- Hardcover: 228 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press (Feb 18 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0192841009
- ISBN-13: 978-0192841001
- Product Dimensions: 20.7 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 345 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,644,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The periodic table of the elements is a gallery of some of science's most intriguing characters, according to this sprightly tome of pop-chemistry. Ball (H2O: A Biography of Water) traces science's understanding of the building blocks of matter as it evolved from Aristotle's four elements of earth, water, air and fire to our modern assemblage of 109 named elements with associated isotopes, some, such as hydrogen, as old as the stars and others, like an isotope of the unnamed element 111, flitting into existence for just a split second in the laboratory. Instead of giving a comprehensive treatment, Ball focuses on some of the more charismatic elements, including oxygen, an intrinsically "corrosive and destructive" substance tamed by evolution into one of the basic constituents of life; uranium and plutonium, harbingers of the nuclear age; and gold, "prized like a fashion model for its ability to look beautiful and do nothing." Along the way, he manages to lucidly and for the most part painlessly impart quite a bit of information on such topics as the structure of atoms, stellar evolution, radio-carbon dating and scientists' embarrassing infatuation with the will-o'-the-wisp of cold fusion. Non-scientists will gain from this book both a vivid impression of the dazzling variety of chemical phenomena and a sense of the order that underlies it. B&w photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Ball's natural stylemakes a seemingly dry subject come alive. Friendly and informative, the book explores the concept of an element from a historical and practical perspective. Instead of expounding on each one, the author singles out the star players. Oxygen gets plenty ofattention, as it should since its discovery played a crucial role in breaking scientists free from the old earth-air-fire-water school of thought. Anyone who has looked at the periodic table's strange shape with bewilderment will appreciate the superb explanation as to how it got that way. Natural and artificial creation of elements is discussed, as are isotopes and radioisotopes. Mildly technical explanations get spiced up with examples, such as the Shroud of Turin and how scientists determine the age of the Earth. Finishing the story is an overview of some modern uses of various elements that includes silicon and its use in microelectronic devices. Black-and-white illustrations and photographs are included. No doubt, students could use this title for homework assignments, but its main strength is its readability. An enjoyable work that practically reads like a biography.
Sheila Shoup, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Sheila Shoup, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In 1624 the French chemist Etienne de Clave was arrested for heresy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In 1624 the French chemist Etienne de Clave was arrested for heresy. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Elements: A Short Primer In Thoughtful Prose,
By Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Elements: A guided Tour of the Elements (Hardcover)
Philip Ball's The Ingredients is a short and sweet introduction to the chemical elements. It is not a comprehensive description of each of the 110+ elements that appear on the periodic table. Rather it is a history of the concept of an element and a definition of what an element is done in context with examples. All the important terms from Chemistry 101 are there - atom, electron, element, isotope, neutron, nucleus, proton - as are all the important people and events in the history of the elements, but it is done in Ball's extremely readable prose style. Even though I've taught basic chemistry at the high school level and I've heard all this stuff before, I thoroughly enjoyed this short, but concept dense book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Elements: A Short Primer In Thoughtful Prose,
By Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Elements: A guided Tour of the Elements (Hardcover)
Philip Ball's The Ingredients is a short and sweet introduction to the chemical elements. It is not a comprehensive description of each of the 110+ elements that appear on the periodic table. Rather it is a history of the concept of an element and a definition of what an element is done in context with examples. All the important terms from Chemistry 101 are there - atom, electron, element, isotope, neutron, nucleus, proton - as are all the important people and events in the history of the elements, but it is done in Ball's extremely readable prose style. Even though I've taught basic chemistry at the high school level and I've heard all this stuff before, I thoroughly enjoyed this short, but concept dense book.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gentle introduction to what the world is made of,
By Michael Bond - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Elements: A guided Tour of the Elements (Hardcover)
There are 92 naturally occuring elements. They have been here since the Earth cooled, but only in the last couple of centuries have we truly come to understand them. In 'the ingredients', Phillip Ball takes the reader on a fast ride through the development of our understanding of the elements. Aristotle and his contemporaries saw everything pretty much as a combination of earth, wind, fire, and water. Variations of this view lasted well in the middle ages.The chapter on gold, precious from ancient times, is a bridge, bringing us into the modern age, where we see the development of the Periodic Table, an organization of information about the elements. Scientific method and technological advances allowed chemists to identify each of the elements. Physics, radiochemistry and quantum mechanics provided an explanation of why they act as they do. There are interesting discussions of medicine, alchemy and other topics. The chapter on manmade elements is also interesting. This little book was fun to read and should be easily followed by the non-scientific reader. 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Also an OUP Very Short Introduction,
By Clare Pawling - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Elements: A guided Tour of the Elements (Hardcover)
As-of this writing, June 2008, "The Ingredients" is in-print as an Oxford University Press Very Short Introduction titled "The Elements".
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