What links the Taj Mahal and our skeleton? Calcium. The Eiffel Tower and our
blood? Iron. The salt on our chips and the street lamps that guide us home?
Sodium.
Forged in the Big Bang, the elements and their resulting compounds went
on to create our Solar System, the planet we live on, the air we breathe, the water
we rely on, and the proteins that would become life. Everything in the known
Universe is made up of one of the 118 elements of the periodic table, and this book
is your definitive illustrated guide. Every element is featured, their vital statistics
given, their main compounds and uses explored, and their fascinating histories
told.
The Elements is authoritative and accessible, with a sense of wonder about
the way in which the material world works, thanks to the protons, neutrons and
electrons that make up the atoms of the elements.
