Fall 2008, Vol. 26, No. 3
Whether it’s nylon’s role in World War II or the growth of American technological dominance in chemical engineering, this issue tackles chemistry’s role in making modernity.
A Taste Sensation
For decades a culinary foe of conscientious consumers, MSG continues to thrive in its 100th year of existence.
Beyond the Classroom
At the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, students "do science” rather than merely appreciate it on paper.
Book Review: Materials Matter
Ursula Klein, Wolfgang Lefèvre, Materials in Eighteenth-Century Science: A Historical Ontology. Reviewed by Emily Pawley.
Books to Note: Fall 2008
- Pontus Braunerhjelm; Maryann P. Feldman, eds. Cluster Genesis: Technology-Based Industrial Development
- Jay D. Aronson. Genetic Witness: Science, Law, and Controversy in the Making of DNA Profiling
- Eric Roston. The Carbon Age: How Life’s Core Element Has Become Civilization’s Greatest Threat
- Allen G. Debus. The Chemical Promise: Experiment and Mysticism in the Chemical Philosophy, 1550– 1800
- Catherine Brady. Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA
Bracing for the Ban
Cosmetics testing has created an issue for consumers: the potential cruelty to lab animals of tests meant to assure product safety.
Images of Modernity
CHF’s major exhibition, Making Modernity, tells the story of the long march toward scientific progress that defines the modern world. The images in the photoessay presented here illustrate the main themes of the exhibit.
Nylon: A Revolution in Textiles
The invention of nylon in 1938 promised sleekness and practicality for women who sought an alternative to costly and delicate silk stockings. But nylon's impact soon reached much further—it ushered in a textile revolution for consumers and the military alike, ultimately helping the Allies win World War II.
The First Century of Chemical Engineering
In 2008 the American Institute of Chemical Engineers celebrates its centennial. Its founding furthered the profession of chemical engineering and represented the beginning of American technological dominance in the 20th century.