{"product_id":"9781627341530","title":"Caveman Chemistry: 28 Projects, from the Creation of Fire to the Production of Plastics","description":"Half a million years ago our ancestors learned to make fire from  scratch. They crafted intricate tools from stone and brewed mind-altering  elixirs from honey. Their descendants transformed clay into pottery, wool into  clothing, and ashes into cleansers. In ceramic crucibles they turned rock into  metal, metal into colored glazes, and glazes into glass. Buildings of brick and  mortar enshrined books of parchment and paper. Kings and queens demanded ever  more colorful clothing and accessories in order to out-class clod-hoppers and  call-girls. Kingdoms rose and fell by the power of saltpeter, sulfur, and  charcoal. And the demands of everyday folk for glass and paper and soap  stimulated the first round of chemical industrialization. From sulfuric acid to  sodium carbonate. From aniline dyes to analgesic drugs. From blasting powder to  fertilizers and plastics. In a phrase, from Caveman to Chemist.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e   \u003ci\u003eCaveman Chemistry \u003c\/i\u003eis an experiential exploration of chemical technology from  the campfires of the stone age to the plastic soft-drink bottle. An experiential  exploration? Not only will you learn about these technologies, you will learn to  recreate them. Instructions are given for making bronze from metal ores; glass  from sand, ashes, and limestone; paper from grass or straw; soap from fat;  alcohol from honey; photographs from egg whites; chlorine from salt water and  celluloid from cotton.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e   Your guides on this journey are the four alchemical elements; Fire, Earth, Air  and Water. These archetypical characters deliver first-hand accounts of the  births of their respective technologies. The spirit of Fire, for example, was  born in the first creature to cultivate the flame. This spirit passed from one  person to another, from one generation to another, from one millennium to  another, arriving at last in the pages of this book. The spirit of Earth taught  folks to make tools of stone, the spirit of Air imparted knowledge of units and  the spirit of Water began with the invention of spirits. Having traveled the  world from age to age, who can say where they will find their next home? Perhaps  they will find one in you.","brand":"Universal-Publishers.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47042194637040,"sku":"9781627341530","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781627341530_p0.jpg?v=1763868224","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781627341530","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}