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Shifting And Rearranging: Physical Methods And the Transformation of Modern Chemistry

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To some, the twentieth century was the century of physics. To others, it was the chemical century. To those on both sides of this divide and to anyone with an abiding interest the history of science, Carsten Reinhardt's book, Shifting and Rearranging, is required reading. His story of the uptake of physical methods, embodied in instruments, by chemical scientists provides essential insights into how the substance of the material world is shaped, probed, and understood. It is difficult to overemphasize how important the development instrumentation (the second Chemical Revolution) was to medicine, energy, food, material science, and a myriad other technologies that make up the modern world.

From the rich and varied world of chemistry in the second half of the twentieth century, Reinhardt brings to life two techniques and six scientists. The techniques are nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (mass spec). The scientists are Klaus Biemann, Carl Djerassi, Richard R. Ernst, Herbert S. Gutowsky, Fred W. McLafferty, and John D. Roberts. Reinhardt's carefully chosen cases are exemplary, not typical, providing a detailed view of the design, use, and dissemination of major technologies. Reinhardt's deep knowledge and research span industry and academe. The history he has produced lets us comprehend how scientists and engineers have created new knowledge and machines that have truly transformed our grasp of nature's fundamental elements, atoms and molecules.

Scientists and historians will find much of value in the book. It is sophisticated in its approach to history and lucid its handling of technical information. The book is a major milestone in the history of twentieth-century science and technology.

Chemistry is not the evolving, smooth science it is perceived as today: in the second half of the 20th century it actually went through a large transformation in which the solid chemical substance idea changed to an abstract structure, with the chemical reaction supplemented by physical methods and the chemist replaced by technical measurement devices. Physical methods were the heart of this change - and SHIFTING AND REARRANGING: PHYSICAL METHODS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF MODERN CHEMISTRY documents this process, contributing an excellent college-level survey essential for any in-depth science collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch