The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-06 07:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Philip Ball
- ISBN：0262044412
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Sharon Tyler
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The Beauty of Chemistry: Art， Wonder， and Science by Philip Ball is a visual and intellectual treat。 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: Art， Wonder， and Science by Philip Ball is a visual and intellectual treat。 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。The Beauty of Chemistry: Art， Wonder， and Science does a great job of showing the wonder of chemistry to those that might not otherwise look to closely。 I was in awe at the images， and think the book is well worth a look to enjoy based on those pages on their own。 However， I found the explanations of the images and science involved to be well written and accessible。 In fact， I found some beauty in the structure and details of the science itself。 I think this is a wonderful book showing the true beauty that we do not often appreciate in our world- sometimes because it is so big or small that we cannot see it， and sometimes because we are just not noticing。 I liked that there was a glossary， list of sources for the used quotations， and other important pieces of information in the the endpages。 That is something that sometimes gets left out， and seeing it included always makes me happy。The Beauty of Chemistry: Art， Wonder， and Science is a great book to simply look at and enjoy the stunning images， but it is also a book that explains the wonder of science and the natural world that creates these things。 。。。more
Peter Tillman
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Nature's short review:"When Francis Crick and James Watson discovered DNA’s double helix， they privately called it “beautiful”， says science writer Philip Ball。 But in 1953， “such expressions of exuberance were not welcomed in the austere annals of science”。 Ball’s scintillating book is a paean to chemical beauty in nature and laboratories， with lavish images created by Wenting Zhu， Yan Liang and the Chinese Chemical Society， using microphotography， time lapse， thermal imaging and more。 Would th Nature's short review:"When Francis Crick and James Watson discovered DNA’s double helix， they privately called it “beautiful”， says science writer Philip Ball。 But in 1953， “such expressions of exuberance were not welcomed in the austere annals of science”。 Ball’s scintillating book is a paean to chemical beauty in nature and laboratories， with lavish images created by Wenting Zhu， Yan Liang and the Chinese Chemical Society， using microphotography， time lapse， thermal imaging and more。 Would that it had existed when I was an undergraduate chemist。" 。。。more
Annie
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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader。 The Beauty of Chemistry is a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book homage to the artistic side of chemistry。 Released 11th May 2021 from MIT Press， it's 392 pages and is available in hardcover and e-book formats。 This is an extremely graphics heavy book full of awe inspiring and beautiful photos and illustrations。 There are some chemistry concepts included in layman accessible language， but it's not in any way a textbook of chemistry。 The text Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader。 The Beauty of Chemistry is a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book homage to the artistic side of chemistry。 Released 11th May 2021 from MIT Press， it's 392 pages and is available in hardcover and e-book formats。 This is an extremely graphics heavy book full of awe inspiring and beautiful photos and illustrations。 There are some chemistry concepts included in layman accessible language， but it's not in any way a textbook of chemistry。 The text， engaging and erudite， by Philip Ball is worth the price of admission， but it's the stunning illustrations which kept me turning the pages。 They are sublime; from the most mundane （CO2 bubbles in a soft drink） to the most exotic， the photos are arresting。 Whilst I enjoyed all the chapters （arranged roughly thematically: bubbles， crystals， precipitation reactions， dendritic growth， combustion， electrochemistry， plant chromatism， heat reactions， organic chemistry， and patterns）， it was the appendices， and especially the molecule models which I really enjoyed。 The molecules were rendered in the space-filling 3D models familiar to every student of chemistry， and the explanations were understandable and informative。 Reading and looking at these would make a fun game even for very small children who would almost certainly love seeing them （and learning them） again and again with a willing adult。Because of the colorful photography and graphics heavy format， the hardcover format would be a much better choice than e-book format。 Five stars， with the codicil that this is not a textbook of chemistry。 It would make a superlative choice for public， classroom， or home library。 Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes。 。。。more
Rex
