The Chemistry Book
Big Ideas
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The Chemistry Book
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Narrated by:
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Laura Brydon
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By:
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DK
About this listen
Discover and understand the key ideas that underpin the core science of chemistry and learn about the great minds who uncovered them.
Written in plain English, The Chemistry Book is packed with short, pithy explanations of some of the most historic moments in science, from the birth of atomic theory to the discovery of polythene and the development of new vaccine technologies to combat COVID-19.
Arranged in chronological order, the book covers key themes in the physical and natural sciences, such as geochemistry and the elements. Within each chapter, a series of articles traces the history of scientific thought and introduces the work of the scientists who have shaped the subject such as John Dalton, Marie Curie, Dmitri Mendeleev, Kathleen Lonsdale, and Stephanie Kwolek. Along the way, the audiobook addresses some of the most fundamental questions in science, such as what is the universe made of, how is matter created, and what are the chemical bonds that make life possible?
Whether you are new to chemistry, a student of the sciences, or just want to keep up with and understand the latest news and scientific debates, The Chemistry Book is for you.
©2022 DK (P)2022 DKListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,057
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,787
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,796
Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
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13 Things That Don't Make Sense
- The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time
- By: Michael Brooks
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,565
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,560
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,564
Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best-kept secret is that there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. If history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet 13 modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
10 interesting chapters-read epiloge first
- By Stephen on 06-10-09
By: Michael Brooks
-
The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics
- A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
- By: James Kakalios
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
In The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics, James Kakalios uses examples from comics and magazines to explain how breakthroughs in quantum mechanics led to such technologies as the World Wide Web, pocket-sized computers, mobile phones, and MRI machines.....
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2 out of 5 stars
-
The exhibits are missing from Audible
- By David on 12-13-10
By: James Kakalios
-
Origins
- The Scientific Story of Creation
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Neil Scott-Barbour
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know? There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting book, but WOW, the narrator ...
- By UH on 01-10-17
By: Jim Baggott
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The Equations of Life
- How Physics Shapes Evolution
- By: Charles S. Cockell
- Narrated by: Ian Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution's outcomes predictable. If we were to find something very much like a lady bug eating something very much like an aphid on a distant planet, we shouldn't be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and, as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Too many equations, not enough insights
- By Alec Drumm on 09-24-18
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The Vital Question
- Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life
- By: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,041
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,030
The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies, and cities. Yet there's a black hole at the heart of biology. We do not know why complex life is the way it is, or, for that matter, how life first began. In The Vital Question, award-winning author and biochemist Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a solution to conundrums that have puzzled generations of scientists.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Ouch!
- By Mark on 06-24-16
By: Nick Lane
-
Radiation
- What It Is, What You Need to Know
- By: Robert Peter Gale, Eric Lax
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
The essential guide to radiation: the good, the bad, and the utterly fascinating, explained with unprecedented clarity. Earth, born in a nuclear explosion, is a radioactive planet; without radiation, life would not exist. And while radiation can be dangerous, it is also deeply misunderstood and often mistakenly feared. Now Robert Peter Gale, M.D. - the doctor to whom concerned governments turned in the wake of the Chernobyl and Fukushima - in collaboration with medical writer Eric Lax draws on an exceptional depth of knowledge to correct myths and establish facts.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A great and accessible introduction to the field o
- By Neuron on 04-12-13
By: Robert Peter Gale, and others
-
The Cosmic Cocktail
- Three Parts Dark Matter
- By: Katherine Freese
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 87
The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe - from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars - constitute only 5 percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The rest is known as dark matter and dark energy, because their precise identities are unknown. The Cosmic Cocktail is the inside story of the epic quest to solve one of the most compelling enigmas of modern science - what is the universe made of? - told by one of today’s foremost pioneers in the study of dark matter.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I was looking for a book about science....
- By Jeff on 03-27-15
By: Katherine Freese
-
Arrival of the Fittest
- Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle
- By: Andreas Wagner
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 355
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 299
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 300
In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Robustness makes for an interesting life and book
- By Gary on 11-29-14
By: Andreas Wagner
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Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 145
Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
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5 out of 5 stars
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FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
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Sun in a Bottle
- The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
- By: Charles Seife
- Narrated by: Bill Weideman
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
For the past 50 years, governments and research teams have tried to bottle the sun with lasers, magnets, sound waves, and particle beams, struggling to harness the power of fusion. Again and again, they have failed, disgracing generations of scientists. Throughout this fascinating journey, Charles Seife introduces us to the daring geniuses, villains, and victims of fusion science.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Focused on the Lone Wolves
- By Robert Goldston on 11-14-08
By: Charles Seife
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The Story of Earth
- The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,081
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 928
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 921
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
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Forces of Nature
- By: Professor Brian Cox, Andrew Cohen
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 490
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 438
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 432
Professor Brian Cox uncovers some of the most extraordinary natural events on Earth and in the universe and beyond. From the immensity of the universe and the roundness of Earth to the form of every single snowflake, the forces of nature shape everything we see. Pushed to extremes, the results are astonishing. In seeking to understand the everyday world, the colours, structure, behaviour and history of our home, we develop the knowledge and techniques necessary to step beyond the everyday.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Complicated in its simplicity
- By Philomath on 06-13-17
By: Professor Brian Cox, and others
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What listeners say about The Chemistry Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marty L. Illers
- 09-25-23
This is all this information I ever wanted in a chemistry book.
I study chemistry everyday and this book gives excellent reference to the topics. I then can take a deep dive on my own using other sources.
Having a directory like this is essential to someone like me who is self taught and seeks order in the categorical maze of chemistry.
I highly recommend this book to people who earnestly self teach themselves.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kari
- 12-05-23
No apparent story line and narrator could have been better
Just a chronological statement of events, no development of story at all. The narrator didn’t appear to have any knowledge of the subject matter with mispronunciations and a strange speech cadence. I didn’t get more than a couple hours into it.
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