Periodic Table And A Missed Nobel Prize, The - Couverture souple

Lagerkvist, Ulf

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 9814295957 ISBN 13 : 9789814295956

Editeur : Wspc, 2012

Synopsis

In a relatively brief but masterful recounting, Professor Ulf Lagerkvist traces the origins and seminal developments in the field of chemistry, highlighting the discoveries and personalities of the individuals who transformed the ancient myths of the Greeks, the musings of the alchemists, the mystique of phlogiston into the realities and the laws governing the properties and behavior of the elements; in short, how chemistry became a true science. A centerpiece of this historical journey was the triumph by Dmitri Mendeleev who conceived the Periodic Law of the Elements, the relation between the properties of the elements and their atomic weights but more precisely their atomic number. Aside from providing order to the elements known at the time, the law predicted the existence and atomic order of elements not then known but were discovered soon after.An underlying but explicit intent of Lagerkvist's survey is to address what he believes was a gross injustice in denying Mendeleev the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905 and again in 1906. Delving into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' detailed records concerning the nominations, Lagerkvist reveals the judging criteria and the often heated and prejudicial arguments favoring and demeaning the contributions of the competing contenders of those years. Lagerkvist, who was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and has participated in judging nominations for the chemistry prize, concludes "It is in the nature of the Nobel Prize that there will always be a number candidates who obviously deserve to be rewarded but never get the accolade" -- Mendeleev was one of those.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

"This is a fascinating account of how groundbreaking scientists think and work. This is the insider's view of the process and demands made on the experts of the Nobel Foundation who assess the originality and significance of research."-- Professor Sir Aaron Klug, Order of Merit, Fellow of the Royal Society, Nobel Laureate

"Lagerkvist, who was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and participated in judging nominations for the chemistry prize, concludes 'It is in the nature of the Nobel Prize that there will always be a number candidates who obviously deserve to be rewarded but never get the accolade'. He makes the case that failing to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Dmitri Mendeleev's for his conception of the Periodic Table of the Elements was a gross injustice."-- Professor Emeritus Paul Berg, Stanford University School of Medicine

"This book is intended for nonprofessional readers. Focussing on the prominent chemist Dmitri Mendeleev it describes how the Nobel Committee struggled in its selection of the prime candidate to the 1906 Nobel Prize in chemistry. The reasons why Mendeleev, regrettably, never received the prize are presented." --Professor Emeritus Hideki Shirakawa, University of Tsukuba

"The style is, again, unhurried and the book certainly reads more like a novel than a scientific monograph, yet it is accurate in all aspects. Ulf Lagerkvist gives a lively account of the events of more than a hundred years ago. His last book is an important contribution to science history and a beautiful memento of his oeuvre." -- Structural Chemistry

"The book ends with a vivid description of the circumstances behind the unfortunate missed Nobel Prize to Mendeleev before his death in 1907. I most strongly recommend the book to the general audience as well as to colleges and students. The text is easy to follow, very interesting and clearly explains the contributions of the various players through the history of chemistry."-- Professor Emeritus Lars Thelander, Umea University

"The scientific portraits of distinguished chemists like Robert Boyle et al. are engaging, and the profound expertise of Lagerkvist is conveyed with wit and humour. A particularly gripping account is the description of the strong feelings against, and for, an award to the brilliant Russian theoretical chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev." -- Dr. Tomas Lindahl FRS

"The book is aimed at the general science reader interested in the history of the development of scientific thought. Overall it is a good read and I enjoyed this detailed explanation of why Mendeleev missed the Nobel prize." --Chemistry World

Présentation de l'éditeur

In a relatively brief but masterful recounting, Professor Ulf Lagerkvist traces the origins and seminal developments in the field of chemistry, highlighting the discoveries and personalities of the individuals who transformed the ancient myths of the Greeks, the musings of the alchemists, the mystique of phlogiston into the realities and the laws governing the properties and behavior of the elements; in short, how chemistry became a true science. A centerpiece of this historical journey was the triumph by Dmitri Mendeleev who conceived the Periodic Law of the Elements, the relation between the properties of the elements and their atomic weights but more precisely their atomic number. Aside from providing order to the elements known at the time, the law predicted the existence and atomic order of elements not then known but were discovered soon after. An underlying but explicit intent of Lagerkist's survey is to address what he believes was a gross injustice in denying Mendeleev the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905 and again in 1906. Delving into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' detailed records concerning the nominations, Lagerkvist reveals the judging criteria and the often heated and prejudicial arguments favoring and demeaning the contributions of the competing contenders of those years. Lagerkvist, who was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and has participated in judging nominations for the chemistry prize, concludes “It is in the nature of the Nobel Prize that there will always be a number candidates who obviously deserve to be rewarded but never get the accolade” - Mendeleev was one of those.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Wspc
• Date d'édition: 2012
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 9814295957
• ISBN 13: 9789814295956
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 136
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne