The Discovery Of The Elements

The classical elements -- The antique metals -- Alchemical elements -- The new metals -- Chemistry golden age -- Electrical discoveries -- The radiant age -- The nuclear age.

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This is a new release of the original 1933 edition.

That all the tens of millions of different substances and materials were made up of only 92 elements is a magical story vividly told. Originally published 50 years ago it is updated and includes the man-made elements of the nuclear age and the latest insights into the periodic table and the nature of matter.

From water, air, and fire to tennessine and oganesson, celebrated science writer Philip Ball leads us through the full sweep of the field of chemistry in this exquisitely illustrated history of the elements. The Elements is a stunning visual journey through the discovery of the chemical building blocks of our universe. By piecing together the history of the periodic table, Ball explores not only how we have come to understand what everything is made of, but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. Ball groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering seven millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves from prehistory and classical antiquity to the age of atomic bombs and particle accelerators, Ball highlights images and stories from around the world and sheds needed light on those who struggled for their ideas to gain inclusion. By also featuring some elements that aren’t true elements but were long thought to be—from the foundational prote hyle and heavenly aetherof the ancient Greeks to more recent false elements like phlogiston and caloric—The Elements boldly tells the full history of the central science of chemistry.