Disappearing Spoon: Intro - Chapter 2

The introduction of this book gives the backround of what made the author curious about elements. When he was young and got sick his mother would use a mercury thermometer to take his temperature. Being tha talkative child he was, the thermometer would often fall from his mouth and shatter, sending mercury everywhere. How mercury acted when loose is what intrigued him about science. Chapter one sets the periodic table up the the U.S. It talks about several different elements and where they would be in relation to a map of the U.S. Easch example has a little backround information as well. When talking about Helium, the author also talks about Plato and his philosphies and how they are similiar to Helium. To help understand the noble gases, Maria Goeppert-Mayer is focused on. She helped to create the ideas behind electron shells that we use today. On top of the backround ifo the book also teaches about the table and how it's set up, isotopes and a little about elcetron configuration. Chapter two talks about carbon, silicon and germanium. Carbon is the basis of life. It creates essential amino acids in carbon chains and produces life. Below carbon is silicon, a cousin of somesorts of carbon. Silicon is very similiar to carbon except that it is a solid at human temperatures instead of a gas. Silicon has the potential to carry life but because of it's phase it never will. Lower in the same column is germanium, an element that was experimented with as a semi conductor. The results were disasterous and germanium's name was scarred from ever having life potential like carbon.