CRC Handbook Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition

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Summary: How to see How stuff works: basic reference
Review: CRC Handbook Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition, includes facsimile of the first 1913 edition by David R. Lide (CRC Press) This is the 85th Edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics and, coincidentally, the 15th edition produced by the current Editor-in-Chief. A facsimile of the First Edition of the Handbook, which appeared in 1913 and contained 116 pages, is being distributed with this volume. Comparison of the two provides a dramatic lesson on the rapid advance of science and technology in the ensuing nine decades. When the First Edition wits published only 81 elements were known, the electron had been discovered only 17 years before, and the proton and neutron were still unknown. Madame Curie had just won her second Nobel Prize, and Max Planck, Niels Bohr, and Albert Einstein had yet to be recognized with this honor. The size and scope of the Handbook have expanded in step with the growth of scientific knowledge. It has not only served as a reference source for professionals and students, but has provided inspiration to many young people as they developed their interest in science. The late Linus Pauling, in his Foreword to the 74th Edition, wrote "I attribute much of my knowledge about substances and their properties to my study of the information that the Handbook provided.
Throughout its history the overall philosophy of the Handbook has been to provide broad coverage of all types of data commonly encountered by physical scientists and engineers, with as much depth as can be accommodated in a one-volume format. While the Internet has spawned numerous large, comprehensive databases covering narrow areas of science, we feel there is still a need for a concise reference source spanning the full range of the physical sciences and focusing on key data that are frequently needed by R&D professionals, engineers, and students. We hope the CRC Handbook, in its print, CD-ROM, and Internet formats, can continue to serve these needs.
The 85th Edition includes updates and expansions of several tables, such as Aqueous Solubility of Organic Compounds, Thermal Conductivity of Liquids, and Table of the Isotopes. A new table on Azeotropic Data for Binary Mixtures has been added, as well as tables on Index of Refraction of Inorganic Crystals and Critical Solution Temperatures of Polymer Solutions. In response to user requests, several topics such as Coefficient of Friction and Miscibility of Organic Solvents have been restored to the Handbook. The latest recommended values of the Fundamental Physical Constants, released in December 2003, are included in this edition. Finally, the Appendix on Mathematical Tables has been revised by Dr. Daniel Zwillinger, editor of the CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulae; it includes new information on factorials, Clebsch-Gordan coefficients, orthogonal polynomials, statistical formulas, and other topics.


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Summary: The Distilled Wisdom About Everything
Review: I can't imagine a scientist or engineer of nearly any stripe without a copy of this book. I can't imagine a lab without at least one edition sitting around somewhere. The title says it's on chemistry and physics. And it is. But it's so much more. It's the consise summary of all of our technical knowledge. It represents the facts pulled out of nature by thousands of researchers since we humans began writing things down. And it's all in one place.

Yes, you could go to the web and find out nearly anything that's listed here, but it would take you decades. And when you're in the midst of doing something you want to reach up (this book is always on an upper shelf where you can see it) grab it and get the information you need right now.

Each edition, has expanded incrementally. You don't need to buy a new edition each year (unless you're in charge of the company library). But the changes add up, and every few years you need to upgrade.

With this edition, there's a freebie, a copy of the first edition. In the first edition you can read about all of the eighty one known elements. You can read about the electron (discovered only a few years before), but the proton and neutron hadn't been invented yet. And as for quarks. Well for quarks you need the new edition.

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Summary: An incredible resource
Review: If I were allowed only two reference books, they would be the OED and this.

This book doesn't have everything, it just seems that way. Listing the content would take pages, and much of it is chemical or physical arcana - if you need the data, you already know what to look for. At a more accessible level, it lists the frequencies of notes in several musical scales, information about common wire sizes, astronomical information, the chemical makeup of the human body, and ways to create carefully controlled humidity. That last one can be helpful to woodworkers; this book really does have something for almost everyone.

Although it comes out every few years, most people won't need to update very often. The definition of a volt, for example, changes rarely and only in small ways. This is a pricey book, but it holds its value pretty well.

This is the scientific reference book to have. If you know a student interested in any of the sciences, it's also a great book to give, and it's something that will be valued for years to come.

//wiredweird

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Summary: Represents our Technological Civilisation
Review: Some years ago, an author in a science fiction magazine put forth a gedanken (thought experiment). Suppose you would be transported to another planet and you had to attempt to rebuild our civilisation. But you could only take 6 books with you.

What would you take?

Well, that author gave a list of his suggestions. One of which was this; well an earlier edition anyway. He pointed out something about the Rubber Handbook, which is what anyone who regularly uses this book calls it. So easy to take for granted, because in any lab, you can usually rummage around and find some edition of it. But it represents millions of hours of engineering and research to measure and collate its results.

If there is one book that summarises the engineering of our civilisation, it is this.

Always nice to see CRC continually updating it. But having said the above, whether you need this latest edition is another matter. The changes are incremental. If you have an older edition, and there is no specific reason to upgrade, then you probably shouldn't. Note that I did not say never. Just tell yourself you can defer it till next year. Then, at that time, ask yourself again.