History of Chemistry, Volume 2 (of 2) / From 1850 to 1910

The volume surveys chemical advances from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, tracing discovery of many new elements and inert gases and the emergence of radioactivity and radium; it examines refinement of atomic and molecular theory, methods for determining atomic weights, and the kinetic and thermodynamic treatment of gases and liquefaction. It presents the Periodic Law, concepts of valency and structural formulas, developments in aromatic chemistry, stereochemistry and optical activity, and expanding techniques of organic synthesis, with discussion of experimental methods, industrial applications, and portraits and bibliographies of principal investigators.