William Crookes' long life was one of unbroken scientific and business activity, culminating in his appointment as President of the Royal Society in 1913. Throughout his career he was an important science journalist, the discoverer of thallium, the inventor of the radiometer, investigator of cathode rays and the vacuum, a spectroscopist of significance in rare earth chemistry, and a spokesman for a chemical solution to the problems with the world's food supplies. He was also, and perhaps most controversially, an occultist who played a significant role in spiritualism in the 1870s, and was involved with D.D. Home (Browning's Mr Sludge) and other notable mediums of the day. Previous literature on Crookes has tended to focus on his involvement with the spiritualists, sometimes to the detriment of his many scientific achievements. This, the first biography of William Crookes, gives us the whole man: one of the most complex, public, and interesting figures in the history of science. Professor Brock guides us through the abundant catalogue of Crookes' accomplishments, placing his scientific activities in the context of the business of making a living from science - something that Crookes did principally as a science journalist and editor with his Chemical News (the model for today's Nature), and by business enterprises ranging from water analysis, sewerage schemes, and goldmining to the design of electric light bulbs. We also see Crookes in the lab, as an independent researcher, and learn the processes behind his discovery of thallium, his investigations into matter and energy, and his crucial work on cathode rays. We see the public man, the celebrity who was much sought after for his opinions on the latest discovery, and who was widely regarded as Britain's leading scientist at the beginning of the twentieth century. Scientist, spiritualist, entrepreneur: Sir William Crookes' extraordinary life and many endeavours provide a unique window into Victorian and Edwardian science and industry.

William Crookes' long life was one of unbroken scientific and business activity, culminating in his appointment as President of the Royal Society in 1913. Throughout his career he was an important science journalist, the discoverer of thallium, the inventor of the radiometer, investigator of cathode rays and the vacuum, a spectroscopist of significance in rare earth chemistry, and a spokesman for a chemical solution to the problems with the world's food supplies. He was also, and perhaps most controversially, an occultist who played a significant role in spiritualism in the 1870s, and was involved with D.D. Home (Browning's Mr Sludge) and other notable mediums of the day. Previous literature on Crookes has tended to focus on his involvement with the spiritualists, sometimes to the detriment of his many scientific achievements. This, the first biography of William Crookes, gives us the whole man: one of the most complex, public, and interesting figures in the history of science. Professor Brock guides us through the abundant catalogue of Crookes' accomplishments, placing his scientific activities in the context of the business of making a living from science - something that Crookes did principally as a science journalist and editor with his Chemical News (the model for today's Nature), and by business enterprises ranging from water analysis, sewerage schemes, and goldmining to the design of electric light bulbs. We also see Crookes in the lab, as an independent researcher, and learn the processes behind his discovery of thallium, his investigations into matter and energy, and his crucial work on cathode rays. We see the public man, the celebrity who was much sought after for his opinions on the latest discovery, and who was widely regarded as Britain's leading scientist at the beginning of the twentieth century. Scientist, spiritualist, entrepreneur: Sir William Crookes' extraordinary life and many endeavours provide a unique window into Victorian and Edwardian science and industry.

Sieht man sich auf dem Buchmarkt urn, tiber welche Personen Biographien geschrieben wurden, so fmdet man an erster Stelle die Inhaber der politis chen Macht, seien es Monar- chen, Diktatoren oder demokratisch gewahlte Politiker, die das Schicksal der von ihnen regierten Hinder und der darin wohnenden BevOlkerung maBgeblich bestimm(t)en; ihnen folgen die Kiinsder im weitesten Sinne, also Maler, Dichter, Musiker, Schauspieler, Re- gisseure und andere Repriisentanten der Kultur, die teils kreativ, teils kritisch unser Le- ben begleiten, reflektieren und damit auch zur Auseinandersetzung mit uns selbst und unserer Gesellschaft aufrufen; erst in groBem Abstand folgen die Wissenschaftler, Tech- niker, Industrielle und Handelsleute, deren Entdeckungen und Erfmdungen zwar die matenellen Grundlagen unseres Lebens pdigen, dies aber in vielen Fallen nicht so un- mittel bar, daB der Zusammenhang mit dem Urheber des jeweiligen Fortschritts noch erkennbar ist. DaB ein Wissenschaftler schon zu Lebzeiten aufgrund seiner Leistungen popular war und auch damber hinaus bleibende Anerkennung genieBt, z. B. Albert Ein- stein, ist eher die Ausnahme. Riickblickend erkennen wir heute einige Personen als hochst bedeutsam, die zu Lebzeiten verkannt waren wie Ignaz Semmelweis oder deren Identitat erst nach Jahrhunderten einigermaBen gesichert werden konnte, wie im Fall des Johannes Gutenberg, des Erfmders des Buchdrucks mit beweglichen gegossenen Metall-Lettern. Bereits zu Lebzeiten international bekannt und auch in der Gegenwart nicht vergessen - so konnte man das Renommee des Chemikers Justus von Uebig einordnen, ja man darf sagen, daB er einer der bekanntesten Chemiker aller Zeiten ist.

