects of the book were most noticeable when sections mentioned how much of the element was estimated to be available on Earth - in some cases, the projected dates when supply might not be able to meet demand turned out to be either now or the recent past, so I occasionally found myself wondering what an updated version of the text might say. I wasn't generally curious enough to go looking up the information myself, though.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This book covers each of the 118 known elements, including a page or two for almost all of them. Each element gets a picture or two (either of the element in its pure form, when possible, or of something related to the element), basic information about it (melting point, boiling point, crystal structure, color, phase, etc.), and a text section detailing how/when the element was discovered, what its properties are, what its commercial and medical uses are (if any), how common it is, etc.
This isn't meant to be read from cover to cover, although that's essentially what I did. I used it as bedtime reading material, getting through a few elements each night. It could be a bit repetitive, especially near the end, so I occasionally skimmed info that was the same from one element to the next. For me, the most interesting parts were the properties of the elements and their applications.
The slightly dated aspects of the book were most noticeable when sections mentioned how much of the element was estimated to be available on Earth - in some cases, the projected dates when supply might not be able to meet demand turned out to be either now or the recent past, so I occasionally found myself wondering what an updated version of the text might say. I wasn't generally curious enough to go looking up the information myself, though.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
June 12, 2025
This was a long-term read that I dipped in and out of occasionally, and it felt like I was revisiting old friends (as uncool as this makes me sound), or sitting down for an assembly where everybody in the school starts dropping lore (as uncool as this makes me sound), if the school is the universe and your schoolmates the elements (as cool as this makes me sound).
What?!
Ok, seven memorable highlights:
1. Terfenol-D, an alloy of Terbium, Dysprosium and Iron, has the largest magnetostrictive force known, meaning it changes its dimensions in response to a magnetic field.
2. Glass doped with Praseodymium SLOWS DOWN the speed of light to just a few hundred kilometres per second!
3. Also, Praseodymium is magnetocaloric, meaning its temperature is lowered by a magnetic field.
I kept thinking "this magic system is so cool" before remembering that this is not a fictional magic system. THIS IS REALITY!!
4. Cerium is Pyrophoric (Sometimes it's just the words that I love), meaning it ignites spontaneously on exposure to air.
5. The Europium anomaly. Check it out on Wikipedia. Europium is the weird kid who just embraces who he is until everybody gets on board with it.
6. The Oddo-Harkins rule: aptly named rule that states that elements with even atomic numbers are more abundant than immediately adjacent elements with odd atomic numbers. I love that this hints at some more fundamental quantum mechanics going on, plus the inherent nominative determinism involved in Giuseppe Oddo being the first to report this rule in 1914. He must have scooped Isabella Evenno and just deleted her from history.
7. Do you know what a Radiendocrinator is? Bloody hell, I almost wish I didn't. A little flat case of radium which you could wrap in an "athletic strap" in order to hold the radium close to your scrotum (or head, neck, back, and I assume almost anywhere else on the body) to get that healthful radium dosage. Most likely featured in a QI episode at some point.
Amongst all the amazing and wonderful discoveries of new elements in the last 300 years, often found for the first time in a shiny, strange-looking new ore, and the misunderstanding of radioactive elements (associated with the many sacrifices of scientists of the time, Marie Curie included), I'm not surprised how many magical superheroes were born in the first half of the 20th century.
What?!
Ok, seven memorable highlights:
1. Terfenol-D, an alloy of Terbium, Dysprosium and Iron, has the largest magnetostrictive force known, meaning it changes its dimensions in response to a magnetic field.
2. Glass doped with Praseodymium SLOWS DOWN the speed of light to just a few hundred kilometres per second!
3. Also, Praseodymium is magnetocaloric, meaning its temperature is lowered by a magnetic field.
I kept thinking "this magic system is so cool" before remembering that this is not a fictional magic system. THIS IS REALITY!!
4. Cerium is Pyrophoric (Sometimes it's just the words that I love), meaning it ignites spontaneously on exposure to air.
