The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements

The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements PDF Author: Robert Joseph Paton Williams
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 680

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Book Description
This beautifully written book is a study of the physical relationship between the inanimate environment and living organisms. It describes how the evolution of both has been interactive and interdependent; the authors show that this can be explained in terms of the properties of the chemical elements and their compounds. The book discusses the physical and chemical balances between the animate and inanimate worlds, with kinetic and thermodynamic principles given to support this analysis. These principles are applied to both organic and inorganic chemical systems to provide a basis for understanding the evolution of life in terms of the interaction of both types of chemistry within ever more complex organizations. The book concludes with an examination of an intriguing problem: the long-term consequences of our manufacture and exploitation of chemicals. This intervention may be altering the symbiotic relationship between life and the environment, an issue of great concern to ecologists and biologists as well as those who study chemistry.

The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements

The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements PDF Author: Robert Joseph Paton Williams
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 680

Get Book

Book Description
This beautifully written book is a study of the physical relationship between the inanimate environment and living organisms. It describes how the evolution of both has been interactive and interdependent; the authors show that this can be explained in terms of the properties of the chemical elements and their compounds. The book discusses the physical and chemical balances between the animate and inanimate worlds, with kinetic and thermodynamic principles given to support this analysis. These principles are applied to both organic and inorganic chemical systems to provide a basis for understanding the evolution of life in terms of the interaction of both types of chemistry within ever more complex organizations. The book concludes with an examination of an intriguing problem: the long-term consequences of our manufacture and exploitation of chemicals. This intervention may be altering the symbiotic relationship between life and the environment, an issue of great concern to ecologists and biologists as well as those who study chemistry.

The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements

The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements PDF Author: R. J. P. Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780788196799
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 646

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Book Description
Explores the relationship between the chemical elements and both living and non-living systems around us. The Earth's chemical environment and living systems are totally interactive. Biological evolution is seen as being driven by chemical changes of the environment involving at least 20 elements. Introduces relevant knowledge of inorganic and organic chemistry and the physics or physical chemistry which is needed to appreciate both minerals and living organisms. Describes the evolution of the Earth and the evolution of organisms. Shows that a possible next step in this (chemical) evolution could arise through man's industry. Illustrated.

Chemical Evolution

Chemical Evolution PDF Author: Bernd Markert
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319143557
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
This book is written for researchers and students interested in the function and role of chemical elements in biological or environmental systems. Experts have long known that the Periodic System of Elements (PSE) provides only an inadequate chemical description of elements of biological, environmental or medicinal importance. This book explores the notion of a Biological System of the Elements (BSE) established on accurate and precise multi-element data, including evolutionary aspects, representative sampling procedures, inter-element relationships, the physiological function of elements and uptake mechanisms. The book further explores the concept Stoichiometric Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze the biological roles of chemical species. Also discussed is the idea of ecotoxicological identity cards which give a first-hand description of properties relevant for biological and toxicological features of a certain chemical element and its geo biochemically plausible speciation form. The focus of this book goes beyond both classical bioinorganic chemistry and toxicology.

Cosmology, Atomic Theory, Evolution

Cosmology, Atomic Theory, Evolution PDF Author: William Dampier
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486165639
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
From the biblical book of Genesis to Bergson's Creative Evolution, these extracts from world literature illustrate the development of scientific thought from the ancient Greeks to modern times. 1959 edition.

The Chemistry of Evolution

The Chemistry of Evolution PDF Author: R.J.P Williams
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780080460529
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 494

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Book Description
Conventionally, evolution has always been described in terms of species. The Chemistry of Evolution takes a novel, not to say revolutionary, approach and examines the evolution of chemicals and the use and degradation of energy, coupled to the environment, as the drive behind it. The authors address the major changes of life from bacteria to man in a systematic and unavoidable sequence, reclassifying organisms as chemotypes. Written by the authors of the bestseller The Biological Chemistry of the Elements - The Inorganic Chemistry of Life (Oxford University Press, 1991), the clarity and precision of The Chemistry of Evolution plainly demonstrate that life is totally interactive with the environment. This exciting theory makes this work an essential addition to the academic and public library. * Provides a novel analysis of evolution in chemical terms * Stresses Systems Biology * Examines the connection between life and the environment, starting with the ‘big bang' theory * Reorientates the chemistry of life by emphasising the need to analyse the functions of 20 chemical elements in all organisms

