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This book was a really fun lens to look at science history through. The history of the elements is so tightly woven into the history of civilization and modern society that Sam Kean has no trouble making the periodic table come to life. His love for the elements and their 'personalities' is contagious. I spent quite a few nights between this book and my Visual Exploration of Every Known Element book.
If you don't read this book, but you want to pretend you know what the title refers to just search 'melting gallium spoon'.
"Now if you translate quantum mechanics into English, always risky, the equation says that the uncertainty in something's position (delta X) times the uncertainty in its speed and direction, its momentum (delta P), always exceeds or is greater to the number H divided by 4 times Pi. The H stands for Plunk's constant which is such a small number, about one hundred trillion trillion times smaller than one, that the uncertainty principle applies only to tiny, tiny things such as electrons or photons. In other words, if you know a particles position very well, you cannot know its momentum well at all, and visa versa. Note that these uncertainties aren't uncertainties about measuring things, as if you had a bad ruler. They are uncertainties built into nature itself."
If you don't read this book, but you want to pretend you know what the title refers to just search 'melting gallium spoon'.
"Now if you translate quantum mechanics into English, always risky, the equation says that the uncertainty in something's position (delta X) times the uncertainty in its speed and direction, its momentum (delta P), always exceeds or is greater to the number H divided by 4 times Pi. The H stands for Plunk's constant which is such a small number, about one hundred trillion trillion times smaller than one, that the uncertainty principle applies only to tiny, tiny things such as electrons or photons. In other words, if you know a particles position very well, you cannot know its momentum well at all, and visa versa. Note that these uncertainties aren't uncertainties about measuring things, as if you had a bad ruler. They are uncertainties built into nature itself."
This dude is inexplicably obsessed with alliteration.
funny
informative
slow-paced
La scienziata che è in me è andata in brodo di giuggiole nel leggere questo libro!
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è che racconta quei piccoli aneddoti legati alle scienze e alle scoperte scientifiche che mi hanno sempre appassionata più dei numeri e dei fatti in sè. La chimica era la mia materia preferita al liceo (anche se facevo il classico…) e ho sempre trovato affascinante come le proprietà di piccole cose invisibili influenzassero la vita di tutti. Questo libro racconta proprio questo: spiega come la concentrazione di un elemento, la sua presenza sulla terra o la sua interazione con gli altri elementi sia alla base di tutto, dalla politica alle relazioni sociali. Mi ha affascinato vedere i tanti nomi riportati in queste pagine, da quelli famosi (Rutherford, Bohr, Fermi, Curie) a quelli meno conosciuti, anche femminili (Lise Meitner per esempio) che hanno portato avanti il progresso e la ricerca.
Non sempre le storie raccontate sono positive o a lieto fine, ma sono sempre interessanti e curiose e raccontate nel modo più appassionante e semplice possibile.
Non posso dire di aver capito tutto, purtroppo gli ultimi due-tre capitoli secondo me sono davvero troppo lontani dalle mie scarse basi scientifiche per poterli capire… Tuttavia le suggestioni, le intuizioni e le curiosità che ho scoperto mi fanno dire che ne valeva davvero la pena.
Ho letto tantissime cose di storia, di politica, di guerra, di economia, di medicina (il capitolo più interessante per me è stato quello dedicato ai farmaci), di uomini e donne coraggiosi e testardi, a volte approfittatori a volte generosi. Penso che ci sia più umanità in questo libro di scienze che in tanti libri di letteratura e filosofia che ho letto a scuola.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è che racconta quei piccoli aneddoti legati alle scienze e alle scoperte scientifiche che mi hanno sempre appassionata più dei numeri e dei fatti in sè. La chimica era la mia materia preferita al liceo (anche se facevo il classico…) e ho sempre trovato affascinante come le proprietà di piccole cose invisibili influenzassero la vita di tutti. Questo libro racconta proprio questo: spiega come la concentrazione di un elemento, la sua presenza sulla terra o la sua interazione con gli altri elementi sia alla base di tutto, dalla politica alle relazioni sociali. Mi ha affascinato vedere i tanti nomi riportati in queste pagine, da quelli famosi (Rutherford, Bohr, Fermi, Curie) a quelli meno conosciuti, anche femminili (Lise Meitner per esempio) che hanno portato avanti il progresso e la ricerca.
Non sempre le storie raccontate sono positive o a lieto fine, ma sono sempre interessanti e curiose e raccontate nel modo più appassionante e semplice possibile.
Non posso dire di aver capito tutto, purtroppo gli ultimi due-tre capitoli secondo me sono davvero troppo lontani dalle mie scarse basi scientifiche per poterli capire… Tuttavia le suggestioni, le intuizioni e le curiosità che ho scoperto mi fanno dire che ne valeva davvero la pena.
Ho letto tantissime cose di storia, di politica, di guerra, di economia, di medicina (il capitolo più interessante per me è stato quello dedicato ai farmaci), di uomini e donne coraggiosi e testardi, a volte approfittatori a volte generosi. Penso che ci sia più umanità in questo libro di scienze che in tanti libri di letteratura e filosofia che ho letto a scuola.
Way over my head, but completely and utterly fascinating.
