You know that you need oxygen to breathe, that neon can glow and chrome shines?
But did you know that your cell phone contains arsenic, your spectacles contain rhodium and that the tin pest is not a disease?
And can you name just three researchers whom we have to thank for all these results?
Here, Professor Quadbeck-Seeger, a long-serving member of the board at BASF, goes in search of these and other questions.
Based on the periodic table, the key reference source for any natural scientist, he explains the criteria that define an element's position in the table and are responsible for its particular characteristics. In a clear and concise manner, he describes for each element the story behind its discovery, its physical and chemical properties as well as its role in our everyday lives.
Enriched by a wealth of interesting details, this beautifully designed book in full color represents not only varied reading, but also a treasure trove of surprising facts.
From the author of the bestselling The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
comes another incredible trip to an even more mysterious terrain.
Michael Hanlon identifies ten scientific questions that we simply can't
seem to answer and explains why these compelling mysteries will remain
unsolved for years to come.
How did life begin? Why are there
two sexes? Where did language originate? In Hanlon's characteristically
witty style, he ponders the ways these questions have persisted in
frustrating the best minds and asks what might be needed to get to the
bottom of it all. From politics to lack of technology, each question
has its own set of circumstances holding it back. By exploring these
unanswerable questions, Hanlon exposes some of science's greatest
failings and missteps, and charts a hopeful direction for getting
science back on the road to discovery.
It's a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. On
the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and
dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a
silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero.
What it gets instead is John and David, a pair of college dropouts who
can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in
time to save humanity? No. No, they can't.
This book is in turns terrifying and hilarious.
Intelligently written, yet sneakingly familiar,
this book is a must read for any reader with a funny bone, who can
sleep with one eye open.
This handbook is a truly remarkable scholarly contribution to the
fields of psychology and education. Reynolds and Kamphaus are leaders
in the field who between them have a developed a number of the most
frequently used psychological and educational tests, and the noted
chapter authors all have impressive publication records as well. While
the first edition was a stellar contribution, the volumes in the second
edition have been improved with extensive updating and revising. A
decade of exciting new research findings are carefully reviewed, and
the latest professional developments incorporated. Encyclopedic in
scope, these well-edited volumes cover virtually every type of
psychological test that can be individually administered to a child.
Additional material on the history of testing, research design, and
ethical and diversity issues, among many other important topics, is
also included. All handbooks strive to be comprehensive, but this one
truly succeeds! All professionals involved in child assessment should
have these volumes at their fingertips."--Arthur MacNeill Horton, Jr.,
EdD, ABPP, ABPN, private practice, Columbia and Towson, Maryland; Past
President, American Board of Professional Neuropsychology
Laura Ries, President, Ries & Ries, Marketing Strategists
"A goldmine of helpful how-not-to advice which you ignore at your own peril."
"Haig, a marketing consultant, is one of a new breed of writers producing marketing primers for the hyphenated age of e-marketing. This type of work is characterized by breezily written snippets of success or failure as either encouragement or admonition for the practitioner or for a new category of reader: the business voyeur. Thus these works are written in a readable and appealing format, as e-business fables. Examining 'the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time, ' Haig organizes these 100 "failures" into ten types, each with its own moral and admonition. These types include classic failures (e.g., New Coke), idea failures (e.g., R.J. Reynolds' smokeless cigarettes), extension failures (e.g., Harley Davidson perfume), culture failures (e.g., Kelloggs in India), and technology failures (e.g., Pets.com). The idea behind this work is that with knowledge these failures can be avoided, but this reviewer regards it as akin to Monday morning quarterbacking in its validity as an activity. None of this takes away the schadenfreude of this well-written, quick read. Useful more as a cultural artifact than classroom text, this book could serve as supplementary reading for advanced marketing courses and for business voyeurs who like a good read. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students; and practitioners." -- S. A. Schulman, CUNY Kingsborough Community College
