The Elements We Live By: How Iron Helps Us Breathe, Potassium Lets Us See, and Other Surprising Superpowers of the Periodic Table

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Synopsis
Winner of the 2018 Brage Prize'Perfect popular science . . . not just a well-written story about the elements, but a book about being human in the world today'Åsmund H. Eikenes, author of Splash: A History of Our BodiesWe all know that we depend on elements for survival - from oxygen in the air we breathe to carbon in the molecular structures of all living things. But we seldom appreciate how, say, phosphorus holds our DNA together or how potassium powers our optic nerves enabling us to see.Physicist and award-winning author Anja Røyne takes us on an astonishing journey through chemistry and physics, introducing the building blocks from which we humans - and everything else in the world - are made. Not only does Røyne explain why our bodies need iron, phosphorus, silicon, potassium and many more elements in just the right amounts in order to function, she also shows us where in the world these precious elements are found (some of them in limited and quickly depleting quantities).Røyne helps us understand how precariously balanced our lives - and ways of living - really are, and to appreciate little known and generally unsung heroes of the periodic table in an entirely new light.
Copyright:
2018

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9781472144652
Related ISBNs:
9781472144669
Publisher:
Little, Brown Book Group Limited
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Anja Røyne
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Outdoors and Nature, Earth Sciences, Philosophy
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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