DaR aile Pflanzen unmittelbar. und substantiell vom Element Wasser abstarnmen, erfuhr ich aus fol- gendem Experiment: Ich nahm ein irdenes GefaE und schuttete zweihundert Pfund Erde hinein, die ich zuvor in einem Ofen gerrocknet hatte. Ich wiisserte sie mit Regenwasser und pflanzte ein Weiden- baumchen ein, das fiinf Pfund wog. Funf Jahre spater hatte sich daraus ein Baum entwickelt, der hundertneunundsechzig Pfund und etwa drei Unzen wog. Nur Regen (oder destilliertes Wasser) wur- de hinzugefiigt. Das groBe GefaE wurde in Erde eingelassen und oben mit einer verzinkten Eisenplat- te abgedeckt, in der viele k1eine LOcher waren. Ich habe das Gewicht der Blatter, die in den vier Herbstzeiten abfielen, nicht gewogen. Schlieillich trocknete ich die Erde in dem GefaE wieder und GBPand in etwa dieselben zweihundert Pfund vor, allerdings zwei Unzen weniger. Also entwickelten sich hundertvierundsechzig Pfund Holz, Aste und Wurze\n, allein aus Wasser. Johann Baptist van Helmont, 1648 Helmonts spannendes Experiment und seine Schlugfolgerung betreffen den Kern des Problems chemischer Veranderungen. Wie und warum werden Wasser und Luft zum Material eines Baumes - oder, falls das zu sehr nach Biochemie klingt - wie und warum werden Wasserstoff und Sauerstoff zu Wasser? Warum nimmt die unbelebte, bloge Ma- terie haufig eine symmetrisch geordnete, feste Form an? Helmonts Experiment stellt auch die Frage nach dem Verhaltnis von qualitativer und quantitativer Oberlegung in der Ge- schichte der Chemie.

In 1868, The Times reported that poisons contained in dyes were affecting the public's health. A doctor informed a London magistrate that brilliantly coloured socks had caused severe "constitutional and local complaint" to several of his patients. In one case, a patient's foot had become so swollen that his boots had to be cut off. Respected chemist, William Crookes, offered to identify the poison if doctors would send him samples of the deadly socks. The story of how he solved the mystery gives this book its title and forms the basis of the first chapter. Written by a respected science historian and established author, this collection of essays contains 42 tales of chemists and their discoveries from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Other topics covered include: the quirky beliefs of American philanthropist, George Hodgkins; the development of the chemical laboratory since the 1830s, and the career of C.P. Snow before he became a novelist. Its broad coverage and modern approach makes it of interest to chemists, teachers, historians and laypeople with an interest in science. Written with a light style and presented in a series of unconnected vignettes the book is easy to dip into at leisure.

1 Von der Pharmazie zur Chemie.- 2 Die Organische Analyse und die Giessener Forschungsschule.- 3 Liebig - der organische Chemiker, 1820-1840.- 4 Liebig und die Briten.- 5 Iiebig und die Geschafte.- 6 Liebig und die Landwirte: Agrikulturchemie.- 7 Liebig und die AErzte: Die Tierchemie.- 8 Liebig uber Essen und Trinken: Die Chemie der Nahrung.- 9 liebig und London: Die Chemie der Abwasser.- 10 Popularisieret der Wissenschaft: Liebigs "Chemische Briefe".- 11 Philosoph der Wissenschaft: Die Bacon-Affaire.- 12 Tod und Wirkungsgeschichte.- Verzeichnis der Anmerkungen.- Anhange.- 1 Carl Wilhelm Bergemann's Bericht an den Preussischen Minister von.- uber das Laboratorium in Giessen.- 2 Justus von Liebig - Lebenslauf in Stichworten.- 3 Wichtige Arbeiten und Veroeffentlichungen von J. v. Liebig.- 4 Skizze der Landkarte von Grossbritannien.- 5 Grossherzoege von Hessen und Koenige von Bayern zur Zeit Justus von Liebigs.- Verwandtschaftstafel des Ehepaares Justus Liebig und Henriette Moldenhauer (Auszug).- Namenverzeichnis.

