Thomas Harris Quotes

I still have a vivid memory of my excitement when I first saw a chart of the periodic table of elements.

The elements, if arranged according to their atomic weights, exhibit an apparent periodicity of properties.

I still have a vivid memory of my excitement when I first saw a chart of the periodic table of elements. The order in the universe seemed miraculous.

About seven years later I was given a book about the periodic table of the elements. For the first time I saw the elegance of scientific theory and its predictive power.

In some sense, what you might have suspected from the first day of high-school chemistry is true: The periodic table is a colossal waste of time. Nine out of every 10 atoms in the universe are hydrogen, the first element and the major constituent of stars. The other 10 percent of all atoms are helium.

Everywhere in the universe, the periodic table has the same basic structure. Even if an alien civilization's table weren't plotted out in the castle-with-turrets shape we humans favor, their spiral or pyramidal or whatever-shaped periodic table would naturally pause after 118 elements.

Chemistry is not torture but instead the amazing and beautiful science of stuff, and if you give it a chance, it will not only blow your mind but also give you a deeper understanding of your world.

I think life is all about having a balance, and trying to find equilibrium and not getting things one way or the other.

For me too, the periodic table was a passion. ... As a boy, I stood in front of the display for hours, thinking how wonderful it was that each of those metal foils and jars of gas had its own distinct personality.

Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time.

Balance is good, because one extreme or the other leads to misery, and I've spent a lot of my life at one of those extremes.

Elements which are similar as regards their chemical properties have atomic weights which are either of nearly the same value (eg. Pt, Ir, Os) or which increase regularly (eg. K, Ru, Cs).

The elements which are the most widely diffused have small atomic weights.

Most safely shall you tread the middle path.

Everything in life... has to have balance.

Balance is so important in our lives. In our busy world, we can give ourselves balance between thinking and feeling.

Certain characteristic properties of elements can be foretold from their atomic weights.

Chemistry is good for fun - it's like baseball. It has its role for small children, but I can't see an adult being concerned with it.

You will go most safely in the middle.

Atoms of Element 118 fill an outer shell with electrons, creating a special type of element called a noble gas. Noble gases are natural turning points on the table, ending one row and pointing to the next.

When first presented with the jumble of the periodic table, I scanned for mercury and couldn't find it. It is there - between gold, which is also dense and soft, and thallium, which is also poisonous. But the symbol for mercury, Hg, consists of two letters that don't even appear in its name.

When it comes to the periodic table, the United States really blew its chance to make a name for itself. If you look over a map of all the elements named for cities, states, countries, and continents, it's not surprising that European locales dominate the map.

I'm always a little happier if the court stays somewhat in the center.

I believe in a balanced government. I don't believe in minimum or maximum. Balance is always the best way.

I think that anything in life is about the middle ground.