5. The Europium anomaly. Check it out on Wikipedia. Europium is the weird kid who just embraces who he is until everybody gets on board with it.
6. The Oddo-Harkins rule: aptly named rule that states that elements with even atomic numbers are more abundant than immediately adjacent elements with odd atomic numbers. I love that this hints at some more fundamental quantum mechanics going on, plus the inherent nominative determinism involved in Giuseppe Oddo being the first to report this rule in 1914. He must have scooped Isabella Evenno and just deleted her from history.
7. Do you know what a Radiendocrinator is? Bloody hell, I almost wish I didn't. A little flat case of radium which you could wrap in an "athletic strap" in order to hold the radium close to your scrotum (or head, neck, back, and I assume almost anywhere else on the body) to get that healthful radium dosage. Most likely featured in a QI episode at some point.
Amongst all the amazing and wonderful discoveries of new elements in the last 300 years, often found for the first time in a shiny, strange-looking new ore, and the misunderstanding of radioactive elements (associated with the many sacrifices of scientists of the time, Marie Curie included), I'm not surprised how many magical superheroes were born in the first half of the 20th century.
December 23, 2015
This book is a good book to have if you want to know more about the periodic table. It's different than other periodic table books in the way that it explains about the elements of the periodic table one by one.
The top three things about the book are:
1. For every element, it contains the atomic number, atomic weight, etc.
2. For every element, the book explains why they are named, such as, xenon was named after the greek word xenos, stranger.
3. For each element, it shows how how many electrons the element has and how they orbit around the element.
If I had written this book, I would write more information about each element.
The top three things about the book are:
1. For every element, it contains the atomic number, atomic weight, etc.
2. For every element, the book explains why they are named, such as, xenon was named after the greek word xenos, stranger.
3. For each element, it shows how how many electrons the element has and how they orbit around the element.
If I had written this book, I would write more information about each element.
September 10, 2015
This book was well written and hard to put down. I loved going through each element, learning their purposes, who discovered them, etc. The photos are great, too. My only minor complaint was that I wish their were more photos depicting each element in their environmental purpose. I probably would have given this 4.5/5. Great resource book for kids and adults!
May 4, 2017
packed with interesting information about the properties of the elements, the naming of, and their historical discoveries. Well presented and a joy to read, i think this book would surprise people who think science is boring and that a book on the elements could not be entertaining. A fantastic journey through the periodic table.
June 25, 2018
This is a faboo reference book which isn't really meant to be read from cover-to-cover for most people. Every element up through atomic #100 has a one page describing it and a picture. The description page lists some basic info like melting and boiling points along with the etymology of both the name and the symbol, how it was discovered, ores it's found in, uses (if any) of the element, and some other interesting information about it. The picture is either of a pure sample, an ore sample from which it can be isolated, or in the case of the high atomic # elements, the equipment used to create it.
Four elements are unnamed in the book but that's only because they were recently named and the book has a 2013 copyright. It also has a glossary and an index. The only negative I can find is a nitpick and is a personal one for me. I dislike those circle electron valence shell diagrams!
As I wrote above, this is a great reference book for anyone from a youngster interested in chemistry to chemistry instructors or just anyone who wants to know more about elements. You can use it to look up a specific element or just randomly dip into it. What really sells it and makes it interesting to me is:
1) Nice, thick paper which makes it durable.
2) Low price which makes it easily accessible to more people.
3) The awesome pictures!
This book goes right into my go-to section for chemistry bookshelves!
Four elements are unnamed in the book but that's only because they were recently named and the book has a 2013 copyright. It also has a glossary and an index. The only negative I can find is a nitpick and is a personal one for me. I dislike those circle electron valence shell diagrams!
As I wrote above, this is a great reference book for anyone from a youngster interested in chemistry to chemistry instructors or just anyone who wants to know more about elements. You can use it to look up a specific element or just randomly dip into it. What really sells it and makes it interesting to me is:
1) Nice, thick paper which makes it durable.
2) Low price which makes it easily accessible to more people.
3) The awesome pictures!
This book goes right into my go-to section for chemistry bookshelves!
