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Originally Posted by Matth79
I'll throw one out... Was thinking of of something where a scientist is discredited and has their work stolen, then seeks cold calculating revenge by murdering anyone associated with it using each element in succession, maybe with a periodic table element sample as a calling card.
Now hydrogen is easy, cylinder, leak, ignition!
Helium - inert gas asphyxiation
But how do you kill someone with Lithium, Beryllium etc?
And I mean quickly, not chronic, unless you could honestly say that something was "a death sentence".
Allowing compunds, as well as pure elements, would allow a few dodges, like drowning for Hydrogen or Oxygen.
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Lithium is easy enough, it's used in the treatment of some mental disorders and an overdose can be lethal. Beryllium poisoning is discussed on Wikipedia, though arranging for it to be fatal could be trickier. You could even get quite esoteric, kill someone with a diamond and see which of your characters figure it out.
You would probably have to allow for some compounds, but only so far as the compound is named for the element - eg: Lithium salts, Boric acid or Boron nitride and so on. I think something like water would be a cheat, which element would you say was responsible? ... But there's a lot of elements, it could make for a long book ... or maybe you could make it a series.