I cannot believe I listened to a 12.5 hour audiobook on the periodic table, but I did. tbh I will forget 95% of this book bc it does involve so much (good! but detailed) science, but the parts I remember will be fun and interesting and sometimes salacious. Who knew that the scientific community was so dramatic, interpersonally and otherwise?
This was a great book where even when it got too science-dense, it still felt somewhat accessible and easy to listen to. The anecdotal stories and historical recounts of different scientists and communities and schools and discovering periodic elements and naming them and doing things with them were so interesting and fun. The tone of this book made what could have been an absolutely dry and torturous subject so interesting. And the audiobook narrator was GREAT.
Overall, a great, super interesting time even if I end up with 5% remembered knowledge in the end.
This was a great book where even when it got too science-dense, it still felt somewhat accessible and easy to listen to. The anecdotal stories and historical recounts of different scientists and communities and schools and discovering periodic elements and naming them and doing things with them were so interesting and fun. The tone of this book made what could have been an absolutely dry and torturous subject so interesting. And the audiobook narrator was GREAT.
Overall, a great, super interesting time even if I end up with 5% remembered knowledge in the end.
Remember your favorite chemistry teacher? The one who always anthropormorphized chemical compounds and added drama and flavor to their lectures? This book is a lot like that.
Okay, fine, chemistry is a substantial part of my livelihood, so maybe I have more fond chemistry-based memories than then average person. Nonetheless, The Disappearing Spoon should be as enticing to those who never took a science class outside of distribution requirements as well as those of us whose favorite class was organic chemistry.
To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this book; as a biochemist, it makes me a little uncomfortable to admit that there's anything interesting outside of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen (and a touch of phosphorus and sulfur.) But Kean's writing is the definition of compulsively readable.
Drama is brought by the often argumentative, usually eccentric and always genius scientists who founded the principals of modern chemistry. In addition, each chapter is riddled with historical anecdotes staring a particular element or two. But the real richness of the book comes from Kean's ease with the science itself, describing valence shells, chemical bonds, radioactivity, fusion and fission in accurate, accessible and extremely lively ways.
Okay, fine, chemistry is a substantial part of my livelihood, so maybe I have more fond chemistry-based memories than then average person. Nonetheless, The Disappearing Spoon should be as enticing to those who never took a science class outside of distribution requirements as well as those of us whose favorite class was organic chemistry.
To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this book; as a biochemist, it makes me a little uncomfortable to admit that there's anything interesting outside of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen (and a touch of phosphorus and sulfur.) But Kean's writing is the definition of compulsively readable.
Drama is brought by the often argumentative, usually eccentric and always genius scientists who founded the principals of modern chemistry. In addition, each chapter is riddled with historical anecdotes staring a particular element or two. But the real richness of the book comes from Kean's ease with the science itself, describing valence shells, chemical bonds, radioactivity, fusion and fission in accurate, accessible and extremely lively ways.
4.5 stars
Ordinarily, when I think about the periodic table, I don't think of it with a sense of artistry or brilliance. I think of it as something cold, calculating, and formulaic. I try to stop myself before I tumble too far down my experience with college chemistry, where I'm pretty sure I hit a knowledge wall.
Kean's The Disappearing Spoon takes a closer look at the periodic table. He walks you through each element, the properties of it, its discovery, the basics of protons and neutrons and electrons. But he does so in a way that shows how completely the elements have impacted our lives and the lives of well-known historical figures (think: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, but also Ghandi, King Midas, and Mark Twain). What makes this book incredible is the sheer scope of the study. The periodic table and its components shouldn't just be something that is thought about in a chemistry class. It shouldn't be something relegated to the back of those free high school planners.
Instead, Kean makes it clear that the periodic table is something to be marveled. It's part of our history, from the Big Bang to World War II to the potential for nuclear energy. The periodic table has found its way into quantum mechanics and space exploration. The elements destroy, inspire, cure, and spark technological revolutions. The elements have been and will be with us. In fact, Kean speculates that the periodic table is so essential to life, that it would be the basis of communication with other lifeforms, should they exist. The claim is far fetched, but drives home just how crucial our understanding and experimentation with the periodic table has impacted so many aspects of our lives.
Ordinarily, when I think about the periodic table, I don't think of it with a sense of artistry or brilliance. I think of it as something cold, calculating, and formulaic. I try to stop myself before I tumble too far down my experience with college chemistry, where I'm pretty sure I hit a knowledge wall.
Kean's The Disappearing Spoon takes a closer look at the periodic table. He walks you through each element, the properties of it, its discovery, the basics of protons and neutrons and electrons. But he does so in a way that shows how completely the elements have impacted our lives and the lives of well-known historical figures (think: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, but also Ghandi, King Midas, and Mark Twain). What makes this book incredible is the sheer scope of the study. The periodic table and its components shouldn't just be something that is thought about in a chemistry class. It shouldn't be something relegated to the back of those free high school planners.
Instead, Kean makes it clear that the periodic table is something to be marveled. It's part of our history, from the Big Bang to World War II to the potential for nuclear energy. The periodic table has found its way into quantum mechanics and space exploration. The elements destroy, inspire, cure, and spark technological revolutions. The elements have been and will be with us. In fact, Kean speculates that the periodic table is so essential to life, that it would be the basis of communication with other lifeforms, should they exist. The claim is far fetched, but drives home just how crucial our understanding and experimentation with the periodic table has impacted so many aspects of our lives.