Historias de la historia explicadas por química

Tiberius's unbreakable glass, the mantle of the King of the Jews, Saladin's sword, the Terracotta Army, the miracle-working bacteria, the Black Prince's fake ruby, the thunder of Algeciras, the shipwrecks of Jutland, the taste of discovery, St. Anthony's fire, the witches of Salem, the gases that make you laugh, the battle of the luminous wounds... Chemistry is not knowledge confined to laboratories. It is found in the fabrics that defined hierarchies, in the medicines that changed life expectancy, in the explosives that transformed warfare, and in the materials that reshaped the economy and culture. Sometimes it acts silently; other times, spectacularly--but it always leaves its mark on history. In Stories of History Explained by Chemistry, Alejandro Navarro brings together episodes in which substances, reactions, and discoveries--whether sought after or accidental--changed the course of events. From antiquity to the contemporary era, this book shows how matter has influenced power, science, religion, war, and everyday life. An invitation to view the past through the lens of chemistry and to discover that many of humanity's great changes began with a reaction, a new material, or an unexpected substance.