THE ELEMENT MAN

摘要

About seven years ago, shortly after I arrived at this magazine, I was wandering around the Web one afternoon when I came upon a mention of a guy who had built a giant desk in the shape of the periodic table of the elements-a "periodic table table"-complete with cubbies in which he stored items from his extensive collection of element samples (the more stable, non-radioactive ones, at least). Weird, obsessive, intriguing. I followed the link and soon arrived at an account of the "sodium party" this chemistry enthusiast had thrown onrnhis rural Illinois property to demonstrate and document what happens when chunks of pure sodium are released into water.