The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction
Periodic table of elements is one of the most famous and recognizable scientific icons. It is a distillation of many centuries of work and insight into the nature of fundamental substances, and it is a particularly elegant formulation of the deep unity of all matter. Its discovery has been rightly attributed to Mendeleev, perhaps the greatest Russian scientist of all time, although many of its essential features have already been anticipated in the years preceding its official discovery. Even after the discovery, the periodic table has continued to evolve, both in terms of the new elements that have been discovered, as well as in terms of how they are best visually included in the table.
This very short introduction tells the story of discovery of the periodic table. It is in equal measure a historical account as well as an introduction into the scientific principles that have been crucial for our understanding of the elements. It also reflects on important philosophical issues that most active scientist often don’t appreciate enough, but that are in fact important in deciding what are the crucial features of the laws and relationships that the periodic table embodies.
This book is bound to offer a lot of new and interesting information, even to those who think that they know pretty much everything that there is to know about the atomic structure and the elements. (As a physicist, I was surprised to find out that we still don’t have a completely quantum mechanical understanding of the orbitals, and the fact that relativistic effects become important for the heavier atoms.) It is an up to date account, and anyone who is curious about the basic science will greatly appreciate its content. The book is also very well written, and it is a pleasure to read. I highly
About the Author
Bojan Tunguz
Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts
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[…] Tweet About half a year ago I’ve read and reviewed an interesting little book called Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction. Like most other such books in the “Very Short Introduction” series it managed to […]