"What is the chemical symbol for a human? What's the strongest acid ever made? Can human beings really spontaneously combust? An exploration of the periodic table in its final form, Elemental answers these questions and more"--From dust jacket.

Introduction: A recipe for reality -- Flame chasers -- Uncuttable -- The machine gun and the pudding -- Where do atoms come from? -- Block by block -- Quantum mechanics saves the day -- Things that go boom -- The alchemist's dream -- Leftists -- Acids, crystals, and light -- It's alive, it's alive! -- Nine elements that changed the world (and one that didn't) -- Appendix I. Sulfur with an "f" -- Appendix II. Half a proton? -- Appendix III. Schrödinger's equation -- Appendix IV. Neutrons into protons -- Appendix V. The pH and pKa scales -- Appendix VI. Groups of the periodic table.