Disappearing Spoon - Chapter 15-17

Chapter 15, opened with a story about William Crookes. In order to take care of his extremely large family,(large group growing up and eventually had 10 children of his own, that seems like entirely too many if you ask me!) he wrote a book on diamonds and edited a science journal. Then the story moved to his brother and his life. He was known for spiritualism, and pioneering the study of selenium. When the brother died the chapter moved into pathological science is. The book then moves into a story about the Pons and Fleischmann. This was a family known for cheating. They created two protons and two neutrons of hydrogen gas. Instantaneously the two became famous and scientists all over had the idea of cold fusion.  As in any large discovery, many skeptics remained. It turns out their skepticism proved worthy. It was discovered that the family had overlooked many issues and had measured incorrectly. A protest against the family then follwed. The end of the chapter was about X-rays. Rontgen discovered the basics of X-rays, and later Henry Moseley executed these basic X-ray set ups.
Chapter 16 talked about tin in the beginning. Tin can turn carbon from graphite into diamonds, it becomes protean at 56 degrees F. Then it talked about temperatures and solids. Lastly, it talked about light and the first laser light. This idea was quickly thrown out after being deemed impossible by Niel Boher and Von Neumann. In chapter 17, a man named Donald Glaser, who invented the bubble chamber. He used a various liquids like as beer, hydrogen, and calcium for his experiments. Calcium bubbles have shaped economics and empires. Over time, bubble science became a respectable field because of the work of Ernest Rutherford and Lord Kelvin. Rutherford was even able to discover a new element. He won th Nobel Prize in 1908 and that's where he announced the alpha-helium connection. Kelvin's discoveries inspired military work. The chapter ended with the engineering of bubbles. Bubbles have interested physicists to engage in alternative energy. I wasn't the largest fan of these chapters, the bubble thing was kinda cool I guess. But I can't complain, State Champs 2012!