Outlines compelling arguments about the health dangers of sugar, identifying the powerful lobbies behind its overuse while citing its role in a range of challenges from obesity to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

As the central science that bridges biology and physics, chemistry explains the diversity of all things tangible at a molecular level. Chemistry is the science of matter - its composition, structure, properties, and how it changes. Understand chemistry and you'll know why some things oxidize and others explode; why food is good to eat and coal is not. Understand chemistry and know what reasonable expectations you can have of a product, and how to separate fact from fiction. Chemistry is the heart of cooking, it can keep you safe, and it explains why things work. This book brings the subject out of the lab and boils it down to its essential elements - in just a minute.

Gray, author of Popular Science magazine's column "Grey Matter", presents this lively and engrossing cookbook of educational, fascinating, and often terribly dangerous science experiments. Probably better experienced vicariously then attempted on one's own, each of the 55 entries includes brilliant photographs and a detailed explanation of the chemical reactions involved from start to astounding result. Each demonstration revolves around a principle element and most include step by step instructions and danger alerts, though readers will need access to chemicals, metals and lab equipment should they actually want to give it a go. Experiments include making instant ice-cream with liquid nitrogen; creating a melting spoon or sinking ice cubes; home-made nylon thread, light-bulbs, strike-anywhere matches, graphite pencils; and on the more spectacular end, a phosphorus sun in a glass globe, a glimpse of quantum mechanics in a glass, or a "hillbilly hot-tub" heated with quick-lime. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The Secret Life of the Periodic Table uncovers the fascinating stories behind the formulation of the table. It describes how and who discovered the 118 elements, and the competition and cooperation behind scientific advances. The character of the elements is brought to life in a bright and engaging way, making The Secret Life of the Periodic Table ideal for students and general readers. Spared the monotony of a school text, they can gain a basic understanding of the fundamentals of atomic science. The book covers all 118 elements in 14 chapters. They are: - A brief guide to atomic physics - Igor Mendeleev, arguably the most important formulator of the table, and significant others - Hydrogen - Alkali metals - Alkaline Earth metal - Transition metals - Post-transition metals - Metalloids - Other non-metals - Halogens - Noble gases - Lanthanoids - Actinoids - Transuranium elements. Each element description includes a fact box showing atomic number, atomic weight, radius, melting point, boiling point, density, and the year of its discovery and by whom. There are many sidebars, boxes and extended captions covering topics of interest, like Ernest Lawrence's 1931 cyclotron, early precursor to the 10-km radius Large Hydron Collider that he could not possibly have imagined. There is also fascinating trivia about the elements. For example, phosphorus was first isolated by an alchemist's search for gold in urine and in the 1920s, there was a fad for lethal radium cocktails. The Secret Life of the Periodic Table is accurate and entertaining, making it a helpful adjunct to student studies. General readers will find it an enjoyable trip into the world of chemistry and atomic science. It is an ideal purchase for science, middle school and general collections.

Everything you need to know about the fundamental materials that make up our world. This book unlocks the fascinating workings behind the building blocks of life, from the discovery of the very first elements to the formal naming in 2016 of the recently discovered elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 on the seventh row of the periodic table. They are now known as nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts) and oganesson (Og), respectively. The Elements Bible makes the science and logic behind the daunting periodic table easier to comprehend and remember. Sections include: - Mendeleev and the creation of the periodic table - Atomic physics - Patterns and trends within the periodic table - Information about each individual element, from alkali metals and transition metals, through to noble gases, actinides and lanthanides - Energy, stability, chemical reactions and how elements interact - The uses of specific elements - The composition and characteristics of the elements: neutrons, protons, electrons, weight, particles, radiation - Stories of the scientists who often risked life and limb in their pursuit of new elements - Modern scientific discoveries, and the naming of new elements. The text is set out in clear brief segments to avoid complexity that can overwhelm readers. The generous use of illustrations provides additional clarity. The Elements Bible introduces a complex subject and also provides insight into the extraordinary underlying stories and facts that you don't normally hear about. Fully illustrated and packed with quirky illustrations, helpful diagrams and historical anecdotes, it is sure to satisfy those seeking to understand the most fundamental ingredients of the universe.

