Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the ElementsOxford University Press, 4 abr 2002 - 538 páginas What is the most common element in the universe? Can you name the noble gases? Everything we see around us is made of chemical elements, but most of us know little about them. Penned by award-winning science writer John Emsley, Nature's Building Blocks explains the what, why and wherefore of the chemical elements. Arranged alphabetically, from Actinium to Zirconium, it is a complete guide to all 115 of those that are currently known, with more extensive coverage of those elements we encounter in our everyday life. The entry on each element reveals where it came from, what role it may have in the human body, and the foods that contain it. There are also sections on its discovery, its part in human health or illness, the uses and misuses to which it is put, and its environmental role. Readers discover that the Earth consists of around 90 elements, some of which are abundant, such as the silicon and oxygen of rocks and soils, while some are so rare that they make gold seem cheap. Our own bodies contain about 30 elements, some in abundance, some in trace amounts; some vital to our health, and some that are positively harmful. A list of the main scientific data, and outline properties, are given for every element and each section ends with an "Element of Surprise," which highlights some unexpected way in which each element influences our everyday life. Both a reliable reference source and a high browsable account of the elements, Nature's Building Blocks offers a pleasurable tour of the very essence of our material world. |
Índice
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17 | |
The periodic table | 511 |
the discovery of the elements in chronological order | 529 |
Bibliography | 533 |
Lists of elements and atomic numbers | 537 |
The periodic table | 539 |
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absorbed abundant accounts acid added alloy aluminium amount atmosphere Atomic number Atomic weight bismuth blood body Boiling Bone calcium called carbon cause century chemical Chemical symbol chloride colour comes compounds contain copper cubic Data Density deposits discovered discovery dissolved Earth's Earth's crust ECONOMIC effect electric electrons element ELEMENT OF SURPRISE environment ENVIRONMENTAL erbium extracted French German glass gold grams half-life heating human human body hydrogen important industry ions iron isotope Italian Italy kilograms known lanthanides lead less levels light lithium litre living magnesium meaning MEDICAL Melting point mercury metal milligrams million mined mineral naturally needed neutrons nickel nitrogen nuclear occurring oxide oxygen periodic table phosphate plants platinum potassium present produced radioactive release result salts sample Sea water showed silicon silver sodium soil Spanish sulfur titanium tonnes toxic traces uranium World zinc