null Skip to main content

2 for £15 on selected paperbacks | Free UK P&P on orders over £25

The Disappearing Spoon...and other true tales from the Periodic Table

Format: Paperback
£10.99

Free UK P&P on online orders over £25

Adding to basket… The item has been added

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.

Write a Review

There are no reviews for this product yet - be the first

Year Published:
2011
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9780552777506
Number of Pages:
400
Publication Date:
28/07/2011
Publisher:
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Place of Publication:
London
Authors:
Kean, Sam
Publication Date:
28/07/2011
Language:
English
SKU:
9780552777506

Customers also bought