Jonathan Law - A Dictionary of Chemistry

This dictionary was originally derived from the Concise Science Dictionary, first published by Oxford University Press in 1984 (seventh edition, retitled A Dictionary of Science, 2017). It consisted of all the entries relating to chemistry in that dictionary, including those on physical chemistry, as well as many of the terms used in biochemistry. Subsequent editions included special feature articles on important topics as well as several chronologies tracing the history of some topics and short biographical entries on the chemists and other scientists who have been responsible for the development of the subject. For this eighth edition the text has been fully revised and updated, with some entries being substantially expanded. In addition, almost 200 new entries have been added covering all branches of the subject. The coverage of certain fieldsin particular organic chemistry, biochemistry, and environmental chemistryhas been expanded to take account of the most recent developments.

The more physical aspects of physical chemistry and the physics itself will be found in A Dictionary of Physics, which is a companion work to this dictionary. A Dictionary of Biology contains a more thorough coverage of the biophysical and biochemical entries from A Dictionary of Science together with the entries relating to biology.

SI units are used throughout this work and its companion dictionaries.

An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary to provide further explanation or clarification. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionarys longer articles or features. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in boldface type .

R.R.

2019