A solid, well-written overview of molecular chemistry.
British science writer Ball (Life’s Matrix: A Biography of Water, 2000, etc.) offers a short introduction to chemistry, with a strong emphasis on that of our own bodies.
Chemistry has an image problem, Ball recognizes, with words like “thalidomide” and “Bhopal” triggering unpleasant associations in the public consciousness. Thus, he chooses molecules as the focus here: that term (which refers to atoms in combination, the central concern of chemistry as a science) remains neutral for most readers. (He even suggests renaming chemistry “molecular science.”) So it’s easy to see why, in the first chapter, Ball impatiently races through the conventional historical survey of chemistry, from the Greeks through the Periodic Table to quantum mechanics—after all, that history emphasizes atoms. It’s molecules that are responsible for living things, he reminds us, and so he devotes most of this tour to a fascinating inventory of the molecules employed by our body’s cells and organs to do their work. DNA and RNA, the vehicles of genetic information, are the best known of this group, but every substance in the body has a role to play. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP to biochemists) is the common energy currency of animal cells, breaking up in a controlled way to allow organisms to burn oxygen. Proteins perform many tasks; there are some 60,000 different ones in the human body, each with a specialized function. Collagen is a rope-like structural protein that forms the basis of everything from bones to the cornea. More specialized is a molecule such as silk, the strength of which no synthetic can match. Even more fascinating are the proteins: myosin and actin, which allow our muscles to expand and contract; or G proteins, which transfer information from outside a cell to the organelles. Ball shows these in all their variety, spiced with interesting anecdotes and personal glimpses of chemists.
A solid, well-written overview of molecular chemistry.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-19-280214-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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