Periodic Table And A Missed Nobel Prize, The

In a relatively brief but masterful recounting, Professor Ulf Lagerkvist traces the origins and seminal developments in the field of chemistry, highlighting the discoveries and personalities of the individuals who transformed the ancient myths of the Greeks, the musings of the alchemists, the mystique of phlogiston into the realities and the laws governing the properties and behavior of the elements; in short, how chemistry became a true science. A centerpiece of this historical journey was the triumph by Dmitri Mendeleev who conceived the Periodic Law of the Elements, the relation between the properties of the elements and their atomic weights but more precisely their atomic number. Aside from providing order to the elements known at the time, the law predicted the existence and atomic order of elements not then known but were discovered soon after.An underlying but explicit intent of Lagerkvist\'s survey is to address what he believes was a gross injustice in denying Mendeleev the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905 and again in 1906. Delving into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences\' detailed records concerning the nominations, Lagerkvist reveals the judging criteria and the often heated and prejudicial arguments favoring and demeaning the contributions of the competing contenders of those years. Lagerkvist, who was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and has participated in judging nominations for the chemistry prize, concludes \xe2\x80\x9cIt is in the nature of the Nobel Prize that there will always be a number candidates who obviously deserve to be rewarded but never get the accolade Mendeleev was one of those.

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978-9814295956

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World Scientific

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Ulf Lagerkvist

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The book is aimed at the general science reader interested in the history of the development of scientific thought. Overall it is a good read and I enjoyed this detailed explanation of why Mendeleev missed the Nobel prize. -- Chemistry World "Chemistry World" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

The history of science offers many examples of how the powers that we have protected and rewarded scientists like alchemists who claimed the ability to make gold. With the advent of the Science Academies in the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists were supported and encouraged with stipends and rewards. However, when Alfred Nobel in his will made the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences the custodian of the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry, the evaluation of the candidates for the prizes sometimes led to strong differences of opinion within the Academy. This book deals with such a case Dmitri Mendeleev and his Periodic Law. Here, this book presents the deliberations of the Academy (and its sometimes rather confused Chemistry Nobel Committee) against the background of the scientific development preceding the discovery. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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About the Author

Ulf Lagerkvist held the position of Professor of Medical Biochemistry at Gothenburg University between 1964 and 1991. After he emerited, not only did he stay active in the scientific community, he also became an outstanding science writer. One of his first books, DNA Pioneers and Their Legacy (published by Yale University Press in 1998), is a concise yet enjoyable summary of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century. In 2003, Pioneers of Microbiology and the Nobel Prize was published by World Scientific. Here, Lagerkvist has written an extremely informative and simple description of four giants in the field of microbiology. The Enigma of Ferment: From the Philosopher's Stone to the First Biochemical Nobel Prize, Lagerkvist's second and last book with World Scientific, was published in 2005. As a Karolinska alumnus and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, he has had first-hand experience with Nobel dealings. His long tenure as Professor of Medical Biochemistry and his long-time interest in the history of science has furnished him with the knowledge to paint an accurate picture of the development of biochemistry. All this is combined with a gift of writing engagingly and with economy. The numerous photographs enliven the book and bring the characters of the story somewhat closer to the reader. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Periodic Table And A Missed Nobel Prize, The

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Ulf Lagerkvist

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