There are now approaching 120 elements that have been discovered – and from them everything in the world is made. This Gem tells the story of each element and its importance to us.

Collins Gem Chemical Elements starts by looking at the idea of an element and the classification of elements into the Periodic Table, a table that enables chemists to make many predictions about elements and compounds.

The book then contains alphabetical entries for all the elements from actinium to zirconium, giving key physical data plus information on its discovery, its name, where it is obtained from, what are its key features and what it is used for. The entries contain many illustrations of historic and scientific interest.