Peter Atkins

In this scientific 'Credo', Peter Atkins considers the universal questions of origins, endings, birth, and death to which religions have claimed answers. With his usual economy, wit, and elegance, unswerving before awkward realities, Atkins presents what science has to say. While acknowledging the comfort some find in belief, he declares his own faith in science's capacity to reveal the deepest truths.

From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas or the cooling of a hot metal, to the unfolding of a thought in our minds and even the course of life itself, everything is governed by the four Laws of Thermodynamics. These laws specify the nature of 'energy' and 'temperature', and are soon revealed to reach out and define the arrow of time itself: why things change and why death must come. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Atkins explains the basis and deeper implications of each law, highlighting their relevance in everyday examples. Using the minimum of mathematics, he introduces concepts such as entropy, free energy, and to the brink and beyond of the absolute zero temperature. These are not merely abstract ideas: they govern our lives. In this concise and compelling introduction Atkins paints a lucid picture of the four elegant laws that, between them, drive the Universe. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The laws of thermodynamics drive everything that happens in the universe. From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas to the cooling of hot metal, and from the unfurling of a leaf to the course of life itself - everything is directed and constrained by four simple laws. They establish fundamental concepts such as temperature and heat, and reveal the arrow of time and even the nature of energy itself. Peter Atkins' powerful and compelling introduction explains what the laws are and how they work, using accessible language and virtually no mathematics. Guiding the reader from the Zeroth Law to the Third Law, he introduces the fascinating concept of entropy, and how it not only explains why your desk tends to get messier, but also how its unstoppable rise constitutes the engine of the universe.

Any literate person should be familiar with the central ideas of modern science. In his sparkling new book, Peter Atkins introduces his choice of the ten great ideas of science. With wit, charm, patience, and astonishing insights, he leads the reader through the emergence of the concepts, and then presents them in a strikingly effective manner. At the same time, he works into his engaging narrative an illustration of the scientific method and shows how simple ideas can have enormous consequences. His choice of the ten great ideas are: * Evolution occurs by natural selection, in which the early attempts at explaining the origin of species is followed by an account of the modern approach and some of its unsolved problems. * Inheritance is encoded in DNA, in which the story of the emergence of an understanding of inheritance is followed through to the mapping of the human genome. * Energy is conserved, in which we see how the central concept of energy gradually dawned on scientists as they mastered the motion of particles and the concept of heat. * All change is the consequence of the purposeless collapse of energy and matter into disorder, in which the extraordinarily simple concept of entropy is used to account for events in the world. * Matter is atomic, in which we see how the concept of atoms emerged and how the different personalities of the elements arise from the structures of their atoms. * Symmetry limits, guides, and drives, in which we see how concepts related to beauty can be extended to understand the nature of fundamental particles and the forces that act between them. * Waves behave like particles and particles behave like waves, in which we see how old familiar ideas gave way to the extraordinary insights of quantum theory and transformed our perception of matter. * The universe is expanding, in which we see how a combination of astronomy and a knowledge of elementary particles accounts for the origin of the universe and its long term future. * Spacetime is curved by matter, in which we see the emergence of the theories of special and general relativity and come to understand the nature of space and time. * If arithmetic is consistent, then it is incomplete, in which we learn the origin of numbers and arithmetic, see how the philosophy of mathematics lets us understand the nature of this most cerebral of subjects, and are brought to the limits of its power. C. P. Snow once said 'not knowing the second law of thermodynamics is like never having read a work by Shakespeare'. This is an extraordinary, exciting book that not only will make you literate in science but give you deep enjoyment on the way.

This is a brand new edition of the book that was called ‘the most beautiful chemistry book ever written’. In it, we see the molecules responsible for the experiences of our everyday life - including fabrics, drugs, plastics, explosives, detergents, fragrances, tastes, and sex. With engaging prose Peter Atkins gives a non-technical account of an incredible range of aspects of the world around us, showing unexpected connections, and giving an insight into how this amazing world can be understood in terms of the atoms and molecules from which it is built. The new edition has dozens of new molecules, a completely new graphical presentation, and an even more accessible and enthralling account of the molecules themselves.

Originally published as Personality, Type and Scripture, this acclaimed book is now republished in a revised and expanded form. It is also retitled to make it absolutely clear what the book is and why it is indispensable as a guide.Each cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary is based on one of the synoptic gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew). However interspersed throughout all three years are also included gospel readings from the fourth gospel, the gospel of St. John. In the original edition of this splendid book, only the readings from St. Mark were covered. In this new expanded edition the authors now include a guide to the entire cycle of gospel readings- the readings from St. Mark and St. John as well.Jung`s theory of psychological type distinguishes between the four functions of sensing, intuition, thinking and feeling. This book uses type theory to explore readings from the gospels appropriate for the liturgical year. The theory has profound implications for Christian leaders who need to nurture all four psycholoigcal types in their congregations. It also has profound implications for how an individual Christians meditate on scripture to nourish their whole selves.This book will give support and inspiration to all those using the Revised Common Lectionary each year as part of their Bible reading.

