Chemistry of the Solar System - by Katharina Lodders & Bruce Fegley Jr (Paperback)

About the Book

Covers the chemical composition of bodies in the solar system, the major chemical processes that controlled the chemistry when they were formed and that operates on them today.

Book Synopsis

Covers the chemical composition of bodies in the solar system, the major chemical processes that controlled the chemistry when they were formed and that operates on them today.

From the Back Cover

This book is an appealing, concise, and factual account of the chemistry of the solar system. The authors have set the scene by including entertaining historical accounts on how ideas developed, and together with new discoveries, shaped our current understandings. Engaging with a broad readership, the text includes basic facts about the chemical composition of the different bodies in the solar system, the major chemical processes involved in the formation of the Sun, planets, and small objects, and the chemical processes that determine their current chemical make-up. The book summarizes compositional data but focuses on the chemical processes and where relevant, it also emphasizes comparative planetology. There are numerous informative summary tables which illustrate the similarities (or differences) that help the reader to understand the processes described. Data are presented in graphical form which is useful for identifying common features of the major processes that determine the current chemical state of the planets. The book will interest general readers with a background in chemistry who will enjoy reading about the chemical diversity of the solar system's objects. It will serve as an introductory textbook for graduate classes in planetary sciences but will also be very popular with professional researchers in academia and government, college professors, and postgraduate fellows.

Review Quotes

'This book is well structured, engaging and actively encourages the reader to expand on the content themselves.'

'This book is a very interesting and informative read and I am certain that it would prove useful to planetary science/cosmos courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level'

"Overall this is a very data-rich book that I suspect many planetary scientists will find very useful on their bookshelves. The treatments of the author's specialities (elements, meteorites terrestrial and gaseous giant planets and atmosphere) are the best I have seen, and their complementary nature makes the book digestible to both the general avid reader as well as the advanced student of the discipline"

'This book is well structured, engaging and actively encourages the reader to expand on the content themselves.'

'This book is a very interesting and informative read and I am certain that it would prove useful to planetary science/cosmos courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level'

-- "UK Higher Phys Ed Sci Acad Cen"

"Overall this is a very data-rich book that I suspect many planetary scientists will find very useful on their bookshelves. The treatments of the author's specialities (elements, meteorites terrestrial and gaseous giant planets and atmosphere) are the best I have seen, and their complementary nature makes the book digestible to both the general avid reader as well as the advanced student of the discipline"

-- "Kevin Righter NASA Johnson Space Center"

About the Author

Katharina Lodders is Research Professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA. She is senior author with Dr. Fegley of The Planetary Scientist's Companion (Oxford University Press, 1998) and the author (or co-author) of over 80 refereed publications in scientific journals and books. Her experimental and theoretical research focuses on topics in cosmochemistry, planetary science, and astronomy. Bruce Fegley, Jr., is Professor of Planetary Sciences in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA. He is junior author with Dr. Lodders of The Planetary Scientist's Companion (Oxford University Press, 1998) and is senior author of Practical Chemical Thermodynamics for Geoscientists (Academic-Elsevier, scheduled for 2008) with Ms. Rose Osborne. He is the author (or co-author) of over 120 refereed publications in scientific journals and books. At present and over the past 16 years he has taught several advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in geochemistry and planetary science including "Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria," "Planetary Geochemistry," and "Earth System Science." Dr.Fegley received his S.B. in Chemistry and PhD. in Geochemistry at MIT and has 25 years of experience in geochemistry, cosmochemistry and planetary science.