The elements
Subtitle: the new guide to the building blocks of our universe
By: Jack Challoner
Publisher: Andre Deutsch
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9780233004365
Subjects: Chemical elements; Popular works
Description: What links the Taj Mahal and our skeleton? The Eiffel Tower and our blood? The salt on our food and the street lamps that guide us home? The answers are calcium, iron and sodium - each one an element. Forged in the Big Bang and in supernovas, the elements and their resulting compounds went on to create our Solar System, the planet we live on, the air we breathe, the water we rely on, and the proteins that would become life. This book provides need-to-know information on every one of the 118 known elements. Some, like carbon, oxygen and aluminium, are familiar; others, like gadolinium and tellurium, are not. Inside the book, you will find the elements' vital statistics, their important compounds and applications and the fascinating histories of their discovery. You will also find clear and concise explanations of what an element is, how and why the elements are arranged in the periodic table, and of the structure of atoms, the building blocks of everything around you. The Elements is your definitive guide to the elements. It is authoritative, accessible and filled with wonder.
Notes: "First published in 2012 by Carlton Books Ltd."

Includes index.

Takes readers on an illustrated tour of the periodic table. Includes information about the elements, their main compounds, and their principal uses.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Elements: a history; title: Hydrogen; title: The alkali metals: group 1; title: The alkaline earth metals: group 2; title: Interlude: The d-block and the transition metals; title: The transition metals: group 3; title: The transition metals: group 4; title: The transition metals: group  5; title: The transition metals: group 6; title: The transition metals: group 7; title: The transition metals: group 8; title: The transition metals: group 9; title: The transition metals: group 10; title: The transition metals: group 11; title: The transition metals: group 12; title: Interlude: The f-block: the lanthanoids and the actinoids; title: The lanthanoids; title: The actinoids; title: The boron group: group 13; title: The carbon group: group 14; title: The nitrogen group: group 15; title: The oxygen group: group 16; title: The halogens: groups 17; title: The noble gases: group 18; title: The transuranium elements.