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5. A true hermetic philosopher
Rob Iliffe
in Newton: A Very Short Introduction
‘A true hermetic philosopher’ explains how alchemy enjoyed a chequered reputation by the middle of the seventeenth century. It was part of a larger practice that was termed ‘chymistry’. In ...
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4. Types and hexagons
William H. Brock
in The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
‘Types and hexagons’ introduces some of the key characters involved in making important contributions to the field of chemistry: Antoine Fourcroy, who created the divisions of inorganic and ...
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3. Gases and atoms
William H. Brock
in The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
Until the mid-18th century, chemists had no understanding of the role of air in chemical changes. The Chemical Revolution was not merely conceptual, but also instrumental in that it ...
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3. The marvellous years
Rob Iliffe
in Newton: A Very Short Introduction
‘The marvellous years’ describes Newton's years at Cambridge. The first decades of the seventeenth century witnessed an exponential growth in the understanding of the Earth and heavens, a ...
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Newton: A Very Short Introduction
Rob Iliffe
Newton: A Very Short Introduction introduces Newton's scientific studies in fields ranging from physics, astronomy, and mathematics, to alchemy. It also examines his ...
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4. The censorious multitude
Rob Iliffe
in Newton: A Very Short Introduction
‘The censorious multitude’ describes how, since its foundation in 1660, the Royal Society had fashioned what was effectively an official position regarding the best way to perform and write ...
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4. The sublunar world
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
‘The sublunar world’ explores how the early modern view of the world moved on from Aristotle's teachings. Nicholas Steno found that layers of rock provided information about the earth's ...
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5. The microcosm and the living world
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
‘The microcosm and the living world’ explores early modern thought on the human body and biology. Astrology had a large influence on early modern medicine, guiding personalised treatment ...
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6. Building a world of science
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
‘Building a world of science’ outlines how early modern scientific thought was applied to the real world problems of the day. The emergence of gunpowder on the battlefield made castles ...
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The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
William H. Brock
From the earliest exploration of natural materials and their transformations to today’s materials science, chemistry has always been the central discipline that underpins both the physical ...
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2. The analysis of stuff
William H. Brock
in The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
The fundamental problem in chemistry is transmutation. How can two homogeneous stuffs with very different properties merge to form another homogeneous material whose properties are ...
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2. The connected world
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
‘The connected world’ examines the viewpoints of early modern natural philosophers. Unlike modern scientists, natural philosophers viewed the world in an interconnected, cosmic sense. They ...
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Epilogue
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
Modern science continues to seek out greater scientific knowledge using the same aims and methods as the early modern natural philosophers. Some of these came from the Middle Ages and ...
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1. Water, water everywhere …
John Finney
in Water: A Very Short Introduction
Water (H2O) is the most abundant compound on the Earth’s surface and occurs naturally in gas, liquid, and solid forms. It is estimated that there are 1.9 billion billion tonnes of water on ...
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3. The secularization of superstition
Stuart Vyse
in Superstition: A Very Short Introduction
The five centuries beginning with the 14th and ending with the 18th took European history from the Middle Ages, through the Enlightenment, and into the first two centuries of the scientific ...
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5. Reactivity
William H. Brock
in The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
By the mid-19th century many different kinds of chemical change had been recognized and systematized in textbooks. It became the task of physical chemists to explain these different ...
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The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
Lawrence M. Principe
Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction explores the exciting developments in the sciences during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This time witnessed such ...
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