Book picks similar to
Experimental Organic Chemistry: Standard & Microscale by Laurence M. Harwood
chemistry
ex-or-ch
studentlitteratur
Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry
Patrick Coffey - 2008
They wanted to discover how the world worked, but they also wanted credit for making those discoveries, and their personalities often affected how that credit was assigned. Gilbert Lewis, for example, could be reclusive and resentful, and his enmity with Walther Nernst may have cost him the Nobel Prize; Irving Langmuir, gregarious and charming, rediscovered Lewis's theory of the chemical bond andreceived much of the credit for it. Langmuir's personality smoothed his path to the Nobel Prize over Lewis.Coffey deals with moral and societal issues as well. These same scientists were the first to be seen by their countries as military assets. Fritz Haber, dubbed the father of chemical warfare, pioneered the use of poison gas in World War I-vividly described-and Glenn Seaborg and Harold Urey wereleaders in World War II's Manhattan Project; Urey and Linus Pauling worked for nuclear disarmament after the war. Science was not always fair, and many were excluded. The Nazis pushed Jewish scientists like Haber from their posts in the 1930s. Anti-Semitism was also a force in American chemistry, and few women were allowed in; Pauling, for example, used his influence to cut off the funding and block the publications of his rival, Dorothy Wrinch.Cathedrals of Science paints a colorful portrait of the building of modern chemistry from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.
Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder
James Mahaffey - 2017
With clear explanations of some of the most complex scientific endeavors in history, Mahaffey's new book looks back at the atom's wild, secretive past and then toward its potentially bright future.Mahaffey unearths lost reactors on far flung Pacific islands and trees that were exposed to active fission that changed gender or bloomed in the dead of winter. He explains why we have nuclear submarines but not nuclear aircraft and why cold fusion doesn't exist. And who knew that radiation counting was once a fashionable trend? Though parts of the nuclear history might seem like a fiction mash-up, where cowboys somehow got a hold of a reactor, Mahaffey's vivid prose holds the reader in thrall of the infectious energy of scientific curiosity and ingenuity that may one day hold the key to solving our energy crisis or sending us to Mars.
The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution
Charles S. Cockell - 2018
Maybe it's made of silicon! Maybe it has wheels! Or maybe it doesn't. In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution's outcomes predictable. If we were to find on a distant planet something very much like a lady bug eating something like an aphid, we shouldn't be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence.A remarkable scientific contribution breathing new life into Darwin's theory of evolution, The Equations of Life makes a radical argument about what life can -- and can't -- be.
Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History of Heat
Hans Christian Von Baeyer - 1998
With his trademark elegant prose, eye for lively detail, and gift for lucid explanation, Professor von Baeyer turns the contemplation of a cooling coffee cup into a beguiling portrait of the birth of a science with relevance to almost every aspect of our lives.
Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor
Hervé This - 2003
Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, This uses recent research in the chemistry, physics, and biology of food to challenge traditional ideas about cooking and eating. What he discovers will entertain, instruct, and intrigue cooks, gourmets, and scientists alike.Molecular Gastronomy, This's first work to appear in English, is filled with practical tips, provocative suggestions, and penetrating insights. This begins by reexamining and debunking a variety of time-honored rules and dictums about cooking and presents new and improved ways of preparing a variety of dishes from quiches and quenelles to steak and hard-boiled eggs. He goes on to discuss the physiology of flavor and explores how the brain perceives tastes, how chewing affects food, and how the tongue reacts to various stimuli. Examining the molecular properties of bread, ham, foie gras, and champagne, the book analyzes what happens as they are baked, cured, cooked, and chilled.Looking to the future, Herv' This imagines new cooking methods and proposes novel dishes. A chocolate mousse without eggs? A flourless chocolate cake baked in the microwave? Molecular Gastronomy explains how to make them. This also shows us how to cook perfect French fries, why a souffl' rises and falls, how long to cool champagne, when to season a steak, the right way to cook pasta, how the shape of a wine glass affects the taste of wine, why chocolate turns white, and how salt modifies tastes.
A Chemical History of a Candle
Michael Faraday - 1861
Their subjects include the components, function, and weight of the atmosphere; capillary attraction; the carbon content in oxygen and living bodies; respiration and its analogy to the burning of a candle; and much more. Numerous illustrations.
Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome
Nessa Carey - 2015
For decades after the structure of DNA was identified, scientists focused purely on genes, the regions of the genome that contain codes for the production of proteins. Other regions - 98% of the human genome - were dismissed as 'junk'. But in recent years researchers have discovered that variations in this 'junk' DNA underlie many previously intractable diseases, and they can now generate new approaches to tackling them. Nessa Carey explores, for the first time for a general audience, the incredible story behind a controversy that has generated unusually vituperative public exchanges between scientists. She shows how junk DNA plays an important role in areas as diverse as genetic diseases, viral infections, sex determination in mammals, human biological complexity, disease treatments, even evolution itself - and reveals how we are only now truly unlocking its secrets, more than half a century after Crick and Watson won their Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1962.
Covet
Kaye Blue - 2019
I exist. I survive. Waiting for the day it all ends. But now everything has changed. I’ve been taken by the coldest man I’ve ever met. He’s ruthless. Implacable. I’m nothing but a tool to him. Except that he touches something deep inside me…a place no one else has ever reached. And now, against all reason, I want. Crave. Him.
Rise
Dylan Allen - 2017
I watched my mother waste her life dreaming of a man who left her without a second glance. As a woman, I don’t dream, I work. I don’t fall in love, I focus. I would never let anything as frivolous as love distract me. Until I meet Simon. A gorgeous, brilliant young architect with dark eyes, a sweet smile, and a dirty, dirty mouth. He sets me on fire, and suddenly all I can do is dream…of his hands, his lips, his body. Of a heart good enough and a love strong enough to make me believe in happily ever after. But Simon has secrets that are even deeper than mine. Will our pasts destroy everything we’ve worked for? Or will we find the courage to rise to the challenge and fight for the love we share?
Janeway's Immunobiology
Kenneth M. Murphy - 2007
The Eighth Edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and is available in both print and e-book formats.Janeway s Immunobiology continues to set the standard for currency and authority with its clear writing style and organization, uniform art program, and scientific accuracy. It presents a consistent point of view throughout that of the host s interaction with an environment containing many species of potentially harmful microorganisms. The full-color art program is conceptually coherent and illustrates the processes and mechanisms underlying the concepts in the text. The 16 chapters in this readable, accessible textbook are organized and presented in such a way as to help deliver a complete one-semester immunology course, beginning with innate immunity, then moving to adaptive immunity, and ending with applied clinical immunology.Discussion questions are provided at the end of Chapters 2 to 16. These questions can be used for review, or as the basis for discussion in class or in informal study groups. Summaries conclude each section and each chapter. As in previous editions, a caduceus icon in the margins indicates topics which are correlated to Case Studies in Immunology, Sixth Edition by Geha and Notarangelo.New in the Eighth EditionInnate immunity has been updated and expanded and is now presented in two separate chapters (Chapters 2 and 3), as well as being further emphasized in the rest of the textbook. Chapter 2 covers antimicrobial peptides and the complement system, and Chapter 3 deals with cellular innate receptors and cell-mediated innate immunity (e.g. TLRs, phagocytosis, NK cells, interferon production, innate-like lymphocytes). The section on complement has been reworked and reconceived explaining the lectin pathway first making it easier to teach by placing it into the context of innate recognition. Evolution is now incorporated throughout the text, helping students see similar strategies used by different organisms. The text and figures of Chapter 7 Signaling Through Immune System Receptors have been revised to present a cohesive synthesis of signaling for immunology, focusing on improved illustration of antigen recognition signaling and lymphocyte activation. Signaling through other receptors is dealt with wherever appropriate throughout the book. Updated chapter on B-cell immune responses (Chapter 10), especially on trafficking of B cells in peripheral lymphoid organs (e.g. lymph nodes) and the locations at which they encounter antigen. Coverage of mucosal immunity (Chapter 12) has been brought up to date, including responses to the commensal microbiota and the role of specialized dendritic cells and the regulatory T cells in maintaining tolerance to food antigens and commensal bacteria. Chapter 13, Failures of Host Defense Mechanisms, has been reorganized and revised to structure an understanding of primary immunodeficiencies in the context of developmental pathways. Chapter 16, Manipulation of the Immune Response, has been heavily revised to include a greater emphasis on clinical issues and a complete update of immunotherapeutics and vaccines. Many new and revised figures illustrate the processes and mechanisms underlying the concepts presented in the text. The icons used have been updated and expanded to incorporate a new emphasis on signaling pathways. New references have been added throughout the text.
