The American Heritage Science Dictionary

About this book

The American Heritage Science Dictionary defines the vocabulary of the sciences in language general readers will understand and enjoy. With 8 500 entries it covers all the major fields of science from the fundamental disciplines of chemistry physics biology and mathematics to the applied realms of medicine earth science technology and anthropology. Each entry has a clear concise definition that gets to the meaning and importance of each term. There are 175 notes on key scientific concepts such asrelativity genomic sequencing nanotechnology and plate tectonics as well as 320 biographies of notable scientists from ancients such asAristotle and Archimedes to modern greats like Rosalyn Yalow andLeo Szilard. Illustrations accompany more than 350 entries. Fully updated for 2011 the dictionary covers the latest scientific discoveries and developments. There is information on the newest named element copernicium and the discovery of element 117. Entries encompass the latest finds in anthropology including information onHomo floresiensis as well as newsworthy items such as the suspected carcinogenbisphenol A. This is the perfect resource for people looking to improve their science literacy or understand the scientific breakthroughs reported in the news.