The Elements We Live By: How Iron Helps Us Breathe, Potassium Lets Us See, and Other Surprising Superpowers of the Periodic Table

Anja Røyne

Jun 2020 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Donna Postel

About this audiobook

An around-the-world journey to discover where in the wild we can find the elements of life and the surprising ways they're essential to our survival We all know that we depend on elements for survival-from the oxygen in the air we breathe to the carbon in the molecular structures of all living things. But we don't often stop to appreciate how, say, phosphorous holds our DNA together or how potassium powers our optic nerves so that we can see. In The Elements We Live By, physicist and award-winning author Anja Røyne takes us on an astonishing journey through chemistry and physics, introducing the building blocks from which we humans-and the world-are made. Not only does Røyne explain why our bodies need iron, phosphorus, silicon, potassium, and many more elements in just the right amounts in order to function, she also leads us around the world to where these precious elements are found (some of them in ever-shrinking quantities). You'll understand how precariously balanced our lives-and ways of life-really are, and you'll see these unsung heroes of the periodic table in an entirely new light.

About the author

Anja Røyne, PhD, is a scientist and lecturer at the University of Oslo Department of Physics. A physicist with a background in solar energy, Røyne has also researched geological and geochemical processes and is now working on creating materials with biotechnology.

Donna Postel is fascinated by all kinds of stories and loves telling them. From memoir and biography to literary fiction, romance, mystery, and suspense, Donna uses her innate curiosity, talent, and decades of experience on stage and in the recording studio to bring books to life.