Best-selling author Theodore Gray is back with all-new, spectacular experiments that demonstrate basic principles of chemistry and physics in thrilling, and memorable ways. For nearly a decade, Theodore Gray has been demonstrating basic principles of chemistry and physics through exciting, sometimes daredevil experiments that he executes, photographs, and writes about for his monthly Popular Science column "Gray Matter." Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home, But Probably Shouldn't, published by Black Dog in 2009, collected Gray's Popular Science columns, along with hundreds of photographs, many of which were not published with the original columns. Now comes the second volume of mad-scientist experiments, which includes more dramatic, enlightening, and sometimes daring demonstrations in which Gray dips his hand into molten lead to demonstrate the Leidenfrost effect; crushes a tomato between two small magnets to demonstrate the power of neodymium-iron-boron magnets; and creates trinkets out of solid mercury to demonstrate how the state of matter depends very much on the temperature at which it exists. Other experiments include: A foil boat floating on an invisible sea! DIY X-ray photos! A bacon lance that cuts steel! Charging a smart phone with apples and pennies! And dozens more!

An eye-opening, original collection of gorgeous, never-before-seen photographic representations of the 118 elements in the periodic table. The elements are what we, and everything around us, are made of. But how many elements has anyone actually seen in pure, uncombined form? The Elements provides this rare opportunity. Based on five years of research and photography, the pictures in this book make up the most complete, and visually arresting, representation available to the naked eye of every atom in the universe. Organized in order of appearance on the periodic table, each element is represented by a spread that includes a stunning, full-page, full-color photograph that most closely represents it in its purest form. For example, at -183°C, oxygen turns from a colorless gas to a beautiful pale blue liquid. Also included are fascinating facts, figures, and stories of the elements as well as data on the properties of each, including atomic weight, density, melting and boiling point, valence, electronegativity, and the year and location in which it was discovered. Several additional photographs show each element in slightly altered forms or as used in various practical ways. The element's position on the periodic table is pinpointed on a mini rendering of the table and an illustrated scale of the element's boiling and/or melting points appears on each page along with a density scale that runs along the bottom. Packed with interesting information, this combination of solid science and stunning artistic photographs is the perfect gift book for every sentient creature in the universe.

At the time of his suicide, in 1890, the genius of Vincent van Gogh was acknowledged by only a small cadre of friends and followers. His jagged life was marked by early years of uncertainty, interludes of luckless love affairs, wrenching episodes of self-mutilation, crises of debilitating illness, and periods of painful striving for lofty goals. Today, his art is universally recognized. He is on everybody's list of outstanding artists and in every catalog of creative people. This scholarly yet very readable work addresses all of the features of van Gogh's life and underlying illness, the family history, the environment, and the artist's uniqueness. Dr. Arnold provides an accurate, balanced, and sometimes hard-hitting evaluation of all the hypotheses and suggestions from the past. He keeps people, places, and paintings in perspective. He explains the chemistry, medicine, and biology and offers new proposals that are always elegant, often provocative, and sometimes audaciously simple. A theme that distinguishes the present analyses is that van Gogh not only suffered from an identifiable disease but that his life-style directly influenced the expression and severity of symptoms, exacerbated his condition, and provoked medical crises. The consequences of such well-documented and seemingly disparate factors as overindulgence in alcohol (especially as the romantic but toxic absinthe), smoking too much, malnutrition, fasting (because the artist elected to buy paints and canvas, instead of his daily bread), environmental exposure, and infections, all come together here and support a unifying hypothesis. This book, beautifully complemented with many full color reproductions of paintings, is presented by a scientist who enjoys the art, evaluates the data, produces new models, and advances the field with thought-provoking ideas. The portrait of Vincent van Gogh is not as a mad artist, but rather as an exceptional man who suffered from an inherited metabolic disorder. He was wonderfully creative because of intelligence, talent, and hard work. He was a genius in spite of his illness - not because of it.

An award-winning science journalist takes an in-depth look at the complex science of element discovery, explaining how synthetic,