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The New Chemistry
The New Chemistry provides an overview of modern chemistry and its applications, with seventeen review articles by specialists. Though commissioned for this volume, these take different approaches and are pitched at different levels: some are quite broadly accessible, while others assume the reader has studied chemistry at university (I found my physics and biology background helped a lot). Apart from multiple explanations of semiconduction, there is little repetition and an immense range of material is covered. The result is a fascinating picture of the science underpinning much modern technology.
The first five articles involve a fair bit of physics. "The Search for New Elements" looks at the synthesis of elements beyond uranium. "Bonding and the Theory of Atoms and Molecules" touches on a mix of theory: chemical bonds, reaction dynamics, simulation of liquids, and mathematical chemistry. "Chemistry in a New Light" and "Novel Energy Sources for Reactions" look at new tools for controlling reactions: lasers, electrosynthesis, microwaves, and ultrasound. And "What, Why and When is a Metal?" explains how the well-known criteria for distinguishing metals and insulators don't always work; this is one of the more accessible chapters, with a good selection of colour illustrations and historical "boxes."
The more "pure chemistry" chapters were the ones I had the most trouble following. These include "The Clothing of Metal Ions: Coordination Chemistry at the Turn of the Millenium," "Surface Chemistry", and "New Roads to Molecular Complexity." Other chapters connect more with biology. "Medicines from Nature" illustrates the search for new medicines through a case study of Erythromycin biosynthesis. "From Pharms to Farms" has two parts, one surveying major drugs and fragrances and the other pesticides. And "The Inorganic Chemistry of Life" is an unusual abstract overview of life from the point of view of an inorganic chemist.
A range of chapters are oriented towards engineering applications; these will be of particular interest to those following new computing technologies. "Supramolecular Chemistry" is an accessible look at the building of structures, at the chemical approach to nanotechnology. "Advanced Materials" focuses on applications to electronics - alternatives to silicon, packaging materials, liquid crystals, plastic batteries, and more - while "Molecular Electronics" focuses on actual circuits, on conductors and switches and molecular computing. "Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversion" looks in detail at a range of traditional and experimental battery and fuel cell systems, and more briefly at photoelectrochemical cells and photochemical waste disposal.
"Chemistry Far from Equilibrium: Thermodynamics, Order and Chaos" is the most mathematical chapter, presenting some dynamical theory with a few examples. And a final chapter "Chemistry in Society" outlines the contributions of chemistry back to the Industrial Revolution, and urges better research both to avoid environmental problems and to correct popular misconceptions.
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What do you mean my reactions have to balance? This is the New chemistry. I'm not bound by the principles of your out-dated models.
Firstpostium: Always attempts to appear at the top of the Periodic Chart, usually for no fathomable reason, frequently target of moderatium reactions.
Taconium: Bonds readily with Kathleenium.
Kathleenium: Bonds approx. 15 minutes later with Taconium.
Athlonium and Pentium: Elements which increase energy levels frequently, highly exothermic, although less so as they are refined, in constant competition for best performance.
Trollium: Densest element known to man, will react even with itself but prefers to bond to any other element.
Moderatium: Appears in cyberspace, sometimes where least needed or bonds inappropraitely, sometimes replaced by Metamoderatium.
Katzium: Occasionally emits photons of insight in cyberspace, frequent target of trollium reactions.
Slashdottium: Highly radioactive, half-life ~20 minutes, when bonded to a link often replaces it with blackhole.
Redmondium: Pervasive, claims to be more stable than linuxium, but is frequently reduced by hax0rium, replaces atomic structure every ~2 years, but still looks almost exactly the same.
Hax0rium: Great affinity for almost any of the Techthanide or Codeinide series of elements, will often reduce or produce warzeides.
CowboyNealium: Only exists in the margins of cyberspace, always appears last in Periodic Chart, regardless of the number of elements represented.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Lousy physicist. Don't know how good he's got it. And he's bitching and moaning about chemists. Bah. Chemists barely count as human. They can't do real math. As a mathematician, physicists generally have at least a minim of my respect 'cause they can occasionally come up with something elegant. But this guy really boils my bacon! You think you've got it hard? You think you've got funding problems? We mathematicians have really got it hard. Whining about chemists and their latest and greatest toys. At least you get last years play things. We often can't even affort pencils! To keep churning out our theorems we've got to cut and paste symbols from the papers our journals refused to publish. And we drink coffee made from grounds that've been run through the pot a dozen times. The nasty old joke that mathematicians are machines for turning coffee into theorems? Bullshit. We turn brown water into ransom note-like creations. And most of the time the water isn't even warm! But you know what? It's elegant! And we like it!!
Crazy mathematicians! You think you've got it sooo hard! You think you've got it sooo tough! You poor, poor babies! How do you think we philosophers feel? We don't even get the funding to replace our coffee grounds once a week! We don't even get enough money to buy grounds; or a coffee maker. We have to hold handfulls of dirt under a faucet to make our life giving brew! You just don't know how good you've got it. At least you get pencils to start with! We have to scrounge chalkboard erasers from the English department and clap them together to get a film of dust on our floor so we can write our ideas down. It's hard, it's tough, and we LIKE IT!!!