Product Description

The Periodic Kingdom is a journey of imagination in which Peter Atkins treats the periodic table of elements - the 109 chemical elements in the world, from which everything is made - as a country, a periodic kingdom, each region of which corresponds to an element. Arranged much like a travel guide, the book introduces the reader to the general features of the table, the history of the elements, and the underlying arrangement of the table in terms of the structure and properties of atoms. Atkins sees elements as finely balanced living personalities, with quirks of character and certain, not always outward, dispositions, and the kingdom is thus a land of intellectual satisfaction and infinite delight.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #319472 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
Peter Atkins gained his PhD at Leicester University and his MA at Oxford, where he is Lecturer in Physical Chemistry and Fellow of Lincoln College. Visiting professorships have taken him all over the world - to Israel, Japan, China, France and New Zealand. His research interests include quantum theory, particularly the theory of molecular properties.

Customer Reviews

Original, factual and well written
A book which describes the periodic table as a country - I liked the idea. As a Chemistry student, the periodic table can seem a bit like a map of a strange foreign country, with a perculiar logic behind it's layout, and unpronouncable place names dotted around. This book is well written, and if you're interested in Chemistry then worth reading. It might be helpful to any student struggling with periodic trends and patterns, if they can be bothered to read through it!, as it has a novel approach to explaining things which may stick in your mind. Or totally confuse you. There's an extremely comprehensive index and even a couple of diagrams. It's a good idea and not badly written, presenting a highly factual content in an accessible way. Worth a read if you're interested in science.

I hated this cold passionless and dumbed down narrative
As an attempt at describing the Chemistry of the Elements and their relationships as a geographical landscape occupied with anthropomorphic elements, I absolutely hated this cold, passionless and "dumbed down" narrative, although others may find the content somehow useful/instructive. An attempt at science for non-scientists, which this scientist picked up by mistake.