New Books
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
The 105th Edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics has significant improved coverage that bring important data to serve researchers in academia, industry, and government laboratories in chemistry, physics, and other scientific disciplines. The updated contents include: New data sets in x-ray related analytical chemistry First-ever critical compilations of transition point data for metal (carbide)-carbon and metal oxyanions transitions Updated datasets for eight properties of water, heavy water, and steam Important environmental chemistry data Highlights of the 105th Edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics include: 369 different topics are included, with 771 distinct data tables and figures 8 new topics added in this 105th Edition 26 topics have major updates in the 105th Edition Harmonized property and variable names and symbols Wide range of property data on more than 20,000 compounds of greatest interest in research and industry The CRC Handbook is citable as a reliable data source, and the data in the Handbook are traceable Coverage of atomic elements and isotopes without peer Common properties on common compounds under common conditions Reliability for modeling, knowledge discovery New sections focused on important current topics including environmental chemistry and solid-state chemistry and physics
The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science
Images and text capture the astonishing beauty of the chemical processes that create snowflakes, bubbles, flames, and other wonders of nature. Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing inscrutable things; it is the process that makes flowers and galaxies. We rely on it for bread-baking, vegetable-growing, and producing the materials of daily life. In stunning images and illuminating text, this book captures chemistry as it unfolds. Using such techniques as microphotography, time-lapse photography, and infrared thermal imaging,The Beauty of Chemistryshows us how chemistry underpins the formation of snowflakes, the science of champagne, the colors of flowers, and other wonders of nature and technology. We see the marvelous configurations of chemical gardens; the amazing transformations of evaporation, distillation, and precipitation; heat made visible; and more.
Superheavy: Making and Breaking the Periodic Table
Shortlisted for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Creating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a needle in a haystack, hoping the bullet and needle somehow fuse together, then catching it in less than a thousandth of a second - after which it's gone forever. Welcome to the world of the superheavy elements: a realm where scientists use giant machines and spend years trying to make a single atom of mysterious artefacts that have never existed on Earth. From the first elements past uranium and their role in the atomic bomb to the latest discoveries stretching our chemical world, Superheavy will reveal the hidden stories lurking at the edges of the periodic table. Why did the US Air Force fly planes into mushroom clouds? Who won the transfermium wars? How did an earthquake help give Japan its first element? And what happened when Superman almost spilled nuclear secrets? In a globe-trotting adventure that stretches from the United States to Russia, Sweden to Australia, Superheavy is your guide to the amazing science filling in the missing pieces of the periodic table. By the end you'll not only marvel at how nuclear science has changed our lives - you'll wonder where it's going to take us in the future.
A Practical Guide to Scientific Writing in Chemistry: Scientific Papers, Research Grants and Book Proposals
Successful completion of postgraduate studies, especially PhD, and career advancement in academia strongly depend on the ability to publish scientific papers or books and attract research grants. However, many chemical scientists find preparing scientific papers and research grant and book proposals difficult; partly because of insufficient training in writing and partly because there are few practical books to enable them to learn the art. This step-by-step practical guide is intended mainly for postgraduate students and early career researchers in chemical science and the libraries that serve them but will also be useful to other scientists. Key Features: Improves the reader's chances of getting their manuscript published in chemistry journals. Increases the likelihood of winning research grants in chemistry. Takes a "lead by the hand" approach. Contains chapters on the preparation of graphical abstracts and research highlights. Uses sketches and other illustration styles to aid mental visualization of concepts. Contains practical examples taken from published papers and successful research grant proposals.
Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything
A Science News Favorite Book of 2019 An earth scientist reveals the dynamic biography of the most resonant--and most necessary--chemical element on Earth. Carbon. It's in the fibers in your hair, the timbers in your walls, the food that you eat, and the air that you breathe. It's worth billions of dollars as a luxury and half a trillion as a necessity, but there are still mysteries about the element that can be both diamond and coal. Where does it come from, what does it do, and why, above all, does life need it? With poetic storytelling, Robert M. Hazen leads us on a global journey through the origin and evolution of life's most essential and ubiquitous element.
