Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch and the Transformation of World Food Production - Hardcover

Smil, Vaclav

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 026219449X ISBN 13: 9780262194495

Verlag: The MIT Press, 2001

Inhaltsangabe

Book by Smil Vaclav

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Críticas:

"I am tremendously impressed with this book. It will make a verysignificant contribution to the literature on the Haber-Bosch processof nitrogen synthesis, but perhaps even more significant, to puttinginto perspective the importance of nitrogen fertilizer tohumanity." E. T. York, Chancellor Emeritus, University System ofFlorida, and Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Institute ofFood and Agriculture Sciences, University of Florida

Reseña del editor:

The industrial synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen has been of greater fundamental importance to the modern world than the invention of the airplane, nuclear energy, space flight, or television. The expansion of the world's population from 1.6 billion people in 1900 to today's six billion would not have been possible without the synthesis of ammonia.In Enriching the Earth, Vaclav Smil begins with a discussion of nitrogen's unique status in the biosphere, its role in crop production, and traditional means of supplying the nutrient. He then looks at various attempts to expand natural nitrogen flows through mineral and synthetic fertilizers. The core of the book is a detailed narrative of the discovery of ammonia synthesis by Fritz Haber -- a discovery scientists had sought for over one hundred years -- and its commercialization by Carl Bosch and the chemical company BASF. Smil also examines the emergence of the large-scale nitrogen fertilizer industry and analyzes the extent of global dependence on the Haber-Bosch process and its biospheric consequences. Finally, it looks at the role of nitrogen in civilization and, in a sad coda, describes the lives of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch after the discovery of ammonia synthesis.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: The MIT Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2001
• ISBN 10: 026219449X
• ISBN 13: 9780262194495
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 358