The Beauty of Chemistry

Art, Wonder, and Science

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Pub Date 11 May 2021 | Archive Date 11 May 2021
MIT Press | The MIT Press

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Description

Images and text capture the astonishing beauty of the chemical processes that create snowflakes, bubbles, flames, and other wonders of nature.

Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing inscrutable things; it is the process that makes flowers and galaxies. We rely on it for bread-baking, vegetable-growing, and producing the materials of daily life. In stunning images and illuminating text, this book captures chemistry as it unfolds. Using such techniques as microphotography, time-lapse photography, and infrared thermal imaging, The Beauty of Chemistry shows us how chemistry underpins the formation of snowflakes, the science of champagne, the colors of flowers, and other wonders of nature and technology. We see the marvelous configurations of chemical gardens; the amazing transformations of evaporation, distillation, and precipitation; heat made visible; and more.
Images and text capture the astonishing beauty of the chemical processes that create snowflakes, bubbles, flames, and other wonders of nature.

Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing...

Advance Praise

“Philip Ball is a serendipitous writer, pursuing adventurous science. He loves to persuade and enchant his readers to celebrate the uncanny beauty of chemistry.”

Dudley HerschbachNobel Laureate in Chemistry, Harvard University


“This book combines rich descriptions of chemical phenomena with stunning photography of them as they happen. As a child, I was drawn to chemistry by the wonders of precipitating powders, fizzy water, and other ever-present phenomena. The Beauty of Chemistry took me back to those times.”

Alán Aspuru-GuzikProfessor of Chemistry and Computer Science, University of Toronto


“Ousiophiles unite! This book is a sensory feast that truly brings to life the 'chemical sublime,' presenting it joyfully, with scintillating images. Using remarkably concise language, Ball pleasingly telescopes in scale from the visible to the subatomic level, giving a rich dimensional exploration of the elements and their properties. This book sparkles, bubbles, and bursts with the activity of all that surrounds us. It is curiosity-igniting, deeply satisfying, and a must for anyone who delights in 'stuff.'”

Martha Willette LewisVisual Artist in Residence, The Yale Quantum Institute


“Philip Ball offers a lively illustrated conversation centered on the beauty of chemistry rather than its oft-examined utility. His observations meander gracefully through bubbles, flames, plant pigments, and much more, and will both captivate a wide audience and provide a refreshingly upbeat boost for the most jaded professional.”

Hagan BayleyProfessor of Chemical Biology, University of Oxford


“This book captures the aesthetics, not the mess, the mystery, not the complexity, and most of all the fundamental importance of chemistry to our everyday lives. It shows why chemists are really the musicians of matter.”

Leroy CroninRegius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow

“Philip Ball is a serendipitous writer, pursuing adventurous science. He loves to persuade and enchant his readers to celebrate the uncanny beauty of chemistry.”

Dudley HerschbachNobel Laureate in...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780262044417
PRICE $49.95 (USD)
PAGES 256

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