he history of chemistry is a story of human endeavor-and as er T ratic as human nature itself. Progress has been made in fits and starts, and it has come from all parts of the globe. Because the scope of this history is considerable (some 100,000 years), it is necessary to impose some order, and we have organized the text around three dis cemible-albeit gross--divisions of time: Part 1 (Chaps. 1-7) covers 100,000 BeE (Before Common Era) to the late 1700s and presents the background of the Chemical Revolution; Part 2 (Chaps. 8-14) covers the late 1700s to World War land presents the Chemical Revolution and its consequences; Part 3 (Chaps. 15-20) covers World War I to 1950 and presents the Quantum Revolution and its consequences and hints at revolutions to come. There have always been two tributaries to the chemical stream: experiment and theory. But systematic experimental methods were not routinely employed until the 1600s-and quantitative theories did not evolve until the 1700s-and it can be argued that modem chernistry as a science did not begin until the Chemical Revolution in the 1700s. xi xii PREFACE We argue however that the first experiments were performed by arti sans and the first theories proposed by philosophers-and that a rev olution can be understood only in terms of what is being revolted against."

This 1981 introduction to the chemistry of a single element, phosphorus, covers many of the major themes of chemistry. Important in inorganic and organic chemistry and in biochemistry, phosphorus is also of considerable economic significance and plays a vital role in the biosphere. By presenting a detailed treatment of selected topics, this book provides a concise account of phosphorus chemistry suitable for anyone with an interest in the field. The book provides a survey of phosphorus compounds by structural and bond types, a review of physical methods in phosphorus chemistry, a review of basicity and co-ordination chemistry of phosphorus donors, a discussion of phosphorus in its group, and a chapter on reagents containing phosphorus in general chemistry. A critical bibliography introduces the reader to the advanced literature. S. I. Units are used throughout, but c.g.s units are also given when appropriate.

The history of the people behind the greatest discoveries in chemistry. In this book, Cathy Cobb and Harold Goldwhite celebrate not only chemistry's theories and breakthroughs but also the times and personalities that shaped this science and brought it to life. Throughout the book, the reader will meet the hedonists and swindlers, monks and heretics, and men and women labouring in garages and over kitchen sinks who expanded our understanding of the elements and discovered such new substances as plastic, rubber and aspirin. This book should expand our vision of the meaning of chemistry and reveals the oddballs and academics who have helped shape our world.