Your Atomic Self

Your Atomic Self by Curt Stager

Summary: What do atoms have to do with your life? In Your Atomic Self, scientist Curt Stager reveals how they connect you to some of the most amazing things in the universe. You will follow your oxygen atoms through fire and water and from forests to your fingernails. Hydrogen atoms will wriggle into your hair and betray where you live and what you have been drinking. The carbon in your breath will become tree trunks, and the sodium in your tears will link you to long-dead oceans. The nitrogen in your muscles will help to turn the sky blue, the phosphorus in your bones will help to turn the coastal waters of North Carolina green, the calcium in your teeth will crush your food between atoms that were mined by mushrooms, and the iron in your blood will kill microbes as it once killed a star. You will also discover that much of what death must inevitably do to your body is already happening among many of your atoms at this very moment and that, nonetheless, you and everyone else you know will always exist somewhere in the fabric of the universe. You are not only made of atoms; you are atoms, and this book, in essence, is an atomic field guide to yourself. Angie's Comments: Your Atomic Self is about the atoms that are in your body – where did they come from, where do they go? I enjoyed the book, but it took me several days to read it. I found reading one chapter at a time is best. From this book, I learned interesting facts such as water accounts for 20-30% of the mass of human skeletons, and the sky actually has more violet color than blue color (but humans see blue better). This book is best for people who enjoy chemistry, science, or environmental studies, and who have taken high school classes in those subjects. At times, I wished I had more background in those subjects to better understand the book.  Request this item