Spinach on the Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life of a Theoretical Chemist
'Karplus's tales of a turbulent graduate school experience at Caltech will inspire readers to muster fortitude when everything seems to be spinning out of control. Karplus balances rigorous scientific discussions with refreshing chapters expounding his passion for photography and gastronomy.'Nature Chemistry, May 2020Nobel Laureate Martin Karplus was eight when his family fled Nazi-occupied Austria via Switzerland and France for the United States. He would later credit his life as a refugee as a decisive influence on his world view and approach to science.Spinach on the Ceiling is an autobiographical telling of Karplus' life story, and how it led him to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013. The book captures pivotal moments in Martin's life -- from his escape to Switzerland in 1938 shortly after Hitler's entrance into Austria; to memorable moments like when his parents gave him a microscope which opened his eyes to the wonders of science; to his education in New England and California; and his eventual scientific career which took him to England, Illinois, Columbia, Strasbourg, and Harvard. It relates how Martin's optimistic outlook and belief in his vision made it possible for him to overcome setbacks in his life, and turn a subject of study his colleagues considered a waste of time into a central part of chemistry and structural biology. It is his hope to inspire and aid young readers, in particular, to have a successful trajectory in their own lives. Although research and teaching have been his primary focus, he has traveled the world photographing people and places with a Leica IIIC and has had numerous exhibitions of the photographs. He has also enjoyed a lifelong interest in cooking and worked in some of the best restaurants in France and Spain.
Compendium of Terminology in Analytical Chemistry
How do you describe an analytical method, measure the purity of the new chemical that you have just synthesized, or report the proper units of measurement? For analytical chemists, the principal tool of the trade, or source of terms, is this book - the so-called Orange Book. First published in 1978, this latest edition takes into account the explosion of new analytical procedures and, at the same time, the diversity of techniques and the quality and performance characteristics of the procedures that are the focus of interest. The scope of analytical chemistry has widened, new types of instrumental techniques have emerged and automation has taken over. Answers can now be shared, not only on the chemical composition and structure of the sample, but also changes in composition and structure in space and time. New chapters on chemometrics, bio-analytical methods of analysis, and sample treatment and preparation have been added. The terminology of metrology and quality assurance is now up to date with the latest ISO and JCGM standards. This new volume will be an indispensable reference resource for the coming decade, revising and updating accepted terminology, and providing the official language of analytical chemistry.
The Chemical Biology of Nitrogen
From DNA and RNA to proteins and vitamins the role of nitrogen is central in organismal metabolism. The Chemical Biology of Nitrogen comprehensively examines how the chemistry available to both inorganic and organic nitrogen compounds both enable and conditions the vast array of nitrogen biologies. This book provides a chemocentric approach to both the inorganic and organic chemical biology of nitrogen. Following an introduction to nitrogen trivalency the book progresses through the logic of inorganic nitrogen metabolism and organic nitrogen metabolites to nitrogen proteomics with an integrative approach to understanding the role of nitrogen in its many biologic roles. Authored by a renowned scientist and educator, this book is ideal for researchers in chemical biology and nitrogen metabolism and will be of particular interest to advanced students and postgraduates in biochemistry and chemical biology.
The Chemical Biology of Phosphorus
Alexander Todd, the 1957 Nobel laureate in chemistry is credited with the statement: "where there is life, there is phosphorus". Phosphorus chemical biology underlies most of life's reactions and processes, from the covalent bonds that hold RNA and DNA together, to the making and spending 75 kg of ATP every day, required to run almost all metabolic and mechanical events in cells. Authored by a renowned biochemist, The Chemical Biology of Phosphorus provides an in-depth, unifying chemical approach to the logic and reactivity of inorganic phosphate and its three major derivatives (anhydrides, mono- and diesters) throughout biology to examine why life depends on phosphorus. Covering the breadth of phosphorus chemistry in biology, this book is ideal for biochemistry students, postgraduates and researchers interested in the chemical logic of phosphate metabolites, energy generation, biopolymer accumulation and phosphoproteomics.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Project Description: Theories are part and parcel of every human activity that involves knowing about the world and our place in it. In all areas of inquiry from the most commonplace to the most scholarly and esoteric, theorizing plays a fundamental role. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics focuses on the ways that various STEM disciplines theorize about their subject matter. How is thinking about the subject organized? What methods are used in moving a novice in given field into the position of a competent student of that subject? Within the pages of this landmark work, readers will learn about the complex decisions that are made when framing a theory, what goes into constructing a powerful theory, why some theories change or fail, how STEM theories reflect socio-historical moments in time and how - at their best - they form the foundations for exploring and unlocking the mysteries of the world around us. Featuring more than 200 authoritative articles written by experts in their respective fields, the encyclopedia includes a Reader's Guide that organizes entries by broad themes; lists of Further Readings and cross-references that conclude each article; and a Resource Guide listing classic books in the field, leading journals, associations, and key websites.
Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium
The fascinating, curious, and sometimes macabre history of radium as seen in its uses in everyday life. Of all the radioactive elements discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it was radium that became the focus of both public fascination and entrepreneurial zeal. Half Lives tells the fascinating, curious, sometimes macabre story of the element through its ascendance as a desirable item - a present for a queen, a prize in a treasure hunt, a glow-in- the-dark dance costume - to its role as a supposed cure-all in everyday twentieth-century life, when medical practitioners and business people (reputable and otherwise) devised ingenious ways of commodifying the new wonder element, and enthusiastic customers welcomed their radioactive wares into their homes. Lucy Jane Santos--herself the proud owner of a formidable collection of radium beauty treatments--delves into the stories of these products and details the gradual downfall and discredit of the radium industry through the eyes of the people who bought, sold and eventually came to fear the once-fetishized substance. Half Lives is a new history of radium as part of a unique examination of the interplay between science and popular culture.
Understanding Hydrogen Bonds: Theoretical and Experimental Views
Hydrogen bonded systems play an important role in all aspects of science but particularly chemistry and biology. Notably, the helical structure of DNA is heavily reliant on the hydrogens bonds between the DNA base pairs. Although the area of hydrogen bonding is one that is well established, our understanding has continued to develop as the power of both computational and experimental techniques has improved. Understanding Hydrogen Bonds presents an up-to-date overview of our theoretical and experimental understanding of the hydrogen bond. Well-established and novel approaches are discussed, including quantum theory of 'atoms in molecules' (QTAIM); the electron localization function (ELF) method and Car-Parinnello molecular dynamics; the natural bond orbital (NBO) approach; and X-ray and neutron diffraction and spectroscopy. The mechanism of hydrogen bond formation is described and comparisons are made between hydrogen bonds and other types of interaction. The author also takes a look at new types of interaction that may be classified as hydrogen bonds with a focus on those with multicentre proton acceptors or with multicentre proton donors. Understanding Hydrogen Bonds is a valuable reference for experimentalists and theoreticians interested in updating their understanding of the types of hydrogen bonds, their role in chemistry and biology, and how they can be studied.
What Is a Chemical Element?: A Collection of Essays by Chemists, Philosophers, Historians, and Educators
The concept of a chemical element is foundational within the field of chemistry, but there is wide disagreement over its definition. Even the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) claims two distinct definitions: a species of atoms versus one which identifies chemical elements with the simple substances bearing their names. The double definition of elements proposed by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry contrasts an abstract meaning and an operational one. Nevertheless, the philosophical aspects of this notion are not fully captured by the IUPAC definitions, despite the fact that they were crucial for the construction of the Periodic Table. Although rich scientific literature on the element and the periodic table exists as well as a recent growth in the philosophy of chemistry, scholars are still searching for a definitive answer to this important question: What is an element?Eric Scerri and Elena Ghibaudi have teamed up to assemble a group of scholars to provide readers an overview of the current state of the debate on chemical elements from epistemological, historical, and educational perspectives. What Is A Chemical Element? fills a gap for the benefit of the whole chemistry community-experimental researchers, philosophers, chemistry educators, and anyone looking to learn more about the elements of the periodic table.
Molecular Mixed Crystals
This book focuses on mixed crystals formed by molecular substances. The emphasis lies on the elucidation of the structural and thermodynamic properties of two-component systems. Thanks to the fact that the research efforts have been directed to a number of families of chemically coherent substances, rather than to a collection of isolated systems, the knowledge of mixed crystals has substantially increased. This is reflected by the discovery of several empirical relationships between thermodynamic properties, crystallographic properties, and also between thermodynamic mixing properties and exothermodynamic parameters, such as the structural mismatch between the components of the binary systems. This book is a benchmark for material scientists and a unique starting point for anyone interested in mixed crystals.
