Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe

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• Used Book in Good Condition

Top Reviews

Fantastic Science Book
by AZN CUST NC (5 out of 5 stars)
July 16, 2016

I wish I had this book when I was struggling with chemistry back in high school. My daughter will soon finish her undergraduate degree in Chemistry and I thought she might enjoy this based on the description. It came in the mail this morning and I have spent six hours reading from it. There is so much information packed in charts on the right hand side that I know will mean more to her about the shape, atomic number, spectral reading and other technical stuff. To see the raw element, and then common ways we encounter the element in compounds or ways it is used by the human body, or stories about how much or little of the element exists and why - I would find it interesting to look at or browse as an upper elementary or middle school student and by high school - if that spark of interest is there THIS BOOK SHOULD SET A LEARNER ON FIRE. This is coming from a poor chemistry student but a fired up musician and computer expert who also gave 9 years to educating others. Now I want to understand what my educated children are talking about well enough that I don't have a blank look on my face.

Am I a bad mom for reading her present before I give it to her?
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KINDLE VERSION The Elements: A Visual Exploration...
by in1ear (John Row) (5 out of 5 stars)
February 6, 2015

This is a review of the KINDLE version of The Elements: A Visual Exploration... The Kindle version DOES contain the photographs, charts and illustrations . Done beautifully. You may think this a silly point, but many Kindle books do not contain these when the print version's total value is diminished in the translation to e-book. Good job, Amazon.
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Strays too far from facts, into personal thoughts and opinions.
by Lynne (2 out of 5 stars)
March 1, 2018

I like that the elements are presented in order, however, I do NOT like that this doesn't just present the facts of the elements. The author puts in his personal opinions about evolution and politics into this book. It's a book about elements, there are too many base facts about them for personal opinions to be included. When my children and I got to silicon, almost the entire page was about evolution. It also gets into the political, so annoying.
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I cannot say enough about this beautiful book! My son is studying chemistry in our ...
by Lovely Reader (5 out of 5 stars)
May 21, 2016

I cannot say enough about this beautiful book! My son is studying chemistry in our homeschool. I am so glad I bought this book to accompany his study. Each element has a two page spread where it gives you real photographs of the element itself, as well as, items that are made from that element. Also gives you atomic number, mass, structure, as well as more information. There is also about a 4-6t paragraph blurb of information or history on each element. Along with a beautiful mini pull out poster of elements. This book is gorgeous and I am so glad we have it!
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As Gorgeous and As Fascinating As Promised
by Pop Bop (5 out of 5 stars)
February 24, 2016

I couldn't imagine that this book, especially as a paperback, could be as good as all of the effusive blurbs promised. Well, I was wrong. The book is everything that was promised, and more.

We start with a crisp tour through the periodic table and an excellent description of the latest quantum explanations of how electron shells can be best understood. I don't know if you could go from no background whatsoever to an understanding of this topic, but if you have any chemistry/physics background at all then close reading of this several page intro should bring you back up to speed. After that intro you get an explanation of the info-graphs that provide basic data for each element, on each element's page, on electron arrangements, crystal structure, physical characteristics and the like. This is useful and interesting, but not essential material.

The star of the show is the two page treatment of each element, that covers the element's pure form and its most common combined forms. The breezy narrative that sums up each element is entertaining and informative.

The upshot is that this book ends up being the most visually stunning bathroom-coffeetable book, ever. What a happy find.
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Great Value. Exceptional Quality.
by GJACKSON (5 out of 5 stars)
August 4, 2018

Awesome!

I'm only up to Krypton, but the book is great. The author is humorous and smart. His choice of factoids to include about each element are informative and fascinating. The photography is AMAZING.

There are some easily overlooked features along the right edge of each page.

The Atomic Emission Spectrum off each element is shown.

There is a graph that shows the order in which the electron fill the various orbitals. Curiously, Potassium and Calcium filled the 4s orbital before the elements 21 - 28 begin filling the 3d orbital. Then Copper Robs an electron from the already full 4s orbital to complete the 3d orbital! What! Only in that graph would such a phenomenon be noticeable.

