The Chemical History of Color (SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science)

In this brief, Mary Virginia Orna details the history of color from the chemical point of view. Beginning with the first recorded uses of color and ending in the development of our modern chemical industry, this rich, yet concise exposition shows us how color pervades every aspect of our lives. Our consciousness, our perceptions, our useful appliances and tools, our playthings, our entertainment, our health, and our diagnostic apparatus – all involve color and are based in no small part on chemistry. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction: Colors, Natural and Synthetic, in the Ancient World....Pages 1-10 Discovery of the Physics of Color....Pages 11-28 The Chemical Causes of Color....Pages 29-46 Colorant Usage from Antiquity to the Perkin Era....Pages 47-78 Beyond Perkin....Pages 79-92 Major Analytical Techniques Based on Color: Volumetric Analysis; Chromatography; Spectroscopy; Color Measurement....Pages 93-110 Color on the Biological and Biochemical Front....Pages 111-128 Finale: Color in Foods, Photochemistry, Photoluminescence, Pharmaceuticals, Fireworks, Fun, and the Future....Pages 129-144 Back Matter....Pages 145-153 This brief details the history of color from the chemical point of view, beginning with the first recorded uses of color and ending in the development of our modern chemical industry, glimpsing at some theoretical physics along the way. We see that color pervades every aspect of our lives; our consciousness, our perceptions, our useful appliances and tools, our playthings, our entertainment, our health, and our diagnostic apparatus - all of which are based in no small part on chemistry