Showing results for "The Elements" in Science & Engineering

‘A tale of rapacious colonialism, Cold War spy games, dazzling technical innovation, big business rivalry, big power geopolitics […] an unflinching, landmark work on the nature of extractive capitalism’ Patrick Radden Keefe, bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing ‘Joseph...

We all know that we depend on elements for survival - from oxygen in the air we breathe to carbon in the molecular structures of all living things. But we seldom appreciate how, say, phosphorus holds our DNA together or how potassium powers our optic nerves enabling us to see.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams, read by John Sackville. Everything in the universe is made of them, including you. Like you, the elements have personalities, attitudes, talents, shortcomings, stories rich with meaning. Here you'll meet iron...

A podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.

Dava Sobel, acclaimed and bestselling author of Longitude, chronicles the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science – and the untold story of the young women who trained in her laboratory. ‘A fresh and feminist study of the pioneering Nobel laureate reveals her impact...

“A tale of rapacious colonialism, Cold War spy games, dazzling technical innovation, big business rivalry, big power geopolitics . . . Niarchos has produced an unflinching, landmark work on the nature of extractive capitalism.” —Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times best-selling author of...

Brought to you by Penguin. The secret life of gases - the strange, elusive and fascinating substances that shape our world, from the author of the best-selling, prize-winning Stuff Matters Why are most gases invisible, odourless and tasteless? Why do some poison us and others make us laugh? And...

The four elements are the pillars that uphold the manifest world and anchor spirit to matter. They are associated with a wide range of spiritual entities, from small elementals to divine beings. This book explores the consciousness of the elements, which provides a system of understanding that supports most of the magic of the West and paganism. The use of the elements in a wide range of systems and practices will be examined. Much has been written about the four elements already; this book offers new teachings for newcomers and long-time practitioners alike.

'They make science fun and understandable which is a great combo.' Sandi Toksvig 'These nerds are the real deal.' Ben Goldacre, author of BAD SCIENCE Why is it impossible to spin your right foot clockwise while you draw a 6 with your right hand? Can you extract DNA from a strawberry daiquiri?...

You are a vital part of more complex systems like your country, the economy, or the world; learn about their changing nature and find optimal solutions to problems related to them. The Elements of Thinking in Systems focuses on the nine fundamental system archetypes; our mental models related to them and the step-by-step implication methods to fix them. Learn to use systems archetypes to solve your problems at work, in your business, in your relationship, and social connections.

‘An astonishingly readable and informative history of the greatest mathematical bestseller of all time … The writing is vivid and the stories are gripping. Highly recommended ’ IAN STEWART, AUTHOR OF SIGNIFICANT FIGURES Euclid’s Elements of Geometry was a book that changed the world. In...

Written by award-winning science writer John Emsley, this informative and highly enjoyable book explains the what, the why and the wherefore of the elements. Arranged alphabetically, from Actinium to Zirconium, it is a complete guide to all the elements that are currently known, with more extensive coverage of those we encounter in our everyday life. The entry on each element reveals where it came from, what role it may have in the human body, the foods that contain it, how it was discovered, its role in human health, the uses and misuses to which it is put, and its environmental role.

The iconic periodic table of the elements is now in its most satisfyingly elegant form. This is because all the "gaps" corresponding to missing elements in the seventh row, or period, have recently been filled and the elements named. But where do these names come from? For some, usually the most recent, the origins are quite obvious, but in others - even well-known elements such as oxygen or nitrogen - the roots are less clear. Here, Peter Wothers explores the fascinating and often surprising stories behind how the chemical elements received their names. 

If you have a chemistry exam tomorrow, thank goodness you're here. This book will help you memorize the entire periodic table in the fastest and easiest way possible. Would you like to remember the name of every single chemical element? And know their atomic numbers, too? If you've ever watched someone memorize a deck of playing cards in minutes, and dreamed about what you could do with a memory like that - your dreams are about to come true.

It is rare for life to change Earth, yet three organisms have profoundly transformed our planet over the long course of its history. Elemental reveals how microbes, plants, and people used the fundamental building blocks of life to alter the climate, and with it, the trajectory of life on Earth in the past, present, and future. Taking listeners from the deep geologic past to our current era of human dominance, Stephen Porder focuses on five of life’s essential elements—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

The fifth of the Series of First Books of Natural History, embraces that branch of our subject which treats of the Mollusca, or soft animals, and consequently, includes the Elements of Conchology. In the beauty and singularity of their forms, the variety and brilliancy of their colors, shells only yield to flowers…. Limited as this little volume is, it may prove a key to stores of information, even more interesting to many than the numerous fictions of the day. “Truth is stranger than fiction,” has been often said; and the beautiful truths brought to us by a study of animal life, in its ...

The Elements of Mammalogy is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1845 presents an introduction to mammalogy. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of mammal biology. The classification of mammals has changed considerably since this time. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences. (Summary by A. Gramour)

The Elements of Ornithology is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1845 presents an introduction to ornithology. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of bird biology and classification. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences. (Summary by A. Gramour)

Unsere Erde ist ein Wasserplanet. Drei Viertel sind von Wasser bedeckt. Wasser existiert in vielen Formen, ob als Meer, Fluss, See oder als Wolke. Und es ist der Ursprungsort allen Lebens, ein wichtiger Energieträger sowie die wesentliche Voraussetzung für unsere Ernährung. Jedoch scheint es...

The New York Times best-selling author on the source of great bounty—and now great peril—all over the world. Phosphorus has played a critical role in some of the most lethal substances on earth: firebombs, rat poison, nerve gas. But it’s also the key component of one of the most vital...