I read the book A Tale of Seven Elements by Eric R. Scerri. This book was published on June 20 of 2013 by Oxford University Press, USA and it contains 270 pages. A Tale of Seven Elements is a non fiction chemistry book. Overall this book talks about how seven elements - protactinium, hafnium, rhenium, technetium, francium, astatine and promethium - were discovered. These elements are referred to him as infra-uranium elements. Each element has its own chapter with a description to how it was discovered.
Eric Scerri starts his book off by talking about a few people and describing what they did, and how they contributed to chemistry/periodic table. One person being John Dalton who developed what is known to be modern atomic theory. Another being …show more content…
Scerri goes on to talk about a few more people in the next chapter, as well as some other contributions made to the periodic table. The first element he talks about is element 91 - Protactinium (Pa), which was one of Mendeleev's predictions. Meitner and Hahn were the first people to research this element and discover new information over it. Protactinium has no applications because it is extremely rare, highly toxic and highly radioactive. The second element he talks about is element 72 - Hafnium (Hf), which was another one of Mendeleev's predictions. Two people who really explored this element was Coster and Hevesy. Hafnium is used in making alloys with metals, or for example was used in the nozzles in rocket thrusters. The third element that he talks about is element 75 - Rhenium (R, which was also one of Mendeleev's predictions. Noddack, Tacke and Berg all contributed in the discovery of this element, as well as the founded research Rhenium is used for parts in jet engines, making of semiconductors , nuclear reactors, electronic tube components, and more. The fourth element he talks …show more content…
He went into detail by talking about each element in its own chapter, which helps him achieve his purpose. His writing was very effective, because the reader is able to learn and understand how these seven elements were discovered. A Tale of Seven Elements has many strengths, such as the stories that Scerri tells in his book and the historical background that he provides. However, this book also had some weaknesses, such as not being straight forward enough with the points being made. The author of this book is Eric Scerri, a chemist and philosopher of science. He specializes in the history and philosophy of the periodic table, which qualifies him to write this. Overall, A Tale of Seven Elements was something that I would have never of read if it was not for this project. However, after reading it I do feel much more knowledgeable in this area of chemistry. I think the author did a great job with this book, and that anyone that reads it will be able to learn something new. I do not think that is is very interesting because it is mainly history, but I do think that it is very informative. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they are intrigued with chemistry and they want to learn more about the periodic table. This book is also pretty specific on what it is going to be talking about, which is seven elements being discovered, so unless someone really wants to know more about the
Eric Scerri starts his book off by talking about a few people and describing what they did, and how they contributed to chemistry/periodic table. One person being John Dalton who developed what is known to be modern atomic theory. Another being …show more content…
Scerri goes on to talk about a few more people in the next chapter, as well as some other contributions made to the periodic table. The first element he talks about is element 91 - Protactinium (Pa), which was one of Mendeleev's predictions. Meitner and Hahn were the first people to research this element and discover new information over it. Protactinium has no applications because it is extremely rare, highly toxic and highly radioactive. The second element he talks about is element 72 - Hafnium (Hf), which was another one of Mendeleev's predictions. Two people who really explored this element was Coster and Hevesy. Hafnium is used in making alloys with metals, or for example was used in the nozzles in rocket thrusters. The third element that he talks about is element 75 - Rhenium (R, which was also one of Mendeleev's predictions. Noddack, Tacke and Berg all contributed in the discovery of this element, as well as the founded research Rhenium is used for parts in jet engines, making of semiconductors , nuclear reactors, electronic tube components, and more. The fourth element he talks …show more content…
He went into detail by talking about each element in its own chapter, which helps him achieve his purpose. His writing was very effective, because the reader is able to learn and understand how these seven elements were discovered. A Tale of Seven Elements has many strengths, such as the stories that Scerri tells in his book and the historical background that he provides. However, this book also had some weaknesses, such as not being straight forward enough with the points being made. The author of this book is Eric Scerri, a chemist and philosopher of science. He specializes in the history and philosophy of the periodic table, which qualifies him to write this. Overall, A Tale of Seven Elements was something that I would have never of read if it was not for this project. However, after reading it I do feel much more knowledgeable in this area of chemistry. I think the author did a great job with this book, and that anyone that reads it will be able to learn something new. I do not think that is is very interesting because it is mainly history, but I do think that it is very informative. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they are intrigued with chemistry and they want to learn more about the periodic table. This book is also pretty specific on what it is going to be talking about, which is seven elements being discovered, so unless someone really wants to know more about the