The Chemical Age: How Chemists Fought Famine and Disease, Killed Millions, and Changed Our Relationship with the Earth
A dynamic and sweeping history that exposes how humankind's affinity for pesticides made the modern world possible--while also threatening its essential fabric. For thousands of years, we've found ways to scorch, scour, and sterilize our surroundings to make them safer. Sometimes these methods are wonderfully effective. Often, however, they come with catastrophic consequences--consequences that aren't typically understood for generations. The Chemical Age tells the captivating story of the scientists who waged war on famine and disease with chemistry. With depth and verve, Frank A. von Hippel explores humanity's uneasy coexistence with pests, and how their existence, and the battles to exterminate them, have shaped our modern world. Beginning with the potato blight tragedy of the 1840s, which led scientists on an urgent mission to prevent famine using pesticides, von Hippel traces the history of pesticide use to the 1960s, when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring revealed that those same chemicals were insidiously damaging our health and driving species toward extinction. Telling the story of these pesticides in vivid detail, von Hippel showcases the thrills and complex consequences of scientific discovery. He describes the invention of substances that could protect crops, the emergence of our understanding of the way diseases spread, the creation of chemicals used to kill pests and people, and, finally, how scientists turned those wartime chemicals on the landscape at a massive scale, prompting the vital environmental movement that continues today. The Chemical Age is a dynamic, sweeping history that exposes how humankind's affinity for pesticides made the modern world possible--while also threatening its essential fabric.
The Lost Scientists of World War II
This book tells the stories of scientists from Germany and other European countries who vanished during World War II. These erudite scholars contributed to diverse scientific fields and were associated with some of the world's leading universities and research institutions. Despite their proficiency, they all sought help from agencies to relocate to the UK in the 1930s, but were unable to secure the necessary assistance.The Lost Scientists of World War II explores the fascinating narratives of thirty of these scientific refugees, delving into the reasons behind the unavailability of aid and presenting fresh insights into the tragic fates or astounding survival experiences of these individuals.
Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea
Tea is the world's most popular beverage. Dive into a cup of tea with a chemist and discover the rich molecular brew that can be extracted from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea contains over a hundred different chemical compounds which contribute to its colour, taste and scent - and its stimulating effects. The best-known is caffeine, but how does caffeine end up in tea and how can you get it out? Beginning with the leaves, Steeped explores the chemistry behind different styles of tea, from green teas to pu-erh. It tackles the age-old question of when, or even whether, to add milk. And it puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup.
Breaking Through: My Life in Science
A powerful memoir from Katalin Karikó, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, whose decades-long research led to the COVID-19 vaccines "Katalin Karikó's story is an inspiration."--Bill Gates "Riveting . . . a true story of a brilliant biochemist who never gave up or gave in."--Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Katalin Karikó has had an unlikely journey. The daughter of a butcher in postwar communist Hungary, Karikó grew up in an adobe home that lacked running water, and her family grew their own vegetables. She saw the wonders of nature all around her and was determined to become a scientist. That determination eventually brought her to the United States, where she arrived as a postdoctoral fellow in 1985 with $1,200 sewn into her toddler's teddy bear and a dream to remake medicine. Karikó worked in obscurity, battled cockroaches in a windowless lab, and faced outright derision and even deportation threats from her bosses and colleagues. She balked as prestigious research institutions increasingly conflated science and money. Despite setbacks, she never wavered in her belief that an ephemeral and underappreciated molecule called messenger RNA could change the world. Karikó believed that someday mRNA would transform ordinary cells into tiny factories capable of producing their own medicines on demand. She sacrificed nearly everything for this dream, but the obstacles she faced only motivated her, and eventually she succeeded. Karikó's three-decade-long investigation into mRNA would lead to a staggering achievement: vaccines that protected millions of people from the most dire consequences of COVID-19. These vaccines are just the beginning of mRNA's potential. Today, the medical community eagerly awaits more mRNA vaccines--for the flu, HIV, and other emerging infectious diseases. Breaking Through isn't just the story of an extraordinary woman. It's an indictment of closed-minded thinking and a testament to one woman's commitment to laboring intensely in obscurity--knowing she might never be recognized in a culture that is driven by prestige, power, and privilege--because she believed her work would save lives.
Sharing Our Science: How to Write and Speak STEM
A personal, practical, and inspirational guide to written and oral STEM communications for scientists and technical professionals. In Sharing Our Science, scientist-turned-writing teacher Brandon Brown offers an eminently useful guidebook for STEM practitioners looking to communicate their technical work to either a technical or a broader audience. Professionals are increasingly required to communicate their work through blogs, podcasts, and newsletters and to submit to traditional media. After seeing his colleagues struggle to find a writing guide that tackled the unique challenges of writing and speaking about scientific topics, Brown set out to write the definitive handbook to assist STEM students, scientists, engineers, and tech workers alike. In this practical and relevant book, Brown uses his experience as a proven science communicator to cover three levels of writing: fundamental craft considerations, such as narrative tension, structure, sentences, and audience; unique scientific considerations, such as conveying numbers and utilizing metaphors; and finally, social considerations, such as public speaking and writing inside and outside of silos. In place of a reference manual, Brown's engaging narrative guide clarifies the fundamental principles that impact all scientific communication tasks, from white papers and slide decks to Zoom meetings and emails. Sharing Our Science represents the culmination of a lifetime of writing, research, and teaching that will enrich scientists' careers and illuminate the ways in which science is done and conveyed to the world.
