Some of the most exciting scientific developments in recent years have
come not from theoretical physicists, astronomers, or molecular
biologists but instead from the chemistry lab. Chemists have created
superconducting ceramics for brain scanners, designed liquid crystal
flat screens for televisions and watch displays, and made fabrics that
change color while you wear them. They have fashioned metals from
plastics, drugs from crude oil, and have pinpointed the chemical
pollutants affecting our atmosphere and are now searching for remedies
for the imperiled planet. Philip Ball, an editor for the prestigious
magazine Nature, lets the lay reader into the world of modern chemistry.
Here, for example, chemists find new uses for the improbable
buckminsterfullerene molecules--60-atom carbon soccerballs, dubbed
"buckyballs"--which seem to have applications for everything from
lubrication to medicine to electronics. The book is not intended as an
introduction to chemistry, but as an accessible survey of recent
developments throughout many of the major fields allied with chemistry:
from research in traditional areas such as crystallography and
spectroscopy to entirely new fields of study such as molecular
electronics, artificial enzymes, and "smart" polymer gels. Ball's grand
tour along the leading edge of scientific discovery will appeal to all
curious readers, with or without any scientific training, to chemistry
students looking for future careers, and to practicing chemical
researchers looking for information on other specialties within their
discipline.
