Introduction: A recipe for reality
Flame chasers
Uncuttable
The machine gun and the pudding
Where do atoms come from?
Block by block
Quantum mechanics saves the day
Things that go boom
The alchemist's dream
Leftists
Acids, crystals, and light
It's alive, it's alive!
Nine elements that changed the world (and one that didn't)
Appendix I. Sulfur with an "f"
Appendix II. Half a proton?
Appendix III. Schrödinger's equation
Appendix IV. Neutrons into protons
Appendix V. The pH and pKa scales
Appendix VI. Groups of the periodic table.