Being Human in STEM: Partnering with Students to Shape Inclusive Practices and Communities
For all STEM faculty, chairs, administrators, and faculty developers who work to support students' learning and thriving in STEM - especially those students who have felt unwelcome and unsupported in their past STEM experiences - this book offers sustainable strategies that are now being widely adopted to create inclusive environments in undergraduate STEM classes and programs. Further, this book presents a framework for partnering with students to collaboratively envision how STEM can be a space that fosters a sense of belonging for, and promotes the success of, all individuals in STEM. This book presents the Being Human in STEM Initiative, or HSTEM, as a model for challenging the assumptions we make, and how we communicate to students, about who belongs and who can thrive in STEM. This work arose out of a time of conflict at Amherst College: A four-day sit-in, protesting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and bringing attention to related experiences of exclusion and marginalization that minoritized students experienced on campus. What emerged from that conflict has been transformative for the college, its students, and for its faculty and staff. In this book, the authors share how the HSTEM course came into being, offer a course overview, readings, and resources for developing an HSTEM course at your own institution, provide recommendations for evaluating the multi-level impact of inclusive change initiatives, and profile models of how the HSTEM course has been adapted at colleges and universities across the country. In addition to providing a road map for developing your own HSTEM course, the authors articulate ways that you can make any course or institutional structure more inclusive through active listening and validation, and through reflective practice and partnership, to progressively make incremental and sustainable changes in STEM education. Through listening and reflecting, the model facilitates uncovering the disconnects that can impede inclusivity in our classrooms and laboratories. While the authors offer a proven process and model for change, originally motivated by the urgent need to respond to students' demands, they recognize that larger institutional culture shifts require the identification and commitment to common values, a shared sense of purpose in the work of change, and the provision of agency and resources to individuals tasked with making change happen. How might we shift institutional STEM culture? The HSTEM model provides one solution: By reflecting on our own lived experiences and identities, engaging with the literature on the factors that enhance and limit full inclusion in STEM, and partnering with students to identify actionable ways to bring about sustainable change in our scientific communities, we can all work towards creating a more inclusive, and human, STEM ecosystem.Each chapter opens with a set of guiding reflective questions to help you connect these ideas, frameworks, and strategies to your own teaching and institutional context. While each chapter builds on the previous ideas and frameworks, the book can also be used as a resource to identify a just-in-time strategy to address particular questions you may have about making your teaching more inclusive. The appendices offer an array of Facilitator Guides, each of which outlines a student-endorsed exercise, based on the pedagogical literature, that can foster a sense of belonging and inclusion in your classrooms and laboratory spaces.
Solid-State Chemistry: A Modern Approach
Solid-state reactions have been growing in importance in the preparation of solids, crystal growth, and single crystals of elements. In this new volume, the author discusses in depth recent advances in solid-state chemistry, the latest techniques of characterization of solids, and several new dimensions of solid-state problems. Solid-state reactions, their kinetics, phase transitions, and magnetic properties are discussed in detail, along with electrical properties, semiconductors, metals, and insulators, with examples and explanations. Dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of solids have been considered as well. Different theories of catalysis and adsorption isotherms are covered, and the author includes several experimental findings as well. And of course, preparation of new solids by taking advantage of recent experimental techniques have also been included in this volume. This volume provides a complete description of solid-state reactions, electrical conductivity, characterization of solids, organic solids, and intercalation between layers of solids. The band theories of metals, semiconductors, and insulators are covered. In characterization of solids, TGA, DTA, DSC, FTIR and PXRD techniques have been described. Preparation and properties of organic solids are also explained. Dielectric properties, photovoltaic effects, piezo electricity, ferroelectricity, and antiferroelectricity have been dealt with, giving relatable examples. A number of excitation energy levels giving rise to luminescence and photoluminescence have been explained under the topic optical processes. Diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic behaviors of solids are also explained.