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Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe Paperback – Illustrated, April 3, 2012
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Includes a poster of Theodore Gray's iconic photographic periodic table of the elements!
Based on seven years of research and photography by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann, The Elements presents the most complete and visually arresting representation available to the naked eye of every atom in the universe. Organized sequentially by atomic number, every element is visualized by a big beautiful photograph that most closely represents it in its purest form. Several additional photographs show each element in slightly altered forms or as used in various practical ways. Also included are fascinating stories of the elements, told in Theo Grays inimitable style, as well as data on the properties of each, including atomic number, atomic symbol, atomic weight, density, atomic radius, as well as scales for electron filling order, state of matter, and an atomic emission spectrum.
This work of solid science and stunning artistic photographs is the perfect gift book for every sentient creature in the universe.
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBlack Dog & Leventhal
- Publication dateApril 3, 2012
- Dimensions10.13 x 0.75 x 10.13 inches
- ISBN-101579128955
- ISBN-13978-1579128951
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"The Elements is a loving reimagination of the classic table."―Wired
"I don't know if this is the first coffee-table book paying lush photographic homage to the periodic table, but it is certainly the most gorgeous one I've seen."―John Tierney, The New York Times
About the Author
Nick Mann is a photographer specializing in taking beautiful photos of inanimate objects on black backgrounds. His other work includes Molecules,, Reactions,How Things Work, Engines, and the forthcoming Tools, all written by Theodore Gray. In his other life, he works in the quality and manufacturing department for a small scientific imaging company. He lives with his wife, children, and stepson in Urbana, Illinois.
Product details
- Publisher : Black Dog & Leventhal; Illustrated edition (April 3, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1579128955
- ISBN-13 : 978-1579128951
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 10.13 x 0.75 x 10.13 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #16,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8 in Scientific Reference
- #8 in General Chemistry
- #34 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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The Science series focused on, of course, science, with books devoted to every facet of physics, medicine, chemistry, biology.... It was a fantastic compendium of human knowledge in those pre-internet days, and I just loved it. I learned about how traveling at lightspeed squashes things by reading a story about spies chasing each other on the Lightspeed Express. I learned about how different drugs affect the mind and body. I learned about how important the wheel was, what water could do, and how the food we eat determines almost everything about our lives.
My favorite volume of all of them was titled Matter, and it was about all the stuff there is. At the center of it was a pictorial representation of all the elements known to science in 1968. Everything from Hydrogen to Uranium and beyond. I could pore over those pages for hours, amazed by the idea that these things were all there was, made up everything around me. Learning that just six of them (Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Calcium and Phosphorus) made up most of, well, me was just mind-bending.
I don't know where that book is now - probably in a box at my mother's house - but the effect that it had on me has lasted ever since my childhood. In fact, as I was researching this review, I found the place that sells coins stamped from elemental metals and got completely distracted by the struggle to not buy any of them. So that's how Time/Life made me into a science nerd. Nevertheless, I was thrilled when I saw this book, and had to snap it up as soon as I could. It cost a whole lot less than a 1/10 troy ounce Rhodium coin
Theodore Gray is an element hunter - something I didn't even know existed when I was a kid. He has made a hobby of trying to collect samples of every element that is is possible to (legally) own, and he's even built a special table to hold them all. A periodic table, as it were, which won him the IgNobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002. He and Nick Mann went through the collection to make outstanding, high-quality photographs and compile them into a fantastic book about "everything you can drop on your foot."
