Introduces readers to the 118 known elements, including their uses and special properties.

Includes index.

What is an element? -- All about atoms -- Compounds -- States of matter -- Alchemy and ancient chemistry -- Meet Dmitri Mendeleev -- How to read the periodic table -- The element categories -- The elements -- The ten most abundant elements in Earth's crust -- Pee-yew! You stink! -- Endangered elements -- Elements and the human body -- What's in a name? -- Oliver Sacks: collector of elements -- The role of elements in catalytic converters -- CSI elements: the periodic table of investigations -- The Curies -- Where do "human-made" transuranic elements come from? -- Particle accelerator -- Radioactivity -- The deadliest elements -- Elements 101-118 -- Standout chemists of the periodic table.