Symphony in C : carbon and the evolution of (almost) everything /
"Carbon is everywhere: in the paper of this book and the blood of our bodies. It's with us from beginning to end, present in our baby clothes and coffin alike. We live on a carbon planet, and we are carbon life. No other element is so central to our well-being; yet, when missing or misalig...
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Main Authors: | |
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Published: |
W.W. Norton & Company,
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Publisher Address: | New York : |
Publication Dates: | [2019] |
Literature type: | Book |
Language: | English |
Edition: | First edition. |
Subjects: | |
Summary: |
"Carbon is everywhere: in the paper of this book and the blood of our bodies. It's with us from beginning to end, present in our baby clothes and coffin alike. We live on a carbon planet, and we are carbon life. No other element is so central to our well-being; yet, when missing or misaligned, carbon atoms can also bring about disease and even death. At once ubiquitous and mysterious, carbon holds the answers to some of humanity's biggest questions. Where did Earth come from? What will ultimately become of it--and of us? With poetic storytelling, earth scientist Robert M. Hazen explores the universe to discover the past, present, and future of life's most essential element." --Amazon.com. |
Item Description: | Includes index. |
Carrier Form: | xviii, 282 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm |
ISBN: |
9780393609431 (hardcover) : 039360943X (hardcover) |
Index Number: | QD181 |
CLC: | P593 |
Call Number: | P593/H429 |
Contents: |
Silence -- Movement I: Earth: carbon, the element of crystals ; Prelude : before Earth ; Exposition : Earth emerges and evolves ; Development : deep Earth carbon ; Recapitulation : carbon worlds ; Coda : unanswered questions -- Movement II: Air: carbon, the element of cycles. Introduction : before air ; Arioso : the origin of Earth's atmosphere ; Intermezzo : the deep carbon cycle ; Arioso, da capo : atmospheric change ; Coda : the known, the unknown, and the unknowable -- Movement III: Fire: carbon, the element of stuff. Introduction : material world ; Scherzo : useful stuff ; Trio : nano stuff ; Scherzo, da capo : stories ; Coda : music -- Movement IV: Water: carbon, the element of life. Introduction : the primeval Earth ; Exposition : origins of life ; Development : life evolving (theme and variation) ; Recapitulation : the human carbon cycle ; Finale : earth, air, fire, and water. |