H2O

A Biography of Water

Philip Ball

$26.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Phoenix
01 January 2001

Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Physics; Biology, life sciences; Economic geology

The extent to which water remains a scientific mystery is extraordinary, despite its prevalence and central importance on Earth. Whether one considers its role in biology, its place in the physical world (where it refuses to obey the usual rules of liquids) or its deceptively simple structure, there is still no complete answer to the question: what is water

Philip Ball's book explains what, exactly, we do and do not know about the strange character of this most essential and ubiquitous of substances.

H20 begins by transporting its readers back to the Big Bang and the formation of galaxies to witness the birth of water's constituent elements: hydrogen and oxygen. It then explains how the primeval oceans were formed four billion years ago; where water is to be found on other planets; why ice floats when most solids sink; why, despite being highly corrosive, water is good for us; why there are at least fifteen kinds of ice and perhaps two kinds of liquid water; how scientists have consistently misunderstood water for centuries; and why wars have been waged over it.

Philip Ball's gloriously offbeat and intelligent book conducts us on a journey through the history of science, folklore, the wilder scientific fringes, cutting-edge physics, biology and ecology, to give a fascinating new perspective on life and the substance that sustains it. After reading this book, drinking a glass of water will never be the same again.

By: Philip Ball
Imprint: Phoenix
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 137mm, Width: 201mm, Spine: 31mm
Weight: 345g
ISBN: 9780753810927
ISBN 10: 0753810921
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 01 January 2001
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Philip Ball is Associate Editor for the Physical Sciences with Nature. His first book was described by the TLS as 'a tour de force of popular science writing'. His second was described by the New Scientist as 'outstanding...beautifully written. If you buy no other science book this year, I suggest you buy this one.'

Reviews for H2O: A Biography of Water

We live on a watery planet yet in many ways we know so little about H2O. Water gets the full treatment here in an exploration of all that is known about that mystical and essential substance for life. This book manages to be part science history and part cultural exploration, with a substantial dose of chemistry, physics, ecology and basic biology rolled into the mix. It provides a rare inside look at the daily goings on in science, offering an in-depth story, written with care, scholarship and erudition, and for dedicated readers there are full notes and references. Writer Ball is a senior editor at Nature and also writes for New Scienctist and other publications. His other books The Self-Made Tapestry and Designing the Molecular World have won acclaim. Brilliant in conception, this latest book is unlikely to be superceded for many years. (Kirkus UK)