The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales From The Periodic Table

The periodic table is one of our crowning scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the often mad scientists who discovered them. It includes stories about lithium helping cure poet Robert Lowell of madness and gallium being used for pranks. The book blends science with lore of invention, discovery, and alchemy from the big bang onwards.