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The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction

William H. Brock

28 January 2016

ISBN: 9780198716488

176 pages
Paperback
174x111mm

In Stock

Very Short Introductions

Price: £8.99

This Very Short Introduction maps the historical development of chemistry from man's earliest exploration in the Stone Age to the nanotechnology of today's materials science. In this succinct but comprehensive overview Brock balances the approaches to - and interpretations of - the subject, revealing chemistry's rich and diverse history.

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Description

This Very Short Introduction maps the historical development of chemistry from man's earliest exploration in the Stone Age to the nanotechnology of today's materials science. In this succinct but comprehensive overview Brock balances the approaches to - and interpretations of - the subject, revealing chemistry's rich and diverse history.

  • Contains the most recent interpretations by historians of chemistry
  • Reveals the richness and diversity of chemistry in experimentation, theory, and analysis
  • Raises philosophical issues concerning the nature of chemical change
  • Explores the historical tension between physicists' and chemists' approaches to chemical transformation
  • Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

William H. Brock, Emeritus Professor of History of Science, University of Leicester

William H. Brock is Emeritus Professor of History of Science at the University of Leicester. Aside from short spells of teaching in Toronto, Melbourne, and Philadelphia, Brock remained at Leicester for his teaching career, where he became Director of the Victorian Studies Centre. His publications have centred on the history of chemistry, Victorian science education, and the development of scientific periodicals, and include The Case of the Poisonous Socks (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2011).

Table of Contents

    Introduction
    1:On the nature of stuff
    2:The analysis of stuff
    3:Gases and atoms
    4:Types and hexagons
    5:Reactivity
    6:Synthesis
    Epilogue

Reviews

"Writing a short book about a long history is not easy; but it would be hard to think of anybody more qualified to do it than Bill Brock." - David Knight, Annals of Science

"Writing a concise introduction to this subject which, at the same time, should be accessible to the general reader, is therefore a task which is not to be underestimated. William Brock, one of the most accomplished scholars of the subject, demonstrates with this book that he is more than capable of the task." - British Journal of the History of Science

"I can thoroughly recommend this brief tour of our all-embracing science." - Chemistry World

"Brock manages to make a very dull and dense subject both attractive and interesting - something I could never accuse my old Chemistry teacher of doing." - Stephen Craggs, Northern Echo

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