In this authoritative volume, a New York Times Notable Book of 1993, scientific researcher and historian William Brock recounts the astonishing rise of a sophisticated science. Tracing the roots of chemistry back to the alchemists' futile attempts to turn lead into gold, he follows the emergence of the modern study of chemistry through the works of Boyle, Lavoisier, and Dalton, and the twentieth-century breakthroughs of Linus Pauling and others. This timely, comprehensive history examines the shifting conceptions of chemistry over the past centuries--from its development as a scientific philosophy to, more recently, its practical applications in the commercial, industrial arena. Originally published under the title The Norton History of Chemistry.

From man's first exploration of natural materials and their transformations to today's materials science, chemistry has always been the central discipline that underpins both the physical and biological sciences, as well as technology. In this Very Short Introduction, William H Brock traces the unique appeal of this fundamental science throughout history. Covering alchemy, early-modern chemistry, pneumatic chemistry and Lavoisier's re-interpretation of chemical change, the rise of organic and physical chemistry, and the transforming power of synthesis, Brock explores the extraordinary and often puzzling transformations of natural and artificial materials, as well as the men and women who experimented, speculated, and explained matter and change. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

One of the founding fathers of organic chemistry and also a great teacher, Liebig (1803-73) enjoyed a close relationship with Britain, whose scientific education, medical practice and agriculture he transformed. Brock's fresh interpretation of Liebig's stormy career shows how he moved chemistry into the socio-political marketplace, demonstrating chemistry's significance for society in food production, nutrition and public health. Through popular lectures and his readable Chemical Letters, Liebig also commented on issues such as scientific methodology and materialism. This is the first English-language biography of Liebig since 1901.

vacuum BoylianumNeues System der Ionentheorie.- 11 Der Chemieunterricht.- Franklands staatlich gefoerderte Chemie.- Armstrongs heuristische Methode.- Die Entwicklung des Unterrichts im 20. Jahrhundert.- Das Labor.- 12 Chemische Neuigkeiten.- Die Grundung chemischer Gesellschaften.- Die chemische Zeitschrift.- William Crookes, chemischer Publizist.- 13 Die Natur der chemischen Bindung.- Das Lewis-Atom.- Die Verbreitung der elektronischen Theorie.- Die Pauling-Bindung.- 14 Struktur und Mechanismus in der organischen Chemie.- Die Tradition Lapworth-Thiele-Robinson.- Die Michael-Flurscheim-Vorlander-Tradition.- Die elektronische Theorie organischer Reaktionen.- Die Struktur der organischen Chemie wird geordnet.- Die Kinetik von Mechanismen.- Die Ausbreitung der physikalischen organischen Chemie.- Aromatizitat.- Die Ionen-Debatte uber nicht-klassische Ionen.- Schlussbemerkung.- 15 Die Renaissance der anorganischen Chemie.- Werners neue Ideen.- Sidgwicks elektronische Interpretation der Koordinationschemie.- Die australische Chemie.- Die Chemie in Australien und Japan.- Die Koordinationschemie in Australien.- Die Renaissance Nyholms.- Schlussbemerkung.- 16 Im Zeichen des Benzolrings.- Die Synthese.- Die industrielle Chemie.- Chemie und Umwelt.- Epilog.- Museen und Sammlungen zur Geschichte der Chemie.- Anmerkungen.- Bibliographie.- Sachwortverzeichnis.

One of the founding fathers of organic chemistry and also a great teacher, Liebig (1803-73) enjoyed a close relationship with Britain, whose scientific education, medical practice and agriculture he transformed. Brock's fresh interpretation of Liebig's stormy career shows how he moved chemistry into the socio-political marketplace, demonstrating chemistry's significance for society in food production, nutrition and public health. Through popular lectures and his readable Chemical Letters, Liebig also commented on issues such as scientific methodology and materialism. This is the first English-language biography of Liebig since 1901.

This volume contains 266 letters covering a period of twenty-two months, when Tyndall was in his midthirties and had been employed by the Royal Institution as professor of natural philosophysince September 1853. Many of the letters printed here concern the lectures he delivered at the RI and other institutions and his attempt to establish his reputation as a researcher. Although he published in several other areas-including the cleavage of rocks, colorblindness, and glaciers-the main focus of his research was the newly discovered and problematic phenomenon of diamagnetism. Tyndall reported his experimental results and theoretical views on this subject in several lectures and papers that greatly enhanced his scientific standing, which was further extended by his contact with other scientists, not only in London but across the British Isles and in France and Germany. By the end of this period, Tyndall was a man of science with a European reputation that was recognized in November 1856 when the Royal Society elected him a member of its Council.