Thorium, African Elephants, and the Periodic Table of DEATH and Mystery
Imagine it’s (Th)ORsday (1)… You are a Swedish chemist in the early 1800s credited with the discovery of the periodic table elements cerium and selenium, are the first to isolate silicon and zirconium, and students from your laboratory are the first to isolate lithium, lanthanum, and vanadium. You are also the originator of the scientific terms catalyst, polymer, protein, and isomer. You are a (Th)ORoughly bad-a** scientist, a true (Th)ORnament in the scientific heavens. Your name is Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848), you have been proclaimed the “Father of Swedish Chemistry,” and Sweden even celebrates you with a holiday (2). But …