93 pages • 3 hours read
Sam KeanThe Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaEssay Topics
If you knew that your lab work would be dangerous and could kill you but also could win you the Nobel Prize, would you continue your research or abandon it? Explain your decision.
Name two metals mentioned in the book as good for health and describe briefly how they benefit the human body.
Lise Meitner’s research is essential to a major scientific discovery, yet her lab partner, Otto Hahn, received the credit and won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry without her. What did she discover, why couldn’t she win the prize, and what honor did she ultimately receive (that’s greater than a Nobel)?
Why do Americans say “aluminum” while the rest of the world calls it “aluminium”?
The number 1/137 poses a puzzle about the universe. What is the puzzle, and what would your solution be?
What’s wrong with the Prototype Kilogram, and what do scientists want in its place?
Philosopher Bertrand Russell declared that the mental effects of iodine deficiency prove that the mind is a construct of the elements in the brain. Do you agree or not? Defend your viewpoint.
Describe two ways an unstable atom can stabilize itself.
If scientists are about to make new discoveries in atomic theory that can benefit humans but also can be turned into powerful weapons, should they continue their efforts or stop? Argue for your position.
