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Book Cover
E-book
Author McFarland, Ben

Title A World From Dust
Published Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2016

Copies

Description 1 online resource (353 pages)
Contents Cover; A World from Dust; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Author's Note; 1. Arsenic Life?; 2. Predicting the Chemistry inside a Cell; 3. Unfolding the Periodic Table; 4. The Triple-​Point Planet; 5. Seven Chemical Clues to First Life; 6. Wheels within Wheels; 7. The Risk and Reward of Sunlight; 8. One Step Back, Two Steps Forward; 9. Cracked Open and Knit Together by Oxygen; 10. The Return of the Exiled Elements; 11. How Chemistry Shaped History; 12. A Familiar Refrain; Glossary; References; Index
Summary 'A World From Dust' describes how a set of chemical rules combined with the principles of evolution in order to create an environment in which life as we know it could unfold. With simple mathematics, these predictable rules led to the advent of the planet itself, as well as cells, organs and organelles, ecosystems, and increasingly complex life forms. It provides an accessible discussion of a geological history as well, describing how the inorganic matter on Earth underwent chemical reactions with air and water, allowing for life to emerge from the world's first rocks
Notes Print version record
Subject Chemical elements.
Periodic law.
Periodic table of the elements.
Elements
periodic table.
elements (chemical substances)
Chemical elements
Periodic law
Periodic table of the elements
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780190275020
0190275022