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The elements : a visual history of their discovery / Philip Ball.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2021Copyright date: ©2021Description: 224 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 26 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780226775951
  • 022677595X
Subject(s):
Contents:
The classical elements -- The antique metals -- Alchemical elements -- The new metals -- Chemistry golden age -- Electrical discoveries -- The radiant age -- The nuclear age.
Summary: "The Elements is a stunning visual history of how the chemical elements were discovered. By piecing together the Periodic Table, science writer Philip Ball explores not only how we came to understand what everything is made of but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. He groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering three millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves deliberately from classical antiquity to the age of atomic bombs and particle accelerators, Ball highlights images and stories from around the world and sheds needed light on those who struggled for their ideas to gain inclusion. By featuring some elements that aren't true elements but were thought to be, such as phlogiston and caloric, Elements makes bold choices in order to tell the full history of this important science. To order the book's sequence into eras of element discovery, separate short sections for each element or groups of related elements are gathered into larger parts. Short interludes (or feature spreads) are interspersed that convey important intellectual milestones in how we think about the elements"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 546.09 B187 Available 33111010758965
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From water, air, and fire to tennessine and oganesson, celebrated science writer Philip Ball leads us through the full sweep of the field of chemistry in this exquisitely illustrated history of the elements.



The Elements is a stunning visual journey through the discovery of the chemical building blocks of our universe. By piecing together the history of the periodic table, Ball explores not only how we have come to understand what everything is made of, but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. Ball groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering seven millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves from prehistory and classical antiquity to the age of atomic bombs and particle accelerators, Ball highlights images and stories from around the world and sheds needed light on those who struggled for their ideas to gain inclusion. By also featuring some elements that aren't true elements but were long thought to be--from the foundational prote hyle and heavenly aetherof the ancient Greeks to more recent false elements like phlogiston and caloric-- The Elements boldly tells the full history of the central science of chemistry.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The classical elements -- The antique metals -- Alchemical elements -- The new metals -- Chemistry golden age -- Electrical discoveries -- The radiant age -- The nuclear age.

"The Elements is a stunning visual history of how the chemical elements were discovered. By piecing together the Periodic Table, science writer Philip Ball explores not only how we came to understand what everything is made of but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. He groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering three millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves deliberately from classical antiquity to the age of atomic bombs and particle accelerators, Ball highlights images and stories from around the world and sheds needed light on those who struggled for their ideas to gain inclusion. By featuring some elements that aren't true elements but were thought to be, such as phlogiston and caloric, Elements makes bold choices in order to tell the full history of this important science. To order the book's sequence into eras of element discovery, separate short sections for each element or groups of related elements are gathered into larger parts. Short interludes (or feature spreads) are interspersed that convey important intellectual milestones in how we think about the elements"-- Provided by publisher.

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