Nature's Building Blocks

An A-Z Guide to the Elements

Second Edition

John Emsley

An accessible and entertaining A-Z guide to the building blocks of ourselves, the earth, and the Universe
Fully revised and updated to include three new named and validated elements, along with a new 'Deadly element' section and 'Economic element' updates
Excellent reference source and fascinating 'dip into' read about the elements cited regularly in the news, whether in the context of the environment, our diet, or the world around us
Addition of three new named and validated elements: darmstadtium, roetgenium, and copernicium
Updates to economic importance and activity of various elements, e.g. Gold and Scandium
New uses are described, e.g. helium has new uses such as the helium ion microscope
Entries for the toxic elements; mercury, thallium, lead, arsenic, and antimony have been re-written and updated
Includes a new section on the 'Deadly element' for those that are dangerously toxic
Updated Periodic Table included
All element entries brought up-to-date

Nature's Building Blocks

An A-Z Guide to the Elements

Second Edition

John Emsley

Description

Written by award-winning science writer John Emsley, this informative and highly enjoyable book explains the what, the why and the wherefore of the elements. Arranged alphabetically, from Actinium to Zirconium, it is a complete guide to all the elements that are currently known, with more extensive coverage of those 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, the foods that contain it, how it was discovered, its role in human health, the uses and misuses to which it is put, and its environmental role. The new edition includes the three chemical elements discovered since the first edition--Darmstadtium, Roetgenium, and Copernicium--and the section on "transfermium elements" has now been incorporated into the main part of the book. In addition, Emsley has added new information on the economic uses of elements such as Scandium and Gold. Praised by Nature as "amusing and finely crafted," Nature's Building Blocks offers a pleasurable tour of the very essence of our material world.

Nature's Building Blocks

An A-Z Guide to the Elements

Second Edition

John Emsley

Nature's Building Blocks

An A-Z Guide to the Elements

Second Edition

John Emsley

Author Information

John Emsley won the Science Book prize in 1995 for his Consumer's Good Chemical Guide, and followed this with a series of popular science books: Molecules at an Exhibition, Was it Something You Ate? (co-authored with P. Fell), and The Shocking History of Phosphorus, all of which have been translated into many other languages. After 20 years as a researcher and lecturer in chemistry at London University, he became a freelance writer, as well as Science Writer in Residence, first at Imperial College London and then at Cambridge University. In 2003 he was awarded the German Chemical Society's Writer's Award.

Nature's Building Blocks

An A-Z Guide to the Elements

Second Edition

John Emsley

From Our Blog

Nature's building blocks

By John Emsley I am sometimes asked the question: how many elements are there? I reply that there are several answers to that question. Should it include only those we know about? Then the answer is probably around 120 and I say 'probably' because some have been claimed but not confirmed. There are definitely 114 elements, although that includes some very transient ones.

Posted on October 12, 2011

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