The Enjoyment of Chemistry

Fülszöveg

THE ENJOYMENT OF CHEMISTRY
LOUIS VACZEK
This book is designed for the untrained general reader, who will find it fascinating to understand some of the most fundamental discoveries of science, particularly the nature of chemical structure and change. Avoiding the more formidable aspects of chemistry, it sheds a clear light on what we now know concerning matter and its chemical behavior. From everyday sense impressions to the most imposing abstract theory, the story unfolds invitingly and in a logical sequence, until the magnificent patterns of the invisible physical world become intelligible. The reader comes to appreciate its beauty and to share the pleasure of the scientific attitude.
Beginning with a brief history of man's attempts through the ages to explain chemical change in terms of superstition, of religion, of philosophy, and finally of experimentation, the iDOok traces the story of how scientists have discovered that chemistry can be explained as an atomic activity —... Tovább

Fülszöveg

THE ENJOYMENT OF CHEMISTRY
LOUIS VACZEK
This book is designed for the untrained general reader, who will find it fascinating to understand some of the most fundamental discoveries of science, particularly the nature of chemical structure and change. Avoiding the more formidable aspects of chemistry, it sheds a clear light on what we now know concerning matter and its chemical behavior. From everyday sense impressions to the most imposing abstract theory, the story unfolds invitingly and in a logical sequence, until the magnificent patterns of the invisible physical world become intelligible. The reader comes to appreciate its beauty and to share the pleasure of the scientific attitude.
Beginning with a brief history of man's attempts through the ages to explain chemical change in terms of superstition, of religion, of philosophy, and finally of experimentation, the iDOok traces the story of how scientists have discovered that chemistry can be explained as an atomic activity — that the behavior of atoms and molecules is based on their electronic structures. Along the way, the reader is led easily into the meaning of the periodic table of elements, and of chemical terminology, equations, and reactions, and to an understanding of the ways in which atoms combine to form molecules.
The book's remarkable vitality springs from the fact that it is based on a course given by the author for several years at the New School for Social Research. The diverse needs and tastes of that unusual student body, which includes intelligent adults, fiberal arts undergraduates, and professionals in one field seeking some basic knowledge in another, guided him to this most helpful approach, which has been extremely successful there. Vissza