Full Product Details
Author: Walter Gratzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.00cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.00cm
Weight: 0.740kg
ISBN: 9780198507079
ISBN 10: 0198507070
Pages: 337
Publication Date: 01 October 2000
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Highly recommended...[a] scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice Highly recommended...[a] scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice Highly recommended...[a] scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice Highly recommended...[a] scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice Highly recommended... a scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice
Science is normally a process governed by rigorous rules, but, occassionally, the scientific community gets carried away by hysteria and hype. It may be that they are following a well-respected member and lose sight of the fact that the work needs questioning like any other. Maybe, political pressure is applied to interpret the results in a particular way. Water has a good example of hysteria taking hold of the community. Water possesses many fascinating properties, without which there would be no life on earth. It freezes at zero degrees: considered a high temperature for freezing. However, there are cold-blooded fish that can swim in sub-zero temperatures without fear of their bodies freezing. When water does freeze the soild form is less dense than the liquid form, which is unusual. The energy needed to raise the substance by one degree is higher than would be predicted by considering its chemical makeup. In the mid-1960s a highly-respected Russian scientist claimed to have developed a type of water that was more viscous than normal. It boiled at 250 degrees and solidified at just below thirty. Over the next ten years over 900 publications were printed and many acclaimed scientists asked their reputations on the existence of this new form of water. Even the popular press were printing articles saying how life would change due to the discovery of this water. In the 1970s the bubble burst when it was proven why this type of water did not exist. This tale, with many others, is recounted in this book. Whilst being academic in nature it is also very readable and will be enjoyable for anybody with an interest in science. (Kirkus UK)
Highly recommended...[a] scholarly, well-researched book. --Choice<br>
Author Information
Walter Gratzer is a biophysicist at the Randall Institute, King's College London. He is known to a wide readership through his book reviews, which appear regularly in Nature. His books include the Longman Literary Companion to Science and The Bedside Nature.