It starts, of course, with a basic rundown of what an element is - a substance made of only one type of atom - and what the Periodic Table is - an organization of the elements by their common properties. There's also a page explaining the physics behind the shape of the table, what an "electron filling order" is, and why the atomic emission spectrum is so important. Fortunately for us non-professionals, he does this is a way that is amusing and understandable. Gray knows that his audience isn't professional chemists or grad students - it's people like me. People who are fans of science, but who, for one reason or another, never got into the real nitty-gritty of it. All of this means that it's a book you can enjoy even if you remember nothing from high school chemistry other than "BIFF=WANG." [1]
The book starts, of course, at hydrogen, the element that makes the sun burn ("Even at night," alleges the author, but I'll believe that when I see it) and ends with Ununoctium, which will no doubt get a proper name once those crazy kids in the high-energy physics lab get around to assembling it. It includes the spectre of the modern age, Uranium, and its evil twin Plutonium. There's Carbon, without which none of us would be here, and Arsenic, which does a fine job of seeing to it that we cease to be. There's Iron, which we use in abundance, and Dysprosium, which has almost no uses that you've ever heard of. Cesium tells us what time it is, and Krypton, which used to tell us how long things were (before we figured out the speed of light.) Strontium and Calcium, Sodium and Americium, Gold, Silver, Copper and Lead - every element is in here, waiting for you.
They're accompanied by wonderful photographs that illustrate the applications of each element, as well as diagrams showing its emission spectrum, crystal structure, and other information that you may or may not be interested in. Regardless of how much you know about chemistry, you should find this to be a fascinating and enjoyable book. Moreover, if you have kids and you want them to be exposed to science in a way that engages their fascination and imagination, then this is the book for you. Just be ready to raise a science nerd, and if they ask for an elemental coin for their birthday, remember - Lead isn't just for toys anymore!
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"When you throw a large enough lump of sodium into a lake, the result is a huge explosion a few seconds later. Depending on whether you took the right precautions, this is either a thrilling and beautiful experience or the end of your life as you have known it when molten sodium sprays into your eyes, permanently blinding you. Chemistry is a bit like that: powerful enough to do great things in the world, but also dangerous enough to do terrible things just as easily. If you don't respect it, chemistry bites."
- Theodore Gray, The Elements
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[1] Thanks, Mr. Hiza!
Each element features a picture of the element in its purest form. The side of the page has a small strip that gives lots of technical data. The elements position on the periodic table is showm, atomic weight, density, atomic radius, crystal structure, electron order filing, atomic emissions spectrum, and state of matter are all given in this strip. The rest of the page is given over to a few paragraphs about the element. Then there are excellent pictures showing instances where the element is used and these pictures also have small descriptions. Most elements are given a two page spread, but some of the lucky elements get 4 pages!
In addition to the individual elements the beginning of the book discusses the different sections of the periodic table and how the periodic table of elements got its shape.
This is more of a coffee table book than an ultimate reference to the Periodic Table of Elements. Although it does provide a lot of information on the Elements. Much of the discussion on each Element is anecdotal and somewhat humorous. This makes the book an excellent reference for the layman interested in Elements, it also makes the book an entertaining read. You would have to go elsewhere to get into the gritty details of some of these elements though....for example if you were trying to synthesize something with them or something else deeply technical.
Overall I really loved this book. It is such an awesome book with such neat pictures. Everyone in the house from my computer loving husband to my three year old son has spent time looking through this book. It is just such an interesting book and it is presented in such a beautiful way. Not to mention it is even fun to read! I think everyone should have this book in their house; if nothing else it makes for interesting discussions as you see the bizarre forms of some of the elements.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in Brazil on November 6, 2022
Cons: this is not the book if you need a ton of information on each element.
You will find other elements books with more information on the elements. But this one has more attractive pictures, and the author knows how to tell the tale of elements.
It is for children.
Le pagine sono lucide, stile libri fotografici o di arte, ed effettivamente questo libro è una piccola opera d'arte!
Per ogni elemento, oltre le fotografie, sono riportate informazioni (sia i dati della tavola periodica, sia dove può essere trovato e le sue caratteristiche) e curiosità.
In sostanza, un libro da tenere esposto su un leggio o su un tavolino, per sé e per gli altri: fa un'ottima figura!
Secondo me un must per chi è del settore, ma anche per chi ne è solo affascinato.
Spero che il resto della collana sia allo stesso livello!