The State of Matter shows the temperature that each element changes State. You think ... boring. But if you fan the pages slightly, a pattern is revealed of the increasing and the decreasing melting/boiling points relative to the number of valence electrons. Fascinating!

My only negative is the Bohr's Model of the electrons (located to the right of the Atomic Radius value) on some pages is very small and it is hard to determine where the additional electron was placed.

IMPORTANT: Purchase a pair of white gloves to wear while handling the book. Your Fingerprints are QUITE visible and cannot be removed completely once present. Washing hands prior only works for a very short period of time.
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Each element is beautifully represented on its own
by E. Wainwright (5 out of 5 stars)
October 29, 2017

We purchased this book as a part of my home schooled high schoolers chemistry curriculum. I had no idea what to expect, but purchased out of necessity. I was BLOWN AWAY! Had I known this existed I would have searched it out. Each element is beautifully represented on its own, and then in incarnations of everyday life. For example" V:Vandium is shown in its natural state, and then as a tool, as vanadium steel is used in many tools found in hardware stores!
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Not Just Beautiful-- It's Hilarious
by Steve W. Bonds (5 out of 5 stars)
November 5, 2009

Chock full of beautifully done photos, as well as sharp wit. Just about every page has something silly somewhere. For example:
"Sodium is the most explosive and the best tasting of all the alkali metals"
"Disposable oxygen tanks for hobby brazing and as a refreshing pick-me-up..."
"So many important chemicals have been discovered by accident that one has to wonder what a bunch of bumblers chemists are"
"Bananas are high in potassium, thus both healthy and radioactive."
"This piece of the mineral thorite might contain an atom of francium, if you watch closely."

He's also quite informative. For example, some of you may have taken exception to his comment on sodium, which he explains on the page about cesium:
"Cesium is widely listed as the most reactive of all the alkali metals, and technically it is. When you drop a piece in a bowl of water it *instantly* explodes, sending water flying in all directions. But that doesn't mean it makes the biggest bang of the alkali metals. Sodium takes longer to explode when tossed into water but the whole time you're waiting, a plume of hydrogen gas is building up, and when all that hydrogen ignites, the explosion is much bigger than anything you can get with cesium"

Sounds like some important research there!

Or this fact that makes perfect sense, though I never really thought about it:
"Even lead will float on mercury"

Overall just an excellent, easily readable, pretty, thought-provoking book.
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Recipe for the Universe:
by LastRanger (5 out of 5 stars)
June 23, 2015

Being a reference book Theodore Gray's "The Elements" is not something I would read cover to cover. Instead I read it piecemeal; as I needed information on a particular subject I would go to the element ( or elements ) that I was interested in and generally got what I was looking for. As a basic reference the book fills it's niche admirably. The authors writing is clear and concise with just a touch of humor. Amply illustrated with numerous photos, by the author and Nick Mann, the reader is treated with glimpses of each element; where you find it, what it looks like in it's natural state and how it's used by society. The book opens with an introduction to the Periodic Table, it's history and why it's arranged the way it is. With each element's segment from the PT you will learn that element's atomic number, it's atomic weight, its density, it's radius, it's crystal structure and other vital information that you may need. The essays that accompany each element give you a brief history of when and how it was discovered as well as an overview of how mankind uses that element. Their arrangement in numerical order by atomic number makes finding each one easy. The book closes with a look at the elements over #100, how the got their names and what little is known about them. While "The Elements" is not an in depth treatment of the subject it does offer a quick reference that can get you started on whatever project you're working on and lead you on to more advanced works. The hard bound edition would look good on any coffee table and make for some stimulating conversations. The Kindle edition, that I read on my iPad, had no technical or formatting issues and the illustrations looked good. All in all this was a worthwhile purchase and one that should come in handy from time to time.

Last Ranger
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Great chemistry intro
by Head Mistress (5 out of 5 stars)
November 20, 2017

My 13 year old is taking a high school physical science course. He was disappointed with their chapter on the periodic table, even after I explained he would be taking chemistry soon enough, and requested a book with more in depth information. I bought this book along with the recommended molecules book, and a chemistry model building set. He's very happy he has a new toy to play with and currently satisfied with the contentsof the book. Lots of good information while not so in depth that it's still just a fun side project. I think we will be purchasing more books in the series.

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