Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc | Paperback | Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from the handful of common ones (iron, carbon, copper, gold), the elements themselves remain wrapped in mystery. We do not know what most of them look like, how they exist in nature, how they got their names, or of what use they are to us. Periodic Tales is a dazzling tour through history and literature, science and art. Hugh Aldersey-Williams explains how lead can tell your future and why zinc may line your coffin.