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Read "The Quest for Superheavy Elements and the Island of Stability" in Scientific American's March 2018 issue. Most of these massive elements are extremely short-lived, but theory predicts that if scientists can create atoms with the right combinations of protons and neutrons, they might become stable and endure for minutes, days or even years.
In honor of the 2013 Lindau meeting, which focuses on chemistry, we have updated our interactive periodic table with links to Nature Chemistry's In Your Element essay series. Each essay tells the story of a particular element, often describing its discovery, history and eventual uses.
In the October 2011 issue of Scientific American, we celebrate the International Year of Chemistry. Learn more about its impact on our daily lives in our Special Report.
The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. By Deborah Blum. Penguin Press; 2010.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of Elements. By Sam Kean. Little, Brown and Company; 2010.
In Your Element. Monthly column in Nature Chemistry
The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements: A Reference Guide. By Robert E. Krebs.
Chemistry in Its Element podcast from Chemistry World.
The Elements, By Tom Lehrer.
"I Was a Teenage Element Hoarder," By Michael Battaglia.
Cracks in the Periodic Table, By Eric Scerri.
It’s All Elementary: Decades of Insights from Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, Edited by Ferris Jabr, Introduction by Stuart Cantrill.
Interactive by Krista Fuentes