Elemental

How the Periodic Table Can Now Explain (Nearly) Everything

By: Tim James

Narrated by: Roger Davis

SELECTED AS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE DAILY MAIL

'A hugely entertaining tour of the periodic table and the 118 elements that are the basic building blocks of everything' Daily Mail

In 2016, with the addition of four final elements - nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson - to make a total of 118 elements, the periodic table was finally complete, rendering any pre-existing books on the subject obsolete.

Tim James, the science YouTuber and secondary-school teacher we all wish we'd had, provides an accessible and wonderfully entertaining 'biography of chemistry' that uses stories to explain the positions and patterns of elements in the periodic table. Many popular science titles tend to tell the history of scientific developments, leaving the actual science largely unexplained; James, however, makes use of stories to explain the principles of chemistry within the table, showing its relevance to everyday life.

Quirkily illustrated and filled with humour, this is the perfect book for students wanting to learn chemistry or for parents wanting to help, but it is also for anyone who wants to understand how our world works at a fundamental level. The periodic table, that abstract and seemingly jumbled graphic, holds (nearly) all the answers.

As James puts it, elements are 'the building blocks nature uses for cosmic cookery: the purest substances making up everything from beetroot to bicycles.'

Whether you're studying the periodic table for the first time or are simply interested in the fundamental building blocks of the universe - from the core of the sun to the networks in our brains - Elemental is the perfect guide.

©2018 Tim James

Critic reviews

"Witty, pacy and fascinating...the best book on science I've ever read." (Karl Dixon)

"A hugely entertaining tour of the periodic table and the 118 elements that are the basic building blocks of everything." (Daily Mail)

Entertaining for any laymen

Chucked full of history and chemistry. Lots of research went into this book. I will be coming back to it.

hilarious, it kept me wanting more!

the humor was great, and the reader was amazing at capturing the books stories! loved it

Highly Recommend

Great research. Great teaching. You cannot lose reading this information packed volume of knowledge!

Great help

Great book for understanding the periodic table history. Makes wanting to learn it more enjoyable

Chemistry Can not be More Simpler

This is all what a chemistry student needs for development of a solid base. Tim's way of explanations span smoothly from elementary to graduate level. From solubility to entropic disorders, states from gaseous to plasma, how coke is made of, and a wide range of real life examples/facts and accidents.....the title simply can not to be missed.

Wish Tim's series continue beyond Astronomical and Fundamental; and more to append on recent Semiconductor/OLED/WiFi Communication technologies to Modern Computers with exotic terms.