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Thank you for the kind preview permission and thanks Netgalley。 I have quite high expectation as Chemistry is my favorite subject in school and Mr Ball is one of my favorite science writer。 Yet this is nothing more than a collection of science photos。 I have to admit I am quite disappointed。 That's when Theodore Gray would say been there done that。 Even the photographs are quite mediocre。 My two cents would be re-edit it from a photography-based coffee table book to a text-based molecule book。 O Thank you for the kind preview permission and thanks Netgalley。 I have quite high expectation as Chemistry is my favorite subject in school and Mr Ball is one of my favorite science writer。 Yet this is nothing more than a collection of science photos。 I have to admit I am quite disappointed。 That's when Theodore Gray would say been there done that。 Even the photographs are quite mediocre。 My two cents would be re-edit it from a photography-based coffee table book to a text-based molecule book。 Otherwise， it looks like a cheap version of Gray's "Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything"。 Anyway， thanks for the kindness of preview permission。 Hope all future success and let's bring more high quality chemistry books to the market， not just random pictures that look like stock photos。 We don't need a book of random photo collection if we have google image were millions of dazzling chemistry photos is at my fingertips。 。。。more
Roxanne Spencer
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As to be expected from Philip Ball， a solid book that captures both the science and beauty of chemistry。 Highly recommended！Thanks to MIT Press for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley。
Monri
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My thanks to Philip Ball， Wenting Zhu （Photographs）， Yan Liang （Photographs）， MIT Press， and Netgalley for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review。Review/Reseña en Español/English EspañolLa química es una de mis disciplinas favoritas， nos permite conocer cómo ocurren muchos sucesos tan comunes como raros， desde puntos de vista diferentes al biológico y físico。Para comenzar， el libro trata de diferentes sucesos y procesos que ocurren en el mundo， explicando la química detrá My thanks to Philip Ball， Wenting Zhu （Photographs）， Yan Liang （Photographs）， MIT Press， and Netgalley for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review。Review/Reseña en Español/English EspañolLa química es una de mis disciplinas favoritas， nos permite conocer cómo ocurren muchos sucesos tan comunes como raros， desde puntos de vista diferentes al biológico y físico。Para comenzar， el libro trata de diferentes sucesos y procesos que ocurren en el mundo， explicando la química detrás de esto。 Por ejemplo， toca temas de cristalización， precipitación y polaridad， reacciones Redox， temas de termodinámica y hasta un poco de microbiología。 El libro es bastante interesante por el hecho de que， si bien es científico utiliza analogías para explicar diversos procesos químicos y sea más fácil comprenderlos。 La explicación es muy exacta y no utiliza un lenguaje complicado， no se necesitan tener conocimientos de química avanzados， los conceptos que puedan ser raros para algunas personas son explicados de manera clara。Me gusta que presenta un poco la historia de cómo se descubrieron diferentes conceptos， como las leyes de la termodinámica y la estructura del ADN。 Tiene imágenes muy claras y hermosas， la calidad es excelente， se aprecia a la perfección los fenómenos químicos que ocurren， es algo que me encantó del libro。 Sin embargo， algo que me gustaría recalcar es la estructura de libro， sinceramente recomendaría que compraran el libro físico y no el ebook， para apreciar de mejor manera el contenido。Es un buen libro para los interesados en la química pero que tienen miedo de leer algún libro relacionado por pensar que no lo entenderán， este libro explica conceptos básicos de una manera fácil y fluida sin dejar de ser profesional y educativo。 Mucha gente se enamoraría de la química si lee este libro y si no es así， por lo menos conocerán la belleza de esta。 ¿Es este libro para ti？ Perfecto para: Amantes de la química， fotografía y la ciencia。 ¿Lo recomiendo？ Si， me encanto。 EnglishChemistry is one of my favorite disciplines， it allows us to know how many common and rare events occur， from points of view other than biological and physical。 One of the really beautiful hallmarks of chemistry is its ability to keep reinventing itself。 This endearing virtue places the chemist in the same arena as a painter， sculptor， or musical composer。 To begin with， the book deals with different events and processes that occur in the world， explaining the chemistry behind it。 For example， it touches on crystallization， precipitation and polarity， Redox reactions， thermodynamics， and even a little of microbiology。 The book is quite interesting due to the fact that， although it is scientific， it uses analogies to explain various chemical processes and makes them easier to understand。 The explanation is very exact and doesn't use complicated language， advanced chemistry knowledge is not necessary， concepts that may be strange for some people are explained clearly。 It’s the peculiar power of chemistry to connect those two aspects— the atomic and the everyday— that makes it both a glorious and a useful science， a discipline that reveals how the world we experience emerges from one that is altogether stranger， more elusive， and in some sense mysterious。 I like that it presents a bit of the history of how different concepts were discovered， such as the laws of thermodynamics and the structure of DNA。 It has very clear and beautiful images， the quality is excellent， the chemical phenomena that occur are perfectly appreciated， it is something that I loved about the book。 However， something that I would like to emphasize is the structure of the book， I would sincerely recommend that you buy the physical book and not the ebook， to appreciate the content better。 “Our structure is very beautiful” It's a great book for those interested in chemistry but who are afraid to read a science book because they think they will not understand it， this book explains basic concepts in an easy and fluent way while remaining professional and educational。 Many people would fall in love with chemistry if they read this book and if not， at least they will know the beauty of it。 Imagination is very important in science; art and imagery are powerful ways of making your ideas come to life。 Is this book for you？ Perfect for: Lovers of chemistry， photography and science。 Do I recommend it？ Yes， I loved it。 。。。more
