Hunting the Elements

The basic building blocks of life can be organized in a periodic table holding little more than 90 elements, but all of existence depends on them. In Chris Schmidt's PBS-aired NOVA documentary, science writer and "tech guru" David Pogue explains why "matter matters." One of our most prized and rare elements is gold, which is virtually indestructible, yet also soft and malleable. Pogue takes us to an American goldmine, showing how tiny gold flecks, almost invisible to the eye, must be extracted, crushed, and pulverized from enormous rocks. Copper is another valuable element—combined with tin it produces bronze, which was used for early tools and weapons, and was so important that an historical age was named for it. Pogue visits a factory where a time consuming process using bronze is employed to make bells. He explains how the combination of atoms can either produce a crack, as in the Liberty Bell, or make a perfect, reverberating ring. Beyond beauty, chemical compounds also create some "nasty stuff," including a fertilizer bomb, which was deployed in the terrorist destruction of Oklahoma City's Federal building. Among other topics covered are "noble" metals and gases, "rare earth" (which isn't so rare), protons, electrons, neutrons, trace elements, the Big Bang's role in chemistry, chemicals in the human body, and recent man-made elements that might help in areas such as climate change and energy. With unfailing humor, Pogue also visits the Corning Glass research lab in search of shatterproof glass, Gatorade's Sports Science Institute where the quest is ongoing for the perfect body, and a shark tank for a demonstration of a repellant designed to save sharks from being snagged on fisherman's hooks. An entertaining and informative guide to the elements, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)