August 19, 2023
Por fin libro ¡y de ciencia! Es una de las materias que más tengo pendiente y por el solo hecho de descubrir y disfrutar de la más que conocida tabla periódica decidí hacer un post de divulgación científica para que todos descubramos algo nuevo.🌋
💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪
Este es un libro muy completo, en el que se nota todo el trabajo invertido, el cómo organizaron la información para tratar cada uno de los elementos de manera fiel y científica. Me gusta que no sean solo datos y aprende esto y pasa, sino que te trae muchas anécdotas y curiosidades de cada uno y el camino que realizaron los investigadores para llegar hasta ellos.
Lo creáis o no creo que sirve para acordarse y distinguirlos mejor.
💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪
¡Os lo recomiendo mucho! Sobre todo si la tenéis que estudiar y no queréis que os quede un mal recuerdo de algo tan impresionante como es reunir a todos los componentes del universo en una tabla de 118 casillas.
💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪
Este es un libro muy completo, en el que se nota todo el trabajo invertido, el cómo organizaron la información para tratar cada uno de los elementos de manera fiel y científica. Me gusta que no sean solo datos y aprende esto y pasa, sino que te trae muchas anécdotas y curiosidades de cada uno y el camino que realizaron los investigadores para llegar hasta ellos.
Lo creáis o no creo que sirve para acordarse y distinguirlos mejor.
💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪💎⚗️🧪
¡Os lo recomiendo mucho! Sobre todo si la tenéis que estudiar y no queréis que os quede un mal recuerdo de algo tan impresionante como es reunir a todos los componentes del universo en una tabla de 118 casillas.
May 9, 2020
This book is a good refresher for the basic understanding of chemistry. I think reading this book element by element and at the same time watching the Periodic Table YouTube videos of the University of Nottingham makes learning even more fun.
The only thing is I wish it had more elaborate information on the Transfermium elements (At# 101-118).
The only thing is I wish it had more elaborate information on the Transfermium elements (At# 101-118).
December 23, 2022
Souped up wikipedia
I had a lot of hopes for this, expecting a fresh and exciting take on what could be a dry subject. I was disappointed. There is no thread and no overarching view, just a wikipedia like trawl through each element, one by one from first to last. Unlikely to create many converts to the joys of chemistry
I had a lot of hopes for this, expecting a fresh and exciting take on what could be a dry subject. I was disappointed. There is no thread and no overarching view, just a wikipedia like trawl through each element, one by one from first to last. Unlikely to create many converts to the joys of chemistry
February 12, 2019
How does one finish a book dedicated to the Periodic Table?
You don't ever really.
Still reading the fine lines though the authors did an amazing job for a non science girl like my self to get with it.
I have to love chemistry eventually.
You don't ever really.
Still reading the fine lines though the authors did an amazing job for a non science girl like my self to get with it.
I have to love chemistry eventually.
February 15, 2021
Great introduction to the world around us - because literally everything is made of elements. Towards the end it becomes a bit derivative, which might be due to the fact that we don't know much about the transuranium elements but is a marked difference to the rest of the book.
August 31, 2017
good book
January 12, 2019
Interesting and entertaining read that could have benefited from disciplined editing.
October 30, 2019
Really good, enjoyable, and informative book on elements of the periodic table. Easy to pick up and down.
February 13, 2020
Very good, engaging. A bit repetitive by the end, but that's because the radioactive elements are very samey, not the author's fault 🙂
February 22, 2021
This book helped me so much in Chemistry this year, I can't say how happy I am to have it by my side in my Chemistry studies!
March 29, 2021
Does what it says on the tin, very thorough, a little repetitive (e.g. when discussing the lanthanides, they repeat what the lanthanides are for each of the elements every time) but very interesting!
May 29, 2022
Beautiful introduction to elemental chemistry
November 18, 2022
I read it cover to cover, and I have read two other books, like it, but this was the best one so far. I highly recommend it. Very engaging, infused with memorable examples, history and uses.
March 22, 2023
Absolutely fascinating. Too much to take in so I’ll have to read it again.
