It's easier to break an atom than a prejudice.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
Protons give an atom its identity, electrons its personality.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
Scientists are not people who give the right answers; they are people who ask the right questions.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
Human beings can't help but mythologize the elements; it's how we make sense of the stuff that makes up the universe.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. Not kill all the mice.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
All the good stories about the elements had been told by the Greeks and recycled by the Elizabethans. We were left to tackle the quantum mechanical underpinnings.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
Chemistry is, well technically chemistry is the study of matter. But I prefer to see it as the study of change.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
The joy of science lies in pondering the magnificent and seeking answers to the unknown.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
The periodic table, beloved by chemists, has even transcended its utilitarian roles, and become a permanent fixture of the popular imagination.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon
Scientists don't resist facts, but they do resist abandoning all the theories and starting over again. That's what 'science' is - too massive an entity to allow such anarchy.Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon