The elements - Jack Challoner

The Compact Guide: 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. Everything in the known Universe is made up of one of the 118 elements of the periodic table, and this is your definitive guide. Every element is featured, their vital statistics given, their main compounds and uses explored, and their fascinating histories told.

Forged in the Big Bang, the elements and their resulting compounds created our Solar System, the planet we live on, the air we breathe, the water we rely on, and the proteins that would become life. 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. The elements make up everything, and this book is the perfect guide to every one of them.

Jack Challoner has been an independent science writer since 1991. He has written over 30 books for all ages, on a variety of scientific and technological subjects. He has also written for encyclopaedias, magazines, museum exhibitions and websites and acts as scientific consultant for books, CD-ROMS, plays and television programmes.