The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Above( and Beyond) the Periodic Table
Summary:
In the last chapter, Kean starts off by talking about francium. He explains how francium is really rare to find and how there has been only ten thousands atoms every collected. He then elaborates that astatine is way more rare than francium. If francium is beyond difficult to find, now imagine looking for astatine. The author mentions how even if you could find astatine, its radiation will kill you.


Furthermore, Kean continues by telling is that uranium is, in fact, more stable and heavier than are astatine and francium. The author tells us that element 116 and 112 are calmer when element 114 is around. They call this the “island of stability”. He then moves on to talking about the periodic table in the future. It is believed by many people that the periodic table will stop at element 137 because according to Einstein anything beyond element 137 should be physically impossible.


Reflection:
I really enjoyed this chapter and not just because it’s the last chapter. I wasn't aware that astatine and francium were really rare. I also had no idea that astatine can kill you from radiation exposure if you ever found it. I liked how Kean ended by talking about the future of the periodic table. Overall, this book was great and very informational.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Geography Is Destiny  Summary:        In the chapter “Geography is Destiny”, the author explains how the periodic table is organized in a particular way, so a location of the element can say a lot about its chemical properties and its interaction with other elements. Helium and oxygen are both similar in that they are both gases at room temperature. However, the great distinction between the two is their interaction with other elements. Because helium is a member of a group called the noble gases, it doesn't interact with other elements as it is already stable. There is no need for him to interact with other elements; they are perfect as they are. On the other hand, oxygen is quick to interact with many other elements despite being a stable gas at room temperature. At the beginning of the chapter, the author compares the periodic table to a map and I totally find this metaphor effective since the periodic table has groups and periods as sort of coordinate points of
Read more

The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Galapagos of the Periodic Table Summary: In chapter 3, Kean begins by talking about Robert Bunsen whose arsenic obsession led to an explosion that made him half blind. He was a German chemist who successfully improved the Bunsen burner and made it popular. By studying geysers and volcanoes through collecting vapors and boiling liquids, he was able to figure out how geysers build up the pressure that causes them to blow. Not only this, but he was also able to invent the spectroscope which is used to observe elements. The author then goes off to talk about Dmitri Mendeleev’s life and his contributions in the periodic table. Mendeleev was able to place the 62 known elements into rows and columns; however, he wasn't the only one, for Julius Meyer also worked on a periodic table of his own. Kean then points out how Mendeleev was able to predict elements that hadn't been discovered yet. In addition, the author continues to be explaining how Francois Lecoq de Bo
Read more

The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Completing the Table....with a Bang Summary: In chapter 6, the author talked about how the periodic table finally came to be organized as. He started off by talking about Henry Moseley, who helped organize the periodic table. Moseley was a physicist who came up with the idea of the atomic number. To study the atomic structure, Moseley would use the X-ray spectra. He was able to notice that there was a relationship between the amount of protons there are in an atom and its atomic number. Henry Moseley was the one who suggested that the elements on the periodic table should be organized by increasing atomic number and mass. Sadly, Henry Moseley soon joined the army where he was killed. After Henry Moseley's death, many scientists began looking for the missing elements on the periodic table. More and more elements soon came to be discovered; thus, expanding the periodic table. They were able to track down every one of the missing elements except element 61. Eventually,
Read more