内容説明
This book explains to the general reader the roles of chemistry in various areas of life ranging from the entirely personal to the worryingly global. These roles are currently not widely appreciated and certainly not well understood.
The book is aimed at educated laypeople who want to know more about the world around them but have little chemical knowledge. The themes relate to the importance of chemistry in everyday life, the benefits they currently bring, and how their use can continue on a sustainable basis.
Topics include:
Health - conquering the diseases and stresses which still threaten us
Food - the role of agrochemicals and food chemists
Water - drinking water; the seas as a resource of raw materials
Fuels - what are they and from what are they made?
Plastics - what are the used for and can they be sustainable?
Cities - what role has chemistry in modern life?
Sport - chemistry has changed the game.
The number seven has a special resonance in human affairs, as is demonstrated by the seven deadly sins, seven wonders of the world, seven seas, seven days of the week and lucky seven. To reflect this, the contents are arranged in seven chapters and, within every chapter, there are seven sub-themes. Each chapter ends with seven simple pieces of advice.
The final chapter tackles the issue of communicating knowledge about 'chemicals' to a wider public. The word chemicals is placed in inverted commas because it is now widely misused to mean something which is assumed to be harmful or polluting. The author argues that, just as there is a placebo effect in which as many as a third of people in double-blind tests appear to benefit from a non-active agent, there is an anti-placebo effect in which a large number of people appear to be adversely affected by what they perceive to be a dangerous substance when in fact it may even be beneficial.
著者について
Dr John Emsley is best known for his series of highly readable popular science books about everyday chemistry, some of which have run into multiple editions and printings in the UK, and all of which have been translated into several other languages. He has also published in national newspapers and magazines, and he has written chemistry text books and booklets for industry. John has a carved an impressive career in popular science writing and broadcasting over the past 20 years, emphasising the benefits of chemistry, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
John's chemistry career started in 1960 with a PhD in phosphorus chemistry from Manchester University. With spells at the University of London, Westfield College and Kings College as lecturer and reader, he became science writer at Imperial College and then the University of Cambridge where his prolific writing career took off. With his background in chemistry he has had over 110 original research papers published, mainly on phosphorus chemistry and on hydrogen-bonded systems. He has also had more than 500 popular science articles and features published in leading newspapers and science magazines.
Some of his best selling popular science books include: Molecules of Murder, (2008), Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving, (2007), Elements of Murder (2005), Vanity, Vitality & Virility (2004), Nature's Building Blocks (2001), The Shocking History of Phosphorus (2000).