February 11, 2024
Great explanation of the science and categorization of the elements with historical background
June 4, 2025
It is a beautiful book you will see each element described carefully, how it was discovered, and when.
It provides the physical description of the element, some of them have great photos.
It provides the physical description of the element, some of them have great photos.
January 28, 2016
Not a novel, but a reference book. Wonderful for a quick peek at each element. Of course, being published in 2014, it's already missing some new ones! Elements 1-100, arranged by atmoic number.
Includes for each:
-image of raw element
-element's electron shell diagram
-atomic weight
-melting/boiling point
-crystal structure
-phase
-modern uses
Sometimes provides information on discovery and an explanation of the name (for instance, Erbium "derives its name from Ytterby, a village that, during the 19th century, became an epicenter for research into the fundamental chemical elements." Also because it's "extracted from the gadolinium mineral deposits found near the village of Ytterby." Iodine comes from the Greek word for violet...and other such facts that may help with remembering the elements.)
Glossary in the back if you need it.
Nice graphic of the periodic table as a whole in the front, showing the element categories demarcated in color
Includes for each:
-image of raw element
-element's electron shell diagram
-atomic weight
-melting/boiling point
-crystal structure
-phase
-modern uses
Sometimes provides information on discovery and an explanation of the name (for instance, Erbium "derives its name from Ytterby, a village that, during the 19th century, became an epicenter for research into the fundamental chemical elements." Also because it's "extracted from the gadolinium mineral deposits found near the village of Ytterby." Iodine comes from the Greek word for violet...and other such facts that may help with remembering the elements.)
Glossary in the back if you need it.
Nice graphic of the periodic table as a whole in the front, showing the element categories demarcated in color
February 4, 2016
3.5 stars
This was a really long read, although I don't know if I should have expected anything different. It's not something you want to sit down and read through like a novel from front to back all at once, which is unfortunately what I did. I'm using it for research for my future verse so it is all stuff I need to know, and it's actually quite interesting for the elements I was familiar with. But once you get past about element 50/60, it starts getting a bit dry and once you get to the 90's there's next to no actual information or real uses for them. But it's a good starting point for anyone curious about what the elements are, how they were named or discovered, and what some of their common uses are for.
This was a really long read, although I don't know if I should have expected anything different. It's not something you want to sit down and read through like a novel from front to back all at once, which is unfortunately what I did. I'm using it for research for my future verse so it is all stuff I need to know, and it's actually quite interesting for the elements I was familiar with. But once you get past about element 50/60, it starts getting a bit dry and once you get to the 90's there's next to no actual information or real uses for them. But it's a good starting point for anyone curious about what the elements are, how they were named or discovered, and what some of their common uses are for.
October 23, 2015
This is a good pictorial guide to the elements that we live with every day, and those that are still a mystery to us. Each element contains about a page of information, including its use by humans in industry, as well as the doses of each elements present within the natural world, and our own bodies. Each element is accompanied by a picture of what it looks like at room temperature.
This is a good and informative read. It is not super complex, but is a good overview of the different elements on the Periodic table for those who know little about each one.
This is a good and informative read. It is not super complex, but is a good overview of the different elements on the Periodic table for those who know little about each one.
March 29, 2015
Fantastic! I would never consider such a book would be good reading but this is such a book. Each element a special character on its own page. Perfect to reference which is why it was purchased but I keep finding myself reading just one more page - wow! Now that's success for a book about the fundamental building blocks of pretty much everything. It was the Beryllium that did it in the library with the Hydrogen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2016
A solid overview of all the known elements. The book includes excellent graphics, clear descriptions of the elements' properties, and an overview of modern and historical uses. It also has good historical information on the discovery of each element. About the only weakness is that the magnetic properties of the majority of elements, but this is minor.
October 7, 2016
This is a very readable guide to each element on the periodic table...despite being a chemistry teacher there was a lot of history and applications of the elements I was not aware of and that made me enjoy reading this book. I would especially recommend it to high school students interested in Chemistry
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews