Product Description

The one hundred or so elements listed in the table make up everything in the universe, from microscopic organisms to distant planets. Just how does the periodic table help us make sense of the world around us? Using vivid imagery, ingenious analogies, and liberal doses of humor P. W. Atkins answers this question. He shows us that the Periodic Kingdom is a systematic place. Detailing the geography, history and governing institutions of this imaginary landscape, he demonstrates how physical similarities can point to deeper affinities, and how the location of an element can be used to predict its properties. Heres an opportunity to discover a rich kingdom of the imagination kingdom of which our own world is a manifestation. }Come on a journey into the heart of matterand enjoy the process!as a brilliant scientist and entertaining tour guide takes you on a fascinating voyage through the Periodic Kingdom, the world of the elements. The periodic table, your map for this trip, is the most important concept in chemistry. It hangs in classrooms and labs throughout the world, providing support for students, suggesting new avenues of research for professionals, succinctly organizing the whole of chemistry. The one hundred or so elements listed in the table make up everything in the universe, from microscopic organisms to distant planets. Just how does the periodic table help us make sense of the world around us? Using vivid imagery, ingenious analogies, and liberal doses of humor P. W. Atkins answers this question. He shows us that the Periodic Kingdom is a systematic place. Detailing the geography, history and governing institutions of this imaginary landscape, he demonstrates how physical similarities can point to deeper affinities, and how the location of an element can be used to predict its properties. Heres an opportunity to discover a rich kingdom of the imagination kingdom of which our own world is a manifestation. }

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #600351 in Books
• Published on: 1995-08-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

A truly magnificent book
When asked to explain why a certain element behaves a certain way, chemists almost always reach for their well-worn periodic table. When asked to explain in more detail, sooner or later quantum mechanics enters into the discussion. At this stage, for the average person, the question has not been answered, since the answer is likely to be incomprehensible. Enter Atkins' book about the periodic table. Everybody will learn something from it, no matter how (in)experienced they are. Novices at chemistry will learn about the periodic table the right way, and will do so right from the start. Seasoned chemists and chemistry teachers will scratch their heads in amazement at Atkins' ability to turn something difficult into something logical. There's something in here for everybody; it's destined to become a classic.

The Periodic Kingdom is an excellent book.
As a pharmacist, I've taken years of advanced chemistry courses. I wish that I'd had this book (The Periodic Kingdom) available during pharmacy school- it would have helped to elucidate some of the most fundamental, yet hard-to-grasp concepts in chemistry. Right now, I'm using Professor Atkins' insightful illumination of the atomic world to help explain these concepts to my 6th-grade son. It beats the dry 6th-grade text any day. I can't praise this book enough.

An amazing book.
This book ingeniously explains the fundamental, though often hard to understand, concepts of chemistry, and is very easy to read. It explains the periodic table as a map to a fascinating land: The kingdom of the elements.