| Description |
1 online resource (274 p.) |
| Series |
Hors Collection |
|
Hors Collection
|
| Contents |
The amazing history of element names -- Preface -- Foreword -- To make the readingeasier -- 1. Fire, air, water, earth... and the 5th element? -- 1) Earth, a precious diamond mine! -- 2) Air and water, elements of life -- 3) A quest that leads to fire -- 4) The 5th element... towards quintessence! -- 2. A chance for artists and craftsmen... -- 1) A metal for eternity -- 2) Metal weddings -- 3) Emblematic metals and alloys -- 4) The metal of war -- 5) Teasing game between metals -- 6) Tales around brimstone -- 3. Gods, myths and legends -- 1) About gods and planets -- 2) Heaven or hell? |
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3) Prometheus and hidden earths -- 4) Helen of Troy and sugars -- 5) Diabolical dwarves -- 6) Fear ofthe werewolf -- 7) Vanadis and Thor, day and night -- 8) The oracles of Amun -- 4. Travels with words -- 1) A good harvest in Scandinavia -- 2) France and Germany, face to face -- 3) In Scotland, not so far from Loch Ness -- 4) On the shores of the Aegean -- 5) Travels across Ireland -- 5. Tastes, colours and smells in names -- 1) Not to overindulge in sugar -- 2) When it's scorched... -- 3) An unnecessary colour? -- 4) A tale with a salty lick -- 6. Explorers of the elements |
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1) The salts of the Earth -- 2) Minerals in plants -- 3) The mantle of the Earth -- 4) The sugars of life -- 5) The alphabet of the living kingdom -- 6) Eclectic names -- 7) Strange gases hidden in the air... -- 8) When it comes to physics -- 7. In the intimacy of plants -- 1) Wheat in the oven and in the mill -- 2) The best andthe worst of a seed -- 3) A comforting tree -- 4) And here comes Jupiter again, with nuts! -- 5) Lumber and firewood -- 6) The tree that invented polystyrene -- 7) The aromas of plants -- 8. Animal stories -- 1) Foxes are so foxy -- 2) Ruminant butter sand acids |
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3) A name that fits the bill -- 4) A discovery in the liver -- 9. What everyday product names tell us -- 1) The secret ofporcelain/china -- 2) A product that makes things clean... and white -- 3) A story with twists, turns and bounces -- 4) A brilliant inventor -- 5) Double-purpose glass: for safety and aesthetics -- 6) From the still to the refinery -- The epilogue to end all epilogues -- Table of contents -- References -- Index |
| Summary |
What is the connection between planet Mars and Iron Man, nickel and the Seven Dwarves, or DNA, walnuts and Jupiter, fuchsine, the fox and Zorro, or even ammoniac and the god Amun? This book tells the stories behind the naming of the elements, whether they are chemical elements of the Periodic Table, first published by Mendeleev in 1869, or organic elements which are components of DNA and RNA, as well as proteins, themselves elements of living kingdom, plants and animals. The book goes further, into materials and products which became essential elements of modern life. Readers will learn that the names often refer to (or reveal) dreams and aspirations of men and women of their time. This truly amazing history of the names guides us through an incredible set of worlds: nature, astronomy, history, literature, journeys, and even takes in contributions from legends and mythology |
| Notes |
Description based upon print version of record |
|
In English |
| Subject |
Chemical elements -- Names
|
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SCIENCE / Chemistry / General.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9782759824977 |
|
2759824977 |
|
