Essential Elements: Atoms, Quarks, and the Periodic Table

Wooden Books

by Matt Tweed

For anyone interested in the tiny building blocks of our universe, Matt Tweed-the illustrator of Useful Mathematical & Physical Formulae -offers a fascinating introduction to the complex and beautiful world of the elements. Tweed reveals the principal properties and interactions of substances familiar (carbon, oxygen, water) and unfamiliar (rare earth elements and subatomic particles). He explains atomic bonding, radioactivity, and DNA, and presents alternative ways of visualizing the periodic table, as well as a succinct synthesis of the Big Bang. Scientists and laymen alike will be entranced.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Matthew Tweed is a producer, mathematician, and illustrator.

Reviews

[Anna Nikolova]

A good, gentle introduction to the world of science. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Thomas Pentecost]

Not a bad little book. Gives a very brief overview of some fundamental topics from chemistry and a few from physics. The brief sections might serve to spark someones interest in reading more complete/detailed books on the topic.
There are some errors in the figures on pages 13 & 18.

[Gigi McCullar]

A short but sweet little book; jam packed with goodies of matter.

[Tony Lawrence]

A fascinating exploration of The Periodic Table of Elements, from the big bang and the birth of everything, to the beauty and symmetry of the table itself, to the sub-atomic strangeness.

[Katy Lovejoy]

still don't like science

[Sam]

This was really, really fun to read. Useful stuff fills these pages, such as how many up and down quarks are in a proton versus a neutron.

Perfect for the shelves of scientists, sorcerers, alchemists, and the curious.

[Donna]

A nice little chemical overview for the layman.

[Marshaferz]

A lovely little book, although I suspect that it would be completely over my head if I didn't know much about science.