The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean covers the history and  the scientists behind the creation of the periodic table.

This book offers an accessible look into the development of the periodic table and the unique characteristics of the elements.  The subject varies from practical application of the elements to medical research such as the use of lithium in bipolar disorders to a description of the scientists who discovered the elements. 

I found the discussion of pathological science to be very helpful.  The odd cold fusion craze came about just after I finished graduate school.  Instead of being skeptical of their findings, Pons and Fleischmann jumped to conclusions about their ideas.  The author contrasts this to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Röntgen.  He did his best to disprove his ideas.  He thought he was loosing his mind when he could see the bones in his hand.  He repeatedly did careful tests and was able to repeat his results finding a key inside a book.  He had his wife confirm this by allowing him to view the bones in her hand.  She was horrified and he was relieved that he was not losing his mind.

The book also provides an indirect way of getting to know the personality quirks of a large number of Nobel prize winners.  Linus Pauling's dismissal of some information on a cruise ship prevented him from discovering the double helix shape of DNA after he had correctly determined the alpha helix shape of proteins.

The book is a good introduction for aspiring chemists, physicists and lovers of the scientific method.

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean - 48 minutes

Molding a Gallium spoon at room  temp. 2 minutes