The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch
Lewis Dartnell - 2014
It has built on itself for centuries, becoming vast and increasingly specialized. Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest—or even the most basic—technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, accurately tell time, weave fibers into clothing, or even how to produce food for yourself? Regarded as one of the brightest young scientists of his generation, Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can’t hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it. But Dartnell doesn’t just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all—the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. This would allow survivors to learn technological advances not explicitly explored in The Knowledge as well as things we have yet to discover. The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world as well as a thought experiment about the very idea of scientific knowledge itself.
A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them
Neil Bradbury - 2022
It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict?In a blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores the morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes—some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved—are the stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function.Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom.
In Bed with the Stablemaster
Sophie Jordan - 2021
She doesn't fall over herself to gain the attention of the gruff and virile stablemaster, Rufus Blackthorne. She performs her duties most diligently, hoping one day to become housekeeper of the grand ducal manor.Stranded together, anything can happen...When Vera is forced to take shelter from a storm with the big, handsome stablemaster in a cottage with just one bed, she can't deny the sparks flying between them. Nor can Blackthorne deny how much he wants to strip the prickly housemaid of her wet garments and get her into that bed.In Bed with the Stablemaster is set in the Rogue Files world and can be read as a stand-alone, but it does tie into the series. Basically, it's a very sexy love story happening "belowstairs" between a housemaid and the stablemaster... while The Virgin and the Rogue is happening upstairs.
Antinomy
Spider Robinson - 1980
with life life as the prize?PLUS * seven other superb stories * four horrible puns * a trible feghoot * four original songs, with E-Z Play chords * foreword, afterwords, illustrations, and a weapons list9 • Introduction: Welcome to the Antinomy Mine • essay by Spider Robinson13 • Antinomy • (1978) • novelette by Spider Robinson48 • Afterword to "Antinomy" • essay by Spider Robinson51 • Half an Oaf • (1976) • novelette by Spider Robinson79 • Rhythms and 'Rithms • short fiction by Spider Robinson79 • Tidbit: two puns • short story by Spider Robinson80 • The Shamin' of the Shaman • short fiction by Spider Robinson81 • Too Soon We Grow Old • (1978) • short story by Spider Robinson98 • Valkyrie Ride • poem by Spider Robinson98 • Tidbit: two songs • poem by Spider Robinson102 • Feed Me Fire • poem by Spider Robinson105 • When No Man Pursueth • (1974) • novelette by Spider Robinson139 • Tidbit: afterword to "When No Man Pursueth" • essay by Spider Robinson144 • Nobody Likes to Be Lonely • (1975) • novelette by Spider Robinson186 • Tidbit: interleaf • essay by Spider Robinson188 • Satan's Children • (1979) • novella by Spider Robinson229 • Three-Time Winner • short fiction by Spider Robinson229 • Tidbit: a triple Feghoot and a cartoon • short story by Spider Robinson231 • Cartoon: "Sorry, Mr. Griffin: he says he can't see you now." • interior artwork by Spider Robinson232 • Apogee • (1978) • short story by Spider Robinson236 • A Standing Joke • short fiction by Spider Robinson237 • The Snoopy Scientist • short fiction by Spider Robinson238 • Tidbit: two puns (includes some artwork) • short story by Spider Robinson240 • No Renewal • (1977) • short story by Spider Robinson246 • Tidbit: afterword (to "No Renewal"), an illo, and a weapons list • essay by Spider Robinson247 • Through My Eyes- illustration of Mike Callahan • essay by Spider Robinson248 • Silly Weapons Throughout History • (1980) • essay by Spider Robinson251 • Overdose • (1975) • short story by Spider Robinson262 • Perspective • poem by Spider Robinson262 • Tidbit: two more songs • poem by Spider Robinson265 • Mountain Lady • poem by Spider Robinson268 • Tin Ear • (1977) • short story by Spider Robinson277 • Tidbit: foreword to "The Magnificent Conspiracy" • essay by Spider Robinson280 • The Magnificent Conspiracy • (1977) • novelette by Spider Robinson310 • This Time Next Year • poem by Spider Robinson311 • Come to My Bedside • poem by Spider Robinson
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011
Mary Roach - 2010
Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 includes Atul Gawande, Jonathan Franzen, Deborah Blum, Malcolm Gladwell, Oliver Sacks, Jon Mooallem, Jon Cohen, Luke Dittrich, and others