the periodic table illustrated: a guide to the 118 chemical elements

The Periodic Table is a compact guide to the currently known 118 elements and their properties.

The periodic table provides the most convenient way of organizing chemical elements by specific icons and is widely used in chemistry and physics as a quick and easy resource for scientists and students. In this guide, you’ll find out about copper (Cu), a reddish metal that has been used since ancient times for making utensils, weapons and piping, and has proved to be a good conductor of heat; learn about aluminum (Al) and its strong, lightweight properties, which has led to it being used in aircraft manufacture and building construction; marvel at carbon (C), which makes up 0.025 percent of Earth’s crust, and which is also one of the main elements of diamond, the hardest known natural material; and discover radon (Rn), a radioactive, odorless gas that is considered a toxic health hazard. This book will inform and fascinate anyone interested in the core chemical elements that make up our world and which are found in everything we make.