Radium and the Secret of Life

Radium and the Secret of Life
Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Total Pages : 387
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780226418742
ISBN-13 : 022641874X
Rating : 4/5 (74X Downloads)

Book Synopsis Radium and the Secret of Life by : Luis A. Campos

Download or read book Radium and the Secret of Life written by Luis A. Campos and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long before the hydrogen bomb indelibly associated radioactivity with death, many chemists, physicists, botanists, and geneticists were excited thinking that radium held the key to the secret of life. Luis Campos examines the many and varied connections between early radioactivity research and understandings of vitality, both scientific and popular, in the first half of the twentieth century. As some physicists and chemists early on described the wondrous new element and its radioactive brethren in lifelike terms ( decay, half-life, and frequent reference to the natural selection and evolution of the elements), many biologists of the period eagerly sought to bring radium into the biological fold. They did so with experiments aimed at elucidating some of the most basic phenomena of life, including metabolism and mutation, and often saw in these phenomena properties that in turn reminded them of the new element. These initially provocative links between radium and life proved remarkably productive in experimental terms and ultimately led to key biological insights into the origin of life, the nature of mutation, and the structure of the gene. "Radium and the Secret of Life" traces the half-life of this connection between the living and the radioactive, while also exploring the approach to history that emerges when one follows a trail of associations that, asymptotically, never quite disappears."


Radium and the Secret of Life Related Books

Radium and the Secret of Life
Language: en
Pages: 387
Authors: Luis A. Campos
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-07-05 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Long before the hydrogen bomb indelibly associated radioactivity with death, many chemists, physicists, botanists, and geneticists were excited thinking that ra
The Radium Girls
Language: en
Pages: 585
Authors: Kate Moore
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-04-18 - Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! For fans of Hidden Figures, comes the incredible true story of the women heroes
Mad on Radium
Language: en
Pages: 323
Authors: Rebecca Priestley
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-11-01 - Publisher: Auckland University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Although New Zealander Lord Rutherford was the first to split the atom, the country has since been known around the world for its nuclear-free stance. In this e
Romancing the Atom
Language: en
Pages: 305
Authors: Robert R. Johnson
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-08-03 - Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents a compelling account of atomic development over the last century that demonstrates how humans have repeatedly chosen to ignore the associated
Obsessive Genius
Language: en
Pages: 268
Authors: Barbara Goldsmith
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005 - Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Using original research (diaries, letters, and family interviews) to peel away the layers of myth, Goldsmith offers a portrait of Marie Curie, her amazing disc