Report The Elements: A Very Short Introduction by Philip Ball - Book Report/Review Example

They used to believe that these are the only four elements which are needed by the modern world scientists in creating the elements like hassium and meitnerium. Philip also writes in his book that, earlier he paid less attention and respect to the Periodic Table portrait. The Periodic Table is a famous and helpful term of all the chemical elements which are being used in chemistry. The author also mentions that the chemists only promote the notions related to the elements, and they also believes that chemistry starts with the portrait of Periodic Table only.

They forget to bring up the full acknowledgement of these elements, where and how these elements have derived from. Author says that today, the molecular science needs only few and selective list of hundred or more elements, as contained in the Periodic Table today. By clearing his point, Philip quotes some famous examples either such as; a piano teacher would never start to teach the pupil by giving the details to play every note of the keyboard. He will only give the lessons by focusing on the few keys, to play some specific tune.

Music is all about tunes, chords and harmonies, instead of every note. Philip relates this example with the chemistry and the Periodic Table, that chemistry is all about molecules and compounds not elements. Philip states that no chemist in the entire world, including me can ever resist the elements. Wecan just not consider elements, if they don’t comprise in chemistry.Philip refers to one chemist named Oliver Sack, who used to collect elements in his childhood, instead of coins or stamps, in comparison to other kids.

Sack used to spend his pocket money on a lump of sodium. Philip refers to his own self saying that I would just smuggle the lumps of sulphur and bottles of mercury from my school, as compared to Sack. The author shares his feelings about the smell and preciousness of the elements, which forced him to write a book