Elegant solutions: ten beautiful experiments in chemistry
Philip Ball
Cambridge: RSC 2005 | Pp208 | £19.95 | ISBN 0 854 04674 7
Reviewed by John Nicholson
'Chemistry', according to the formidable H. E. Armstrong (1848-1937), 'is an art as much as a science, and the chemist is full of feeling which cannot be quantified'. That being so, can the subject also be beautiful? Yes, says Philip Ball, in this delightful collection of accounts of experiments which, in varying ways, exhibit the quality of beauty.
There are 10 main chapters, each covering a particular experiment. The first focuses on Van Helmont's 17th century experiment on the growth of a willow tree, from which he drew the erroneous conclusion that water alone would nourish a plant. The last chapter is on Paqueffe's 1980 synthesis of dodecahedrane. In between are accounts of Cavendish's experiment to demonstrate the composition of water, the work of Marie Curie to isolate polonium and uranium, and some of the still astonishing feats of synthesis achieved by Robert Woodward, as well as several others. There is also an introduction, which considers the nature of beauty in experimental science, and a coda on chemical aesthetics.
Beauty is certainly apparent, not only in the chemical experiments, but also in the depth of feeling that the author brings to his writing. He clearly appreciates both the science he lovingly describes, and its historical context. Each chapter contains numerous fascinating insights into how the chemistry was done, why it was significant, and how it can be considered 'beautiful'. Yet by his own admission, this is not the last word on beauty and chemistry, merely one contribution to a debate about aesthetics.
Two often overlooked aspects of experimental chemistry are brought to the fore: that there are more papers published each year on chemistry than on any other science; and that the very notion of a laboratory as the setting for experimental science is taken from chemistry. Other branches of science (biology, physics, geology, etc) all involve activity apart from laboratory work, whether mathematical calculation or field work. Chemistry, alone, cannot be studied without recourse to a laboratory and chemistry, as the biggest of the experimental sciences, is historically the model for all others.
It is rare for a book on chemistry to invoke such feelings of awe as this one does. Elegant solutions is an absolute delight, completely fulfilling Armstrong's words about the chemist being full of feeling. Wherever you work in chemistry, this book will have something to help you, to set you thinking, and to make you proud of your professional calling. Make sure you get a copy.