Steve
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Coffee-table book on chemistryI enjoyed this book。 Although a science book， all the text is plainly worded and the explanations are clear。 The photography is excellent， with more beautiful art in the appendix。 The only fault I found with the book was that a lot of the visuals were repetitive。 Nonetheless， this was a worthwhile read。 Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for the advance reader copy。
Teresa Grabs
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The Beauty of Chemistry is a must-have for any science lover （though I don't recommend the ebook version）。 Topics presented range from bubbles to crystals and dendritic growth to electrochemistry。 Each topic is discussed and brought to life through photographs that will tantalize any budding inquirer。 Thank you， NetGalley and MIT Press for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy。 The Beauty of Chemistry is a must-have for any science lover （though I don't recommend the ebook version）。 Topics presented range from bubbles to crystals and dendritic growth to electrochemistry。 Each topic is discussed and brought to life through photographs that will tantalize any budding inquirer。 Thank you， NetGalley and MIT Press for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy。 。。。more
Alicia Bayer
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I love this book and I wish the physical copies weren't going to be $50 or I'd buy one for my 13 year-old science-loving son in a heartbeat because I know he would too。 It's a massive book and filled with chapters about all different chemistry topics like flames and patterns。 Each chapter is brimming with beautiful， fascinating photographs and really good text that fully explains each chemistry topic。 I love， love， love it。 The text is suited for adults or older kids/teens （especially those with I love this book and I wish the physical copies weren't going to be $50 or I'd buy one for my 13 year-old science-loving son in a heartbeat because I know he would too。 It's a massive book and filled with chapters about all different chemistry topics like flames and patterns。 Each chapter is brimming with beautiful， fascinating photographs and really good text that fully explains each chemistry topic。 I love， love， love it。 The text is suited for adults or older kids/teens （especially those with a good science background）， though the photos will appeal to all ages。 This is a fantastic resource and also would make a beautiful and educational coffee table book。 I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review。 。。。more
Whisper19
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Thanks to NetGalley and MIT Press for the ARCThe topics this book covers are really interesting。 It explains them in fairly understandable terms but at times it sort of loses it's train of thought I felt。 I believe that the goal was to make the book more approachable to a wider audience， and I believe that is also the reason for my biggest complaint about this book （and I can’t believe I'm saying this）there are entirely too many pictures here。 For each example process there are at least 4 or fiv Thanks to NetGalley and MIT Press for the ARCThe topics this book covers are really interesting。 It explains them in fairly understandable terms but at times it sort of loses it's train of thought I felt。 I believe that the goal was to make the book more approachable to a wider audience， and I believe that is also the reason for my biggest complaint about this book （and I can’t believe I'm saying this）there are entirely too many pictures here。 For each example process there are at least 4 or five photos of the same thing。 So if one were to count the pages of text and pages of just photos and compare them， I'm sure that the ratio would be one to 1:1。 Don't get me wrong， the photos are amazing， breath-taking even， but we didn't really need this many。 I know the title is "beauty" of chemistry， but this was a bit too much。What I loved was the "Further reading" section in each chapter。 I like it when a nonfiction book sends you on further explorations of the covered topic。 Very well done。 And my final complaint - there is a moment in the chapter on heat when the author talks about the wavelength of light and he says "770 to 430 millionths of a millimetre。" I don't get that。 Why not use the term nanometre （and in parenthesis explain this）？ When in other chapters he mentions other chemical terms， he uses them and explains them of course， but he doesn't shy away from science。 So why here？Don't know。 All in all， I'd recommend this book to people who are interested in the amazingly beautiful world of chemistry。 。。。more
Brandi
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