How did the simple naming of elements turn into an international incident during the Cold War? Why did technetium get discovered more times than any other element? How has fraud shaped the periodic table? And what three other states (besides California!) very nearly had elements named after them? Some of us had to memorize the periodic table when young, and many of the rest of us know large swaths of it by heart today. But that's only the official table. What about the 'lost elements,' the ones that didn't quite make it? This talk, based on Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon - his bestselling book about the hidden stories buried all over the periodic table - explores the woulda, coulda, shoulda of every chemist's favorite chart. Come hear about all the wild elements names, big egos, and heated battles that (almost) made the table what it is today.

Disappearing spoon: Ghost elements

248th National Meeting (2014)

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