Jung's theory of psychological type distinguishes between the four functions of sensing, intuition, thinking and feeling.This book uses type theory to explore 51 passages from Luke's Gospel that are included in the Revised Common Lectionary. The insights gained provide an invaluable resource for teachers and leaders, and well as a key tool for personal meditation.The theory has profound implications for Christian leaders who need to nurture all four psychological types in their congregations.

If, as Carl Jung said, Liverpool is "the pool of life" then here are things from the darkest depths of that pool, brought to the surface to terrify and startle you...Liverpool has long been known as a city of dreamers. But not all those dreams are as beautiful as a Beatles melody or as funny as a Paul O'Grady punchline. Here are the darker dreams of the Merseyside imagination, the macabre imaginings of Liverpool's Princes of Nightmare. Along with an introduction by native son Doug Bradley-world-famous as Pinhead, the iconic demon of the Hellraiser movies-this book collects together the Liverpool-based fictions of Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, and Peter Atkins, three of horror literature's most celebrated talents.Think it's grim up North? You don't know the half of it. Welcome to Liverpool After Midnight. Welcome to the dark side Welcome to...SPOOK CITY

Completely revised and updated for a second edition, this reference guide is an essential summary of the key concepts in physical chemistry that are likely to be encountered by undergraduate chemistry students. This book also serves as a useful reference for all who encounter physical chemical concepts in their professional activities or research. Written by a renowned textbook author and educator, this new edition of Concepts in Physical Chemistry is a convenient, easy-to-use, and authoritative reference; the chemical terms, ideas, and equations most frequently encountered in classroom or laboratory are clearly defined and explained.

You may well be a fan of the first two or three Hellraiser movies who found that your relationship with this fourth one was ... well, what shall we say? Complicated, maybe? You may, if you were of a kindly and forgiving nature, have found the film somewhat interesting, even occasionally entertaining, but you probably also found it confusing, felt that something just wasn't right about it. You may have noticed the director's name-Alan Smithee-and googled it, and discovered that Alan Smithee doesn't exist, that the name is a pseudonym sometimes applied to movies that have been significantly troubled during production and post-production by crises both financial and creative. Whilst you'll never get to see a Director's Cut of Hellraiser: Bloodline, you can read in this book what was supposed to be...

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Summer in San Francisco.A killer is on the loose. Twelve victims so far. Men, women, children. All ritually disfigured. Scrawled in each victim's blood, a single word: Morningstar.The citizenry is terrified. The police are powerless. And two innocent people suddenly find their lives swept up in a maelstrom of madness and murder. Shelley Masterton -- her dreams invaded by a dead friend, one of the killer's victims -- becomes an unwitting recruit in a plan for revenge from beyond the grave. And Donovon Moon, freelance journalist, receives a phone call offering the scoop of a lifetime -- Morningstar is on the line and wants to talk.Inexorably drawn into a nightmare of death, destiny and unholy power -- the roots of which go far deeper than the recent string of killings -- Donovan and Shelley must find the truth amidst a whirlwind of terror, mayhem, and dark desire.Before it finds them...Shadowridge Press is proud to publish the 25th anniversary edition of Peter Atkins horror classic.

This bestselling graduate quantum mechanics textbook is now available in a re-issued and affordable edition. The text first teaches how to do quantum mechanics, and then provides a more insightful discussion of what it means. The authors avoids the temptation to include every possible relevant topic, instead presenting readers with material that they can easily focus on in a complete treatment with few distractions and diversions. Fundamental principles are covered, quantum theory is presented, and special techniques are developed for attacking realistic problems. The innovative two-part coverage is entertaining and informative, organizing topics under basic theory and assembling an arsenal of approximation schemes with illustrative applications linked closely to the text.

This bestselling undergraduate quantum mechanics textbook is now available in a re-issued and affordable edition. The text first teaches how to do quantum mechanics, and then provides a more insightful discussion of what it means. The authors avoid the temptation to include every possible relevant topic, instead presenting readers with material that they can easily focus on in a complete treatment with few distractions and diversions. Fundamental principles are covered, quantum theory is presented, and special techniques are developed for attacking realistic problems. The innovative two-part coverage is entertaining and informative, organizing topics under basic theory and assembling an arsenal of approximation schemes with illustrative applications linked closely to the text.

As a food, milk has been revered and ignored, respected and feared. In the face of its 'material resistance', attempts were made to purify it of dirt and disease, and to standardize its fat content. This is a history of the struggle to bring milk under control, to manipulate its naturally variable composition and, as a result, to redraw the boundaries between nature and society. Peter Atkins follows two centuries of dynamic and intriguing food history, shedding light on the resistance of natural products to the ordering of science. After this look at the stuff in foodstuffs, it is impossible to see the modern diet in the same way again.