To date, 118 chemical elements have been found. Professor Mario Markus, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany, takes a look at each element, presenting a poem based on its natural properties along with a scientific overview of each element.
All 118 poems – in addition to some poems about elements that only exist in theoretical simulations – are published in the book Chemical Poems: One On Each Element by Mario Markus. ChemViews magazine presents a selection of these poems over the next months.
Hydrogen |
Hydrogen |
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Colorless, highly flammable gas. It is the lightest element. It was discovered by the Englishman Henry Cavendish in 1766. The name is derived from the Greek words hydro (water) and genēs (generator). It is assumed that it was the first element when the universe was created during the Big Bang. In contrast, its abundance in pure form on the Earth today is negligible since most of it is bound to other elements, for example, in water.
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Through many faces
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Professor Mario Markus
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany.
www.mariomarkus.com
Chemical Poems – One On Each Element,
Mario Markus,
Dos Madres Press 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-933675-98-5
Perfectbound, 308 pages, English, $30
Interview with Mario Markus: , Poetry and Chemistry
ChemViews magazine 2013.
DOI: 10.1002/chemv.201300010
The poems have also been published in German in:
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