The American Heritage Dictionary of Science (Hardcover)

The second reason is that this is an excellent and handy volume that will answer the vast majority of your questions about the definitions and usage of scientific terms. While it is true that scientific knowledge is speeding ahead at breakneck pace, most of the fundamentals of science haven't change since this dictionary was first released in 1986. This is a comprehensive dictionary of science, not to be confused with popular and much shorter works like the Dictionary of Scientific Literary from John Wiley and Sons which concentrate on only the most popular scientific ideas.

Want to know what joule is? Or a fermion? Or how the phrase "heat sink" is used? How about the "uncertainty principle" from quantum mechanics? Or what the letter "c" means across the disciplines of science? There all here along with about 16,000 other entries. The entry for "c," for example, includes nine definitions for the lower case "c" (including "charm" in subatomic particle physics) and nine more for the capital "C."

Or take a term like "orbit." There are entries from astronomy, physics, and anatomy for the noun form of the word, and four more entries for the verb form. Or the abbreviation "Ig" (immunoglobulin). This dictionary explains in some detail the differences between "IgA," "IgE," "IgG," and "IgM."

There are numerous small black and white illustrations throughout and many cross references. Many entries include quotations demonstrating the use of the term in question. How the term is pronounced is given. I recently checked on the pronunciation of "prion" (the infectious agent of mad-cow disease) expecting to see "pri'-on" with a long "I" sound, but instead found the correct "pree'-on."

Although this is a comprehensive science dictionary it is not exhaustive. For instance, the moons in the solar system are not included. The use of the letters "r" and "k" in evolutionary biology referring to parental strategies of species (the former standing for many offspring, the latter for good care of fewer offspring) should appear but do not. Terms that have been coined in recent years obviously do not appear, but there are also some terms that were in use before 1986 but were not considered important enough at the time for inclusion. "Gaia" is an example, as are entries for "complexity" theory and "chaos." Even a term like "neoteny" which refers to child-like features in an adult organism is missing although it appears in the unabridged second edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary from the thirties.

Nonetheless, until such time as the publishing industry brings out a scientific dictionary that is both affordable and comprehensive, this book will continue to be a find. Curiously enough I was at major book store a couple of weeks ago and found a brand new copy on sale at the jacket price. That says volumes about the publishing niche that this book continues to occupy.