Books

If you are a curious person, you probably like and explanation of many topics. Maybe you want to know what is the universe made of? Or perhaps you want to know how acids and poisons work? Being a curious person, you would like to find the answers to these questions. Where would you look? The internet, chemistry textbooks, or look on YouTube for an explanatory video. I got the answers to all of these questions funnily and understandably in Tims James’s book: Elemental. In that book, he guides you through the history of chemistry all the way from Ancient Greece to the modern era. Tim starts with an introduction to the wonderful land of chemistry by giving seemingly incredible examples, such as the most flammable substance ever or the unluckiest chemist in history!

After that, the history lesson with a big dosage of science begins. Tim explains alchemy and the Greek way of thinking so closely related to the Gods. He then moves on to the Renaissance and a better understanding of science and a better-established process of evaluating theories and ideas. He then moves on to the more exciting stuff about atoms and molecules, the fundamental difference between atoms and about a few other highly exciting topics like radiation, acids, and possibly human combustion! Don’t worry, all of the exciting stuff is still spaned over the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. So you still get a bit of a history lesson and something else.

Tim represented chemistry through a timeline that didn’t just show the progress of chemistry alone but also science in general. From maybes, and if’s, we got to certain true principles. Now we know how most things work, and we got our heads wrapped around the concept of chemistry and the big universe ready to explore. But some things the universe wants to keep a secret. That is until we find the key. Tim also introduces a topic not many people accept is quantum mechanics. People often consider it a weird science, but quantum mechanics is our key to unlock some deep and dark secrets of the universe. All in all, in Elemental, you will never get bored. There is always another fact that you didn’t know until now.