Water: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) - Softcover

Finney, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198708726 ISBN 13: 9780198708728

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Water dominates the surface of Earth and is vital to life on our planet. It is a remarkable liquid which shows anomalous behaviour. In this Very Short Introduction John Finney introduces the science of water, and explores how the structure of water molecules gives rise to its physical and chemical properties. Considering water in all three of its states as ice and steam as well as liquid, Finney explains the great importance of an understanding of its structure and behaviour to a range of fields including chemistry, astrophysics, and earth and environmental sciences. Finney describes the role of water in biology, and ends with a discussion of of the outstanding controversies concerning water, and some of the 'magical' properties which have been claimed for it.

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About this title

About the Author

John Finney is Emeritus Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London and the London Centre for Nanotechnology. His research has focussed on liquids and disordered solids, beginning with his Ph.D. work with J.D. Bernal on liquid structure, subsequently developing to work on water, aqueous solutions and the role of water in protein stability and enzyme activity. He co-chaired the 2002 Gordon Research Conference on Water and Aqueous Solutions, organised a 2003 Royal Society Discussion Meeting on The molecular basis of life: is life possible without water? and co-edited Water and Life: the unique properties of H2O. He was a leading member of the research teams that have discovered four phases of ice, the first new phases to be found since the 1930s. From 1988 - 1993, he was Head of Neutron Science, and then Chief Scientist at the ISIS Pulsed Neutron Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Review

a wake-up call to those who only think about it when their holiday's are washed out or their water bills arrive. * Northern Echo, Stephen Craggs *

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0198708726
• ISBN 13: 9780198708728
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160