Lange's Handbook of Chemistry

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Richard Hull
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Lange's Handbook of Chemistry

Post by Richard Hull »

An interesting book recently found at a hamfest in the $1.00 pile of books in a box
is titled, “Lange’s Handbook of Chemistry”, Handbook Publishers, Inc., 1946.

This book is a nearly identical book to the famous CRC Rubber Company “Handbook of Chemistry and Physics”. The CRC book was first published in 1914 and many editions have occurred since then. It remains a major reference to this day. I have several CRC editions, the older ones being the best.

Lange’s handbook was first published in 1934. I have the 1946, 6th edition. It was apparently very popular at the time, (to see six editions). I include several pictures with this book. As the images show, it is also a 2400 page book of tissue paper thin pages just like the CRC book it attempted to replace or live alongside.

In addition to a great 40 page section on the chemical and physical details of every significant mineral in the world, the usual multi-page write-ups of the individual elements interesting characteristics near the beginning mimes the CRC methodology, still in use today.

I photographed a couple of interesting notes on elements that no longer are reported or got renamed. Masurium and Virginium are examples. Virginium became Francium. It is interesting to note that one of Masurium's discoverers is the German chemist, Noddack. His wife, Ida Noddack, was the first to publish the notion that the heaviest elements might fission or breakup, preceeding fission's discovery by several years. Ultimately, Hahn and Strassman did the experimental work and were perplexed by the results, but it was Mietner and Frisch who noodled out what was happening.
*NOTE: Both elements were wrongly identified and later really discovered and, thus, re-named. Technicium and Francium

Many interesting and long omitted tables, lookups and data are contained in this fabulous reference.

A great buy for my one-dollar and recommended as a very nice addition or adjunct to your CRC.

Richard Hull
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Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
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