The Periodic Table I

The Periodic Table I PDF Author: D. Michael P. Mingos
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030400255
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
As 2019 has been declared the International Year of the Periodic Table, it is appropriate that Structure and Bonding marks this anniversary with two special volumes. In 1869 Dmitri Ivanovitch Mendeleev first proposed his periodic table of the elements. He is given the major credit for proposing the conceptual framework used by chemists to systematically inter-relate the chemical properties of the elements. However, the concept of periodicity evolved in distinct stages and was the culmination of work by other chemists over several decades. For example, Newland’s Law of Octaves marked an important step in the evolution of the periodic system since it represented the first clear statement that the properties of the elements repeated after intervals of 8. Mendeleev’s predictions demonstrated in an impressive manner how the periodic table could be used to predict the occurrence and properties of new elements. Not all of his many predictions proved to be valid, but the discovery of scandium, gallium and germanium represented sufficient vindication of its utility and they cemented its enduring influence. Mendeleev’s periodic table was based on the atomic weights of the elements and it was another 50 years before Moseley established that it was the atomic number of the elements, that was the fundamental parameter and this led to the prediction of further elements. Some have suggested that the periodic table is one of the most fruitful ideas in modern science and that it is comparable to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, proposed at approximately the same time. There is no doubt that the periodic table occupies a central position in chemistry. In its modern form it is reproduced in most undergraduate inorganic textbooks and is present in almost every chemistry lecture room and classroom. This first volume provides chemists with an account of the historical development of the Periodic Table and an overview of how the Periodic Table has evolved over the last 150 years. It also illustrates how it has guided the research programmes of some distinguished chemists.

Chemical Elements in Plants and Soil: Parameters Controlling Essentiality

Chemical Elements in Plants and Soil: Parameters Controlling Essentiality PDF Author: Stefan Fränzle
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048127521
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Earlier works on plant essential elements have revealed a series of complicated, counter-intuitive relationships among various chemical elements in different plant species, due to both unlike usage of certain elements in plants and to different carriers effecting resorption and transport. In an attempt to provide a more coherent theory behind plant mineral nutrition, this groundbreaking book adopts a very different approach from the existing literature, presenting an explanation of the essentiality of chemical elements in biological systems and the application of stoichiometric network analysis (SNA) to the biological system of elements. Starting with data from biochemical environmental analysis, and a discussion of the phenomena involved in metal ion partition and autocatalytic behaviour, conditions and criteria controlling the partition of metals into biomass are investigated. Several rules are derived and investigated in terms of their interaction both in comparisons among contemporary organisms and in terms of evolution. This allows the construction, for example of a map which directly traces the biological feature of essentiality to parameters of coordination chemistry. The book will have worldwide appeal for researchers interested in fields such as soil/plant interactions, bioinorganic chemistry, plant nutrition, phytomining, bioremediation, biogeochemistry, nutrient cycling, soil chemistry, and cellular physiology.

Evolution in the Light of Modern Knowledge

Evolution in the Light of Modern Knowledge PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 566

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Book Description


The Life of Matter

The Life of Matter PDF Author: Arthur Turnbull
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Life
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
The work covers: the chemical elements and their changes --- evolution of the stars --- relation between element and tissue --- Charles Darwin and natural selection --- force or energy, its conservation and dissipation --- philosophic discussion on relation of man to nature.

Adaptation and Natural Selection

Adaptation and Natural Selection PDF Author: George Christopher Williams
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691185506
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Biological evolution is a fact—but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. When Adaptation and Natural Selection was first published in 1966, it struck a powerful blow against those who argued for the concept of group selection—the idea that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. Williams’s famous work in favor of simple Darwinism over group selection has become a classic of science literature, valued for its thorough and convincing argument and its relevance to many fields outside of biology. Now with a new foreword by Richard Dawkins, Adaptation and Natural Selection is an essential text for understanding the nature of scientific debate.