Essential Elements: Atoms, Quarks, and the Periodic Table (Wooden Books) (Hardcover)

by Matt Tweed (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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.

About the Author
Matthew Tweed is a producer, mathematician, and illustrator.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 58 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802714080
• ISBN-13: 978-0802714084
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #394,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Little Book!, June 30, 2003

By	Frunobulax (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Tiny and almost like a child's book, this puppy helped me catch up with all the new stuff that's been going on in the world of physics since I took the subject in high school decades ago. Only slightly larger than a CD jewel case and only 58 pages - and half of those are filled with diagrams - it still took me the better part of my Sunday morning to read and comprehend it. I was particularly impressed with the last page: a graphic representation of 36 different electron orbitals. I also liked the alternatives to the periodic tables that he offers. And his depiction of the universe since the Big Bang is enlightening. I finished the book amazed at how much of everything is nothing.

The author also has added a sense of playfulness to the diagrams (and occasionally, the text) that helps to keep this subject from turning into the snoozer it traditionally is. Now I know why all those nerdy, high-end mathematician-types are so passionate about their work!

If you take mass transit to work, this is an excellent book for you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally original, May 25, 2004

By A Customer

This is a really fun book. It successfully manages to get across the massive amount of weirdness down in the smaller end of things. My sons love it. Some of the pictures are the best I've seen anywhere. A little bit of a pity it didn't go into bond angles and so organic chemistry (lack of space I guess), and, as another reviewer has noted, there are some weak places ... but I just love the feel of the book, the way the subjects have been handled, and, unlike so many 'popular' chemistry books, this one at least has a beautifully designed periodic table at the back! Really highly recommended for kids or for adults who need their science refreshing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not useful, May 6, 2007

By	Alok Govil (CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book very briefly lists our current knowledge of the atomic world.

The issue I have is that for those who are even vaguely familiar with the subject already, the book provides no more knowledge. For those who are not familiar, they would albeit get to know about the terms used in Physics, but would gain no appreciation or true understanding of it. (In the sense that you learn that the Earth is round, but appreciating this fact requires understanding how mankind learned that, and what kind of surprise it was for them to learn this.)

Feynman once asked his father why the ball on the top of his toy truck moves backwards (with respect to the truck) if he pushes the truck forward. His father answered that nobody knows! He could have said that it is because of inertia blah blah. But that does not answer the question, it only gives new terminology to ask the same question all over again (what is inertia).

By telling Feynman that the answer is not known, his father developed his curiosity and simultaneously prevented him from developing biases.

This book gives you all the answers without making you appreciate how all that came about. Its doing exactly the opposite of what Feynman's father did to him.

By the way: I have read a few other books from the Wooden Books series. I usually love them.