THE LAST CHAPTER... GRACIAS A DIOS

Chapter 19

Summary:

          The most rare element is astatine. This interests me because I never knew that. Quite frankly, I have never even heard of the element; I must not pay attention enough to the periodic table. Next on the rarity list is francium which is interesting because someone who speaks french is also rare due to France being on the other side of the planet. Kean then puts out a mind boggling hypothesis about how scientists not knowing to what limits the periodic table has. This book was very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone looking to read up om the history of the fascinating science that is chemistry. 

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Summary:

          Chapter 18 starts off talking about different bureaus, the NIST and the BIPM, which try making precise measurements for the rest of the world to follow. This always interests me because when we talk about distance, Unites Statesicans say miles, but everyone else says kilometers. We should unify the earth and have one system. The kilogram seems common when watching an Australian baking show, but when I make a cake I never see the word in the instructions. Time is measured through rocks with the amount of cesium which is apparently the most precise way to measure time in general. Kean goes on to talk about a fission reactor in Africa which is also the only reactor that exists. Research done with this reactor shows that the big bang theory is impossible. This led australian scientists to come up with the idea of black holes. Black holes always seem to amaze me due to the shear fact that we know nothing for absolute. 

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Summary:

          In chapter 17, Kean is all things bubble. Bubbles play a huge part in history for the elements. Kean starts the chapter off with the story of Donald Glaser who, started the idea of using bubbles for experiments. Glaser was a partial creator in the "Bubble Chamber." Kean then goes on to talk about Rutherford and how became famous due to his studies with radioactivity. He, with the help of Soddy, was able to prove that elements can mutate into other elements. This news helped the discovery of uranium decay. We are able to tell the date of the earth by looking at the amount of uranium in rocks. 

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Summary:

          In chapter 16, Kean starts off with a story of englishmen who wanted to be 90 degrees below the equator. Its humorous due to the fact that in reality a group of Norwegians had already done that. This story moves on to kerosene lamps that failed the group leaving them without a heat source. This chapter was a lot of experiments such as scientist dropping temperatures to about -445 degrees Fahrenheit and mixing noble gases like xenon, argon, and krypton. These experiments were very hard to keep up with, but they were very intriguing. This chapter moved on to lasers and masers where I then became completely lost. I was so confused by this point but you know, AP chemistry is life.  

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Summary:

          Kean starts off the chapter with a 'mad' scientist. It wasn't proven that William Crookes was actually mad, but his drawing to ghost's made it seem so. The death of his brother seemed to be the dawning of his 'ghost' era, but nothing is for certain. After the era of his 'madness' Crookes moved on to working with selenium and radioactivity. Further, Kean goes on to talk about shark teeth covered in manganese found at the bottom of the ocean then leading to talk about the megladon. The megladon is an undiscovered creature believed to be the hugest shark in existence. If such a shark exists, the why haven't we had actual proof? After all this fishy talk, scientists Pons and Fleischmann were explained to have discovered palladium in which it soaks up hydrogen. This discovery led to new energy without being tested.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Summary:

          Chapter 14 really bothers me. In addition to so many immigrants being deported, Kean led us on to believe science was only to be studied by the wealthy. I live in a middle class home and to hear that science is for the wealthy makes my blood boil. This chapter is more about Keans life. He talks about a writer his professor recommended. Geothe wrote stories about elements which makes me laugh because when i think stories i think kindergarten. The Parker 51 pen amazed everyone but what amazed me was Mark Twains literature pertaining science. I was surprised that i never knew of Twain's scientific history. 

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Summary:

          This chapter starts off with Midas, a prince whose reign was filled with gold and bronze. Even now, a diamond engagement ring is 'more special' than a gold one. The people of 3000 BC were told to not be able to tell the difference between gold and bronze and other metals with zinc in them. This caused the idea of counterfeit to arise. Counterfeit is a huge problem in the world of today because people create fake identities to become citizens to the US but also, money is counterfeited making undeserving people rich. Gold rushes are apparently not just Californian history; Australia had a gold rush where gold was able to be picked up off the ground. The use of paper money began in China and this just amazes me. European notes are so hard to counterfeit whereas counterfeit american money isn't uncommon. Last, Kean goes to explain aluminum and how it was valued more than gold. A scientist found out how to extract pure aluminum which caused the market to crash.