The Periodic Table of (what)?

For my blog entry, I decided to read Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon. From reviews, it seemed like a  fun collection of tales about different elements. I quickly purchased it from amazon.com, my retailer of choice, and once it arrived, I dove right into the pages.

My first thought upon receiving the book was what the heck is a disappearing spoon? Why is there a spoon in a test tube? I have a degree in chemistry and have spent many hours in lab, but never did I use a regular spoon and I'm sure if i had, I would have no reason to stick it in a test tube. Luckily, I read the back of the book, which I always do to give myself a brief overview of what is to come, and it provided an interesting fact about the element gallium. Gallium is a moldable metal, therefore able to be molded into a spoon. However, it melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, so if someone was to use the Gallium spoon say to stir sugar in their tea or coffee, the spoon would melt, hence disappearing. From this, just reading the back and already learning something new, I could not wait to see what else I could learn from the book!

The first chapter of the book is entitled "Geography is Destiny". Underneath the title of the chapter is a picture of some elements with the typical periodic table setup. Immediately I had an idea of what was in store for me with this chapter. Knowing chemistry and understanding how different areas of the periodic table denote different properties, I had a pretty good idea that I was in for a discussion of columns versus rows, metals, metalloids, nonmetals, gases, etc. Lo and behold, I was right. This is exactly what was presented to me in the entire chapter! (See periodic table below for reference)

I immediately began thinking of seeing the above chart plastered on every chemistry classroom's wall, so that we could easily refer to it during discussions. I was taken back even before college, to high school days, when we had the periodic table in our reference packet for the chemistry regents. Thank goodness they let us have it or else I am sure many of us would not have been able to answer many questions. Before reading on, I tried to recall what I knew. I know the "staircase" (where the purple meets the blue) represents the metalloids, those elements that have properties of both metals and nonmetals. The noble gases are the last column (green), the metals are on the left side (the blue), and the nonmetals pretty much span the rest (pink). What could this chapter possibly tell me that I did not know? Would it be interesting? Would it be boring?

Turns out, from this first chapter, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting all of these tales about elements and instead, I truly got a geography lesson, just of the periodic table. It was textbook. It was what I learned since high school. Where was the madness and love that the front cover says I could expect? Let me be a little fair...there was some history involved, however I've never been much of a history part, except when it came to learning about wars. Why is that always the most exciting part of history?!

Luckily, this chapter remained in my comfort zone. The reason it was boring was because it was not new. I understood it, which I cannot say happens for every scientific piece I read, so that was a plus. I was able to grasp the meaning behind each sentence, each fact, and so on. And with each part I read, I could remember sitting in my high school chemistry class or my undergraduate courses learning about these things. It was a good reiteration of the periodic table and perhaps a more understandable version of the facts. For sure, it was more interesting than a standard textbook, so if it aids in understanding, why not choose it for a class?

The next chapter is "near twins and black sheep"...who knows what that is about, but as disappointed as I may have been with chapter one, I look forward to getting into the "juicy details" of chemistry and elements!