From Arsenic to Zirconium: Poems and Surprising Facts about the Elements

Description

From Arsenic to Zirconium is an entertaining collection of poems and surprising facts about the chemical elements that make up our world. The poems are a launching point for a guided tour of the elements filled with fascinating scientific trivia. For instance: • Antimony, used to treat constipation in the Middle Ages, may have killed Mozart • There’s arsenic in your prawns! (But don’t worry, it won’t harm you.) • Erbium is used to “dope” optical fiber amplifiers that make your YouTube videos download faster • Iridium was key to the meteor theory of why dinosaurs went extinct • You’ll find potassium in both bananas and gunpowder • Sulfur plays a role in whether your hair is curly or straight Expand your library of scientific literature with this playful and poetic romp through the periodic table! “Delightful poems about the chemical elements that inhabit the periodic table.” — DR. ERIC SCERRI, UCLA AND AUTHOR OF THE PERIODIC TABLE, ITS STORY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE “An extraordinary book.” — SIR MARTYN POLIAKOFF, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM AND CO-PRESENTER OF THE PERIODIC TABLE OF VIDEOS Dedication About the Author About the Technical Reviewer Contents Preface Acknowledgments The Periodic Table of the Elements 1 HYDROGEN, H 2 HELIUM, He 3 LITHIUM, Li 4 BERYLLIUM, Be 5 BORON, B 6 CARBON, C 7 NITROGEN, N 8 OXYGEN, O 9 FLUORINE, F 10 NEON, Ne 11 SODIUM, Na 12 MAGNESIUM, Mg 13 ALUMINUM, Al 14 SILICON, Si 15 PHOSPHORUS, P 16 SULFUR, S 17 CHLORINE, Cl 18 ARGON, Ar 19 POTASSIUM, K 20 CALCIUM, Ca 21 SCANDIUM, Sc 22 TITANIUM, Ti 23 VANADIUM, V 24 CHROMIUM, Cr 25 MANGANESE, Mn 26 IRON, Fe 27 COBALT, Co 28 NICKEL, Ni 29 COPPER, Cu 30 ZINC, Zn 31 GALLIUM, Ga 32 GERMANIUM, Ge 33 ARSENIC, As 34 SELENIUM, Se 35 BROMINE, Br 36 KRYPTON, Kr 37 RUBIDIUM, Rb 38 STRONTIUM, Sr 39 YTTRIUM, Y 40 ZIRCONIUM, Zr 41 NIOBIUM, Nb 42 MOLYBDENUM, Mo 43 TECHNETIUM, Tc 44 RUTHENIUM, Ru 45 RHODIUM, Rh 46 PALLADIUM, Pd 47 SILVER, Ag 48 CADMIUM, Cd 49 INDIUM, In 50 TIN, Sn 51 ANTIMONY, Sb 52 TELLURIUM, Te 53 IODINE, I 54 XENON, Xe 55 CESIUM, Cs 56 BARIUM, Ba 57 LANTHANUM, La 58 CERIUM, Ce 59 PRASEODYMIUM, Pr 60 NEODYMIUM, Nd 61 PROMETHIUM, Pm 62 SAMARIUM, Sm 63 EUROPIUM, Eu 64 GADOLINIUM, Gd 65 TERBIUM, Tb 66 DYSPROSIUM, Dy 67 HOLMIUM, Ho 68 ERBIUM, Er 69 THULIUM, Tm 70 YTTERBIUM, Yb 71 LUTETIUM, Lu 72 HAFNIUM, Hf 73 TANTALUM, Ta 74 TUNGSTEN (OR WOLFRAM), W 75 RHENIUM, Re 76 OSMIUM, Os 77 IRIDIUM, Ir 78 PLATINUM, Pt 79 GOLD, Au 80 MERCURY, Hg 81 THALLIUM, Tl 82 LEAD, Pb 83 BISMUTH, Bi 84 POLONIUM, Po 85 ASTATINE, At 86 RADON, Rn 87 FRANCIUM, Fr 88 RADIUM, Ra 89 ACTINIUM, Ac 90 THORIUM, Th 91 PROTACTINIUM, Pa 92 URANIUM, U 93 –118 THE TRANSURANIUM (TRANSURANIC) ELEMENTS Resources Index