Beryllium (Understanding the Elements of the Periodic Table) [Library Binding]

Rick Adair (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Rosen Publishing Group (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1404210032
• ISBN-13: 978-1404210035
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,119,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 48-page introduction to the 4th element, November 6, 2008

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beryllium (Understanding the Elements of the Periodic Table) (Library Binding)

I've read several books in the "Understanding the Elements of the Periodic Table" series for young adults (YA), and so far "Beryllium" is my favorite. The author, Rick Adair has a Ph.D. in earth sciences and really seems to understand his chemistry and physics, unlike other writers in this series.

Although some of the books, e.g. "Carbon" and "Oxygen" contain out-dated periodic tables of the elements, "Beryllium" is fine in this respect and lists newly identified elements 110 (Darmstadtium - approved in 2003) and 111 (Roentgenium - approved in 2004). This is the only book in the series that I've read thus far that gives a decent description of the differences between metal and nonmetal elements, although all of the books skip lightly over concepts involving atomic structure, valence, and isotopes because of their length (48 pages apiece). In "Beryllium" photographs of a box containing marked sugar cubes must suffice for a simulation of radioactive decay.

The author's exposition on the uses of beryllium is my favorite part of this book, including its employment in the faking of rare orange-pink sapphires called `padparadscha.' Because of its atomic structure, Beryllium also played an important role in the discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932. Kudos to Mr. Adair for explaining in simple language why the foil of this element was a perfect choice for detecting these neutral sub-atomic particles.

Beryllium forms such remarkable alloys that it is used in "jets, gyroscopes, and jewelry, as well as in cameras, cell phones, golf clubs, watches, space telescopes, X-ray systems, trumpets and flutes, and nuclear reactors." This is an interesting book on an element that is unfamiliar to most of us.

For those readers who would like to further explore the periodic table, I can enthusiastically recommend "Nature's Building Blocks" (2003) by John Emsley and "The Periodic Table" (2007) by Eric R. Scerri. For more general reading on the periodic table and how it sparked the interest of young scientists, two outstanding autobiographies are available: "Uncle Tungsten" (2001) by Oliver Sacks and "The Periodic Table" (1975) by Primo Levi.