Reflection of Chapter 5

Chapter 5 showed how elements were used throughout wars which I found to be intriguing. Sam Kean specifically talked about Germany and its use with reactive materials during World War II which was really fascinating. I enjoyed the history that came along with the elements and how they were used. I also like how Sam Kean listed elements commonly used by the Germans such as Bromine, Chlorine, Tungsten, etc. There were so many things that I learned about the world and the wars that I did not know before. For example, I did not know that Plants were attracted to nitrogen in other things or about the use of bromine gas in Germany. I learned that Tantalum and Niobium are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. One thing I did not was that ammonium is used for plants as a fertilizer.  I wasn't aware of Fritz Haber winning the Nobel Peace Prize for killing people using the things the he combined.  I also didn't know about the Big Berthas that Germany used. Sam Keane showed exactly how wars influenced the use of elements in other ways.