Material sciences - the elements

A place to keep track of reference material - any particularly useful books, articles, etc. should be listed here.
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Richard Hull
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Material sciences - the elements

Post by Richard Hull »

Two great books to recommend here.

The ultimate in metals info on the unusual metals is an old book still in print with its last edition update in 1964! It is that good!

"The Rare Metals Handbook", edited by Hempel.

The ultimate book on data for the more unusual metals of that time. Many are now in common use. Tantalum, Hafnium, Indium, Zirconium, etc. A thick reference book with lots of illustrations and data. New, it will cost you about $80.00.
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"Nature's Building Blocks" By John Emsley, Oxford University Press, 2001.

New and fabulous beyond belief. I couldn't put this one down. An embarssment of riches regarding the elements.

Done in a fashion never seen and long overdue.

Naturally good to be considered by the world's premiere publisher of scientific books. Each element is covered in detail in this 540 page tome of great value.

Not just boring statistics, but real gravy served up with the meat and 6 sides!

Emsley includes a side bar for many elements called "element of surprise" where tidbits lost in time are served up to the fascination and enlightenment of the reader.

Example:

Under Antimony which is a bit toxic to humans he tells us...

"In the middle ages antimony metal pills were sold as reusable laxatives. Those suffering constipation would swallow one, about the size of a pea, and then wait for its toxic action to aggrevate the intestines, causing them to become more active inorder to expel the irritant pill. This was eventually retrieved from the expelled excrement and stored for future use! There are even reports of such pills being passed down from generation to generation."

Gee whiz! Can you imagine mommy giving her daughter an antimony pellet and literally saying "this pill has passed through our family for years".....

Anyway, a great book with information and surprises alike.

New, from a premiere publisher and incredibly expensive.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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