Book Description
Melvin Calvin is the winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize for his work on the path of carbon photosynthesis. In this volume he discusses his work as a pioneer scientist in the application of chemistry as part of multidisciplinary research programs, incorporating disciplines from psychology to botany, from photochemistry to chemical evolution and artificial photosynthesis. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Melvin Calvin, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2754 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description

Chemistry: Foundations and Application is an accessible four-volume set that covers chemistrys laws, processes, applications and sub-disciplines, reviews the history of the field, including modern research and practical applications, and includes biographies of scientists past and present. Varied topics that examine and explain chemistry's many branches, including inorganic, industrial, atmospheric and computational chemistry, and biotechnology allow students and general-interest readers alike to explore the myriad ways in which chemistry plays an important role in daily life.

Book Description
ISOTOPIC CARBON Techniques in Its Measurement and Chemical Manipulation by MELVIN CALVIN PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY CHARLES HEIDELBERCER JAMES C. REID BERT M. TOLBERT PETER F. YANKWICH INSTRUCTOR IN CHEMISTRY ALL MEMBERS OF THE SCIENTIFIC STAFF OF THE RADIATION LABORATORY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 1949 JOHN WILEY SONS, INC., NEW YORK CHAPMAN HALL, LIMITED, LONDON COPYRIGHT, 1949 BY JOHN WILEY SONS, INC. All Rights Reserved This book or any part thereof must not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge gratefully the cooperation of a large number of workers outside our own labora tory. These people not only gave permission to reproduce published work, but many of them generously supplied to us results and proce dures as yet unpublished. Permission to include material not published elsewhere was given by Arthur W. Adamson, S. Aronoff, H. A. Barker, James A. Bassham, Andrew A. Benson, Weldon G. Brown, Farrington Daniels, William G. Dauben, fi. W. Fager, Bernard A. Fries, W. Z Hassid, Gerhart R. Hen nig, Louis R. Henrich, John L. Huston, Clinton D. Janney, William P. Jesse, Truman P. Kohman, Wright H. Langham, Richard M. Lemmon, W. B. Leslie, Willard F. Libby, Robert Loevinger, Robert B. Loftfield, Burton J. Moyer, Rosemarie Ostwald, Nello Pace, Charles N. Rice, Warwick Sakami, D. J. Salley, Hannah E. Silberstein, A. K. Solomon, L. B. Spector, Enrique Strajman, Richard B. Turner, John W. Weigl, and S. Weinhouse. The following have allowed us to make use of previously published work H. S. Anker, W. D. Armstrong, R. B. Bernstein, S. Gurin, F. C. Henriques, Jr., J. T. Kummer, R. B. Loftfield, J. R. Rachele, A. K. Solomon, and Vincent du Vigneaud. Various parts of the manuscript were read by Freda Decker Chris tenson, Bernard A. Fries, Louis R. Henrich, and Truman P. Kohman, all of whom made valuable suggestions. We are deeply indebted to Betty Davis Cohen and Marie Haumeder, who carried out the arduous task of typing the manuscript in all drafts, to Betty Reece Martinelli, who prepared the figures in the text, and to Marilyn Mack, who not only arranged and typed the index and bibliog raphy but also took care of the multitude of clerical tasks associated with the final preparation of the book. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES OF ISOTOPIC CARBON ... 1 2 MEASUREMENT OF CARBON 13 9 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBON TRACER RADIATIONS ... 15 4 INSTRUMENTS FOR RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENT ... 33 5 DETECTORS FOR RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS .... 52 6 SAMPLE PREPARATION I ... 79 7 SAMPLE PREPARATION II . 101 8 VACUUM TECHNIQUES IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 127 9 SYNTHESIS OF CARBON-LABELED COMPOUNDS 148 10 CRITERIA OF PURITY 240 11 DEGRADATION PROCEDURES 248 12 BlOSYNTHETIC METHODS 262 APPENDIX I ISOTOPE DILUTION METHODS 278 II STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF COUNTING DATA 283 III DETERMINATION OF COINCIDENCE CORRECTIONS . . . 292 IV DETERMINATION OF COUNTER EFFICIENCY 303 V SELF-ABSORPTION DATA FOR BARIUM CARBONATE AND WAX MOUNTED ON ALUMINUM 317 VI NUMERICAL EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATING RADIOACTIVITY ASSAY OPERATIONS 319 VII FLOW IN VACUUM SYSTEMS 328 VIII VACUUM GAUGES AND MANOMETERS 332 IX AN INDUCTION STIRRER FOR USE WITH VACUUM OR CLOSED SYSTEMS 336 BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 AUTHOR INDEX 351 SUBJECT INDEX 358 vii INTRODUCTION The significance of having available considerable quantities of tracer isotopes of carbon, in both chemistry and biology, needs hardly be re peated. The usual definition of organic chemistry as the chemistry of carbon compounds, and its very name, organic, can scarcely fail to impress even the uninitiated with the importance of this element in both life and industry... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Genius Discussion on Ooze to Vertebrates
Wow! Hey! I found this gem in a free give away box at a community college I was attending. Forget that, buy it! Melvin Calvin is the guy responsible for the Calvin cycle in photosynthesis. He takes Stanley Miller's 1950s reaction chamber experiments to the nth degree and breaks down paleo-biochemistry in a way that would convert the new Pope Benedict over to being an evolutionary Marxist! He really dissects reaction chamber mechanics down to minute detail and the biochemistry is truly encompassing. The electron micrographs are pretty sophisticated as well. Anyone who wants to credibly debate those "life could not have evolved at random" types would do well to read this book. Calvin goes step by step through how macromolecular life evolved on earth, replete with detailed explanations and graphics. Sort of a dry, scientific treatise on organo-molecular evolution, but worth every minute. ... Read more