The World of Nitrogen

by Isaac Asimov

1960: 3rd Printing - by Isaac Asimov.

Genres: Science

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asimov was the 20th Century's most well-rounded intellectual. He has triumphed in both fiction and non-fiction. Yet, his knowledge and comfort-level with science is at the foundation (pun intended) of many of the hundreds of books he wrote.

For those with technical interest and some science background, The World of Nitrogen will not disappoint. For those who read The World of Carbon, this is a logical continuation. Between the two books, Asimov provides a readable introduction to organic chemistry.

Asimov doesn't have to work hard to make the case that we would be lost without the element nitrogen --- both in how our bodies function and in so many things around us. Having said that, this isn't a casual read. To wit: "The molecule of arsphenamine is built around two arsenic atoms held together by a double bond. Each arsenic atom has a third bond available and each is attached to a benzene ring. Both benzene rings carry a hydroxyl group and an amine group."

I am not trying to discourage you, but Asimov's careful progression from elements to simple molecules to the more complex molecular arrangements demands an attentive reader. For those who pursue knowledge, and finish this book, you can then hold your own in any conversation with those who sport degrees in chemistry or chemical engineering.

Was that one of your goals? If not, you may enjoy another book I am reading, Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik.

[Timothy A Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World of Nitrogen is the sequel to the World of Carbon. Both books provide an excellent overview of Organic Chemistry. Organic compounds are carbon containing compounds. The inclusion of Carbon in a molecule allows the building of an infinite number of unique molecule, some containing millions of atoms. This is in stark contrast to inorganic chemistry, where molecules exceeding around a dozen atoms are rare and unstable. The number of inorganic compounds is finite (around 500,000) and most have been discovered. We have only scratched the surface concerning organic chemistry and the many useful and even life-saving compounds, such as vaccines, that are yet to be discovered. The title The World of Nitrogen is perhaps a deceiving title. The subject is still carbon-containing molecules, but the contribution of Nitrogen (and other elements, such as Sulfur and Phosphate) to these compounds is very important, particularly to living organisms. Science and belief and God are often considered antithetical. However, the mystery, complexity and infinite possibilities of Organic Chemistry certainly cause one of wonder about how such order was created in a universe that is generally described in chaotic terms and proceeding inevitably toward greater and greater disorder. Isaac Asimov is masterful in explaining Organic Chemistry and its endless and fantastic possibilities. You get a very strong sense that in Organic Chemistry may be lie many of the keys to the future health of human beings and the planet and perhaps even a clue to things much bigger than us.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some unknown reason I had never read this before although I bought it some 30 years ago. Maybe because I wanted to read The World of Carbon first. Maybe I was just not that interested in this particular world. And actually, I am still not really.

So, Nitrogen is a very important element. I sort of knew that before, and reading this book I learned a lot more in each and every paragraph. Everything modestly exciting, but also already forgotten at the following page at the latest.

Why do I read it then. And why did I enjoy reading it? I do not really know. Maybe I enjoy that there is so much that would be worth knowing and knowing that there are people interested enough to make the world the place it is.

What exactly is the difference between Cysteine and Cystine? As I said, I have forgotten already but I do remember that it would be nice if one could rename one of them, but then one still would have to remember the old name to make sense of the old articles about them. Makes sense.

[Gus Lackner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book. It is dense with information, but holds the attention with anecdotes, facts, and interesting examples. One begins to dream of replicating experiments. Perhaps I can make Aniline Purple…