Written by a respected science historian and established author, this collection of essays touches on all aspects of chemistry. It contains 43 tales about chemists and their discoveries from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The title is taken from the lead chapter which describes how respected chemist, William Crookes, solved a mystery from the 1860s of how brilliantly coloured socks were causing the feet of unfortunate wearers to swell. Other topics covered include: the quirky beliefs of American philanthropist, James Dewar; the development of the chemical laboratory since the 1830s, and the career of C.P. Snow before he became a novelist. Light in style, and presented as a series of unconnected vignettes, the book will interest chemists, teachers, historians and lay people with an interest in science. INDICE: Preface; Part 1: Chemical Futures; 1. The Case of the Poisonous Socks; 2. Taste, Smell and Flavour; 3. Tales of Hofmann; 4. Liebig on Toast; 5. The Future of Research at the Royal Institution (London) and the Smithsonian Institution (Washington); 6. The Future of Chemistry in 1901; 7. The AlchemicalSociety 1912-1915; Part 2: Organizing Chemistry; 8. Putting the ""S"" into the ""Three R's""; 9. The London Chemical Society; 10. The State of Chemistry inBritain in 1846; 11. The Laboratory Before and After Liebig; 12. The ChemicalOrigins of Practical Physics; 13. Chemical Algebra; 14. The B Club; 15. Chemistry By Discovery in a Phrase; Part 3: A Cluster of Chemists; 16. Amedeo Avogadro; 17. Creating a Path through the Dark Forest of Organic Chemistry; 18. August Kekulé (1829-96): Theoretical Chemist; 19. The Don Quixote of Chemistry: Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1817-1880); 20. The Epistle of Henry the Chemist; 21. He Knew He Was Right - Fritz Haber; 22. J. R. Partington (1886-1965): Physical Chemistry in Deed and Word; 23. Henry Crookes, Founder of Crookes Laboratories; 24. A Life of Magic Chemistry; Part 4: Women in Alchemy and Chemistry; 25. Women in Alchemy; 26. Teaching Chemistry to Women; 27. Musical Affinities;28. Edith Hilda Usherwood (1898-1988) and the Ingold Partnership; Part 5: Chemical Books and Journal; 29. The Fate of Eponymous Chemical Journals; 30. The Lamp of Learning; 31. ""The Greatest Work which England has ever Produced"": Henry Watts and the Dictionary of Chemistry; 32. Chemistry in the Aquarium; 33.Insurance Chemistry; 34. Math for Chemists; 35. The Chemistry of Pottery; 36.Baker's Dozen; Part 6: Lost to Chemistry; 37. They Also Ran; 38. Who Was Crookes's Musician-Chemist?; 39. The Chemist from Hanwell Asylum; 40. George Du Maurier (1834-96); 41. Sir Stafford Cripps; 42. C. P. Snow as a Physical Chemist; Sources, Acknowledgements and Further Reading; Index
- ISBN: 978-1-84973-324-3
- Editorial: Royal Society of Chemistry
- Encuadernacion: Rústica
- Páginas: 168
- Fecha Publicación: 30/11/2011
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés