Some of the most exciting scientific
developments in recent years have come not from
theoretical physicists, astronomers, or molecular
biologists but instead from the chemistry lab. Chemists
have created superconducting ceramics for brain
scanners, designed liquid crystal flat screens for
televisions and watch displays, and made fabrics that
change color while you wear them. They have fashioned
metals from plastics, drugs from crude oil, and have
pinpointed the chemical pollutants affecting our
atmosphere and are now searching for remedies for the
imperiled planet. Philip Ball, an editor for the
prestigious magazine Nature, lets the lay reader
into the world of modern chemistry. Here, for example,
chemists find new uses for the improbable
buckminsterfullerene molecules--60-atom carbon
soccerballs, dubbed "buckyballs"--which seem to have
applications for everything from lubrication to medicine
to electronics. The book is not intended as an
introduction to chemistry, but as an accessible survey
of recent developments throughout many of the major
fields allied with chemistry: from research in
traditional areas such as crystallography and
spectroscopy to entirely new fields of study such as
molecular electronics, artificial enzymes, and "smart"
polymer gels. Ball's grand tour along the leading edge
of scientific discovery will appeal to all curious
readers, with or without any scientific training, to
chemistry students looking for future careers, and to
practicing chemical researchers looking for information
on other specialties within their discipline.
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