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This book introduces in a non-traditional way the laws of physical chemistry and its history starting in the 16th century. It reveals to the reader how physical chemists try to understand chemical processes in terms of physical laws. Hydrogen is the main focus of the book as its simplicity makes the relevant laws of nature easy to explain and its role in energetics in the near future is clear. With the basics at hand, the importance of hydrogen as a raw material in the industry and as an energy carrier in the near future is made clear. Only simple chemical processes are discussed and very little mathematics is used. Both the pleasure and use of this field of research are revealed to the interested reader. The expected readership is made of high school students, non-chemistry major freshmen, and general audience with an interest in chemistry. The real aim of this book is to prompt the reader to wonder.
List of contents
Toward Science.- Between chemistry and physics.- Which way and how fast.- Chemistry of the outer space.- Hydrogen and energy.- Conclusions.
About the author
Robert Schiller (1935), born in Budapest, Hungary, graduated from R. Eötvös University, Budapest, in 1958 and completed his PhD in 1966 and DSc in 1974. He is a titular professor at R. Eötvös University and Dr. habil Privatdozent at Budapest Technical University. After completing his studies, Professor Schiller joined the Chemistry Department of the Central Research Institute for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he is now a Research Professor Emeritus. Having worked at several laboratories abroad, he e.g. spent a full year at the Paterson Laboratories, Manchester, UK. His main research interests are in radiation chemistry, electrochemistry and the theory of transport processes. Currently, he is investigating the effects of fast ions on metals. He has taught courses on radiation chemistry and statistical mechanics at R. Eötvös University and has published several textbooks in these areas. Apart from his research papers, Professor Schiller has also written booksand a number of essays popularizing science. He was awarded the Wigner Prize by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2001 and was voted the popular science author for the year 2012, and asteroid no.196005 was named Robertschiller in his honour.
