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Uncle Tungsten
Oliver Sacks is a noted neurologist, and author of a number of books for popular audiences, including The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. I came across Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood while browsing through a bookstore a few months ago, and decided to give it a read.
Uncle Tungsten is billed as "Memories of a Chemical Boyhood" in the title, but it's actually far more than a simple biography of his childhood. The real focus of the book is trifold: the influence of chemistry upon his early life and his early chemistry experiments and researches into chemistry, the stories behind the discoveries of the elements comprising the periodic table and of the discovery of the periodic table itself, and the non-chemical aspects of his childhood.
We learn early on that Sacks' family was chock-full of chemists (the title of the book refers to an uncle whose factory produced light bulbs using tungsten filaments), physicists, and doctors (including both of his parents). As a result, he had access to volumes of information about chemistry and access to chemicals of every sort, not to mention a family that was quite happy to indulge his interests. He made good use of these resources, ultimately gaining his own chemistry lab at home (complete with fume cupboard) where he experimented with a little of everything in an attempt to find out as much as possible about the chemical world.
His stories about how various elements had been isolated are given color by his own experiences with these same elements as a child. When he reaches the radioactive elements, for example, he illustrates some of the properties of uranium by describing his experiments with a chunk of uranium ore given to him by one of his uncles! Other experiments include dropping sodium (which is highly reactive with water) into a pond in a nearby park to watch it burn, bleaching red roses by holding them over burning sulphur, and using a spectroscope to examine the absorption Sacks' childhood experiments, however, are only part of the picture. Tales of his childhood are frequently interrupted by stories about the pioneers of chemistry (such as the Curies, Mendeleev, and Humphry Davy) who identified and isolated the various elements. As he discusses the discoveries of the elements, he includes descriptions of those researchers who ferreted out these elements, the puzzles they encountered during their work, and the hazards they faced when working with dangerous substances.
The book does include "non-chemical memories," too. Although chemistry was his first love, Sacks got the opportunity (and, with physician parents, the encouragement) to dissect worms, octopi, and even human cadavers! He also shares his wartime memories of growing up as a child during the blitz and being sent away from home to live in a boarding school for his own safety, although he ultimately returned home before the war was over. Often, however, the non-chemical memories are offered as background for the rest of the story.
I enjoyed this book very much, even though the extent of my chemistry background consists of getting a "C-" in high-school chemistry. My father, a design engineer who worked for many years in a chemical engineering department at a university, also enjoyed it. Based on these two opinions, at least, I can conclude that the book probably would appeal to a fairly wide geek-audience.
More can be discovered about the author at www.oliversacks.com
You can purchase Uncle Tungsten from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
If you teach chemistry to children, you could be helping terrorists, never mind the profiteering of the Thief-In-Chief
Cheers,
W00t
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375 404481/qid=1041870036/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-169183 9-0288843?v=glance&s=books
Slashdot readers get 5% off if you make a 'Soviet Russia' joke in the address field!
Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat said when she realized he had mistaken her for a hat?
'You're putting me on'
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
My children are fine with their violent television programming. They don't need any chemistry knowledge. And they look up to our great president, George Williamson Bush.
so.. much.. stupidity.. in.. one.. sentence.. computer .. melting... melting.. melting..
And *I* disagree with all of you. Obviously it is the study of electricity that forms the base of all scientific progress.
I can't prove why this is so, but had to get my two cents in for the EE's, even though we aren't pure science. Leave that to the nuclear physicists (*hint hint*).
...
Dick Measuring contests about what we studied in college are the foundation of knowledge. Without them, we wouldn't feel inclined to study philosophy, chemistry, or physics, because we could get laid both being ugly AND ignorant.
Want to see every step I took to start my company? http://www.rowdylabs.com/blogs/pitchtothegods
This convinces me that we need to make available to every family a set of android relatives who can visit and tell the kids about their fascinating professions. This would make up for the fact that most parents these days work in malls and offices and haven't thought about science since their last week in High School.
You wouldn't need to make a set of Aunt & Uncle teacher androids for each family. They could be shared around, and use different names and face-prosthetics so that they appear to be unique.
Stefan
The book does include "non-chemical memories," too.
:-)
Uhh, since I'm a living being... I do believe *all* my memories are chemical.
....even when precious few students will ever run into one of these items, they are found periodically.
Nyuk, nyuk. I see your elemental attempt at chemistry humor, but I've turned the tables on you.
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.