The Disappearing Spoon

The Disappearing Spoon

by Sam Kean

Why did Gandhi hate iodine? How did radium nearly ruin Marie Curie’s reputation? And why is gallium the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?

The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it’s also a treasure trove of  passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow all the elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, discovery, and alchemy, from the big bang theory through the end of time.

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