Napoleon’s Buttons:
Is it possible that the buttons on Napoleon’s troops' jackets moving into Russia disintegrated in the cold? Maybe. But it was also a stupid military move?
Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.
With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Le Couteur and Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.
This book, though it wouldn’t be my first choice is very intriguing. It is truly an eye opener in regards to the chemistry that is all around us. Chemistry is life. This book shows that. But rather than being a boring book we might read in a(n) English high school class, this book relates real world histories to and events to the very chemistry that affects our very lives.
Here are a few interesting tidbits from the book:
It is not a chemistry book, but some knowledge of chemistry is helpful But even without that knowledge (and I am not a chemist other than chemistry that involves ethyl alcohol), the reader can understand why certain compounds, chemicals, and elements influenced events through time.
One teacher even went as far as to say, and I quote, “I teach high school biology and physical science. Seriously, this book will shape my teaching. Honestly never took time to think of how items like silk, a basic and simple protein, shaped the world.”
If this book seems interesting to you, watch this link.
Is it possible that the buttons on Napoleon’s troops' jackets moving into Russia disintegrated in the cold? Maybe. But it was also a stupid military move?
Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.
With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Le Couteur and Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.
This book, though it wouldn’t be my first choice is very intriguing. It is truly an eye opener in regards to the chemistry that is all around us. Chemistry is life. This book shows that. But rather than being a boring book we might read in a(n) English high school class, this book relates real world histories to and events to the very chemistry that affects our very lives.
Here are a few interesting tidbits from the book:
- People hung nutmeg around the neck to ward off bubonic plague. It may have warded off fleas.
- Ships were manned above capacity to take into account the loss of sailors to scurvy. As many as 30 to 50 percent would die. The officers were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables, so avoided scurvy. The sailors wanted meat.
- Vitamin C got its name because it was the 3rd vitamin identified. Mistakes were made, so we have all the B vitamin numbers.
- High doses of vitamin C are not necessary. Better to have C at different times of day.
- Scott's men had scurvy trying to reach the South Pole. Thus they were weak at the end and surrendered to death. Amundsen ate foods that protected against scurvy.
- Brazilian slave ships had over 500 men in a room of nine hundred square feet and three feet high.
- The water used to manufacture gunpowder was often urine of the workers. A heavy wine drinker was believed to produce potent gunpowder. Same with a clergyman, even better was a bishop.
- Fritz Haber won the 1918 Nobel Prize for chemistry. I aroused protest because Haber played a significant role in Germany's poison gas program in WWI. He didn't see it as any different as any other way of dying in war. He did have the courage to refuse to fire Jews in his factory.
It is not a chemistry book, but some knowledge of chemistry is helpful But even without that knowledge (and I am not a chemist other than chemistry that involves ethyl alcohol), the reader can understand why certain compounds, chemicals, and elements influenced events through time.
One teacher even went as far as to say, and I quote, “I teach high school biology and physical science. Seriously, this book will shape my teaching. Honestly never took time to think of how items like silk, a basic and simple protein, shaped the world.”
If this book seems interesting to you, watch this link.