The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements: The Environment and Life's Chemistry (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780198558422)

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.

Author: R. J. P. Williams, J. J. R. Fraustto Da Silva, J. J. R. Frausto Da Silva
ISBN-10: 0198558422
ISBN-13: 9780198558422
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Language: English
Published: 05/29/1997
Pages: 672
Format: Paperback
Weight: 2.69lbs
Size: 9.82h x 7.38w x 1.44d