A Dictionary of Chemistry (Oxford Quick Reference) 5th Edition

Book Preface

This dictionary was originally derived from the Concise Science Dictionary, first published by Oxford University Press in 1984 (fifth edition, retitled Dictionary of Science, 2005). It consisted of all the entries relating to chemistry in this dictionary, including physical chemistry, as well as many of the terms used in biochemistry. Subsequent editions included special feature articles on important topics as well as several chronologies tracing the history of some topics and short biographical entries on the chemists and other scientists who have been responsible for the development of the subject. For this sixth edition the text has been fully revised and some entries have been substantially expanded. In addition over 350 new entries have been added covering all branches of the subject. The coverage of certain fields, in particular biochemistry, forensic chemistry, and chemoinformatics, has been expanded. A further improvement has been the inclusion of about 90 additional chemical structures.

An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary and will provide further explanation or clarification. However, not every word that appears in the dictionary has an asterisk placed before it. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionary’s longer articles or features. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in boldface type.

The more physical aspects of physical chemistry and the physics itself will be found in A Dictionary of Physics, which is a companion volume to this dictionary. A Dictionary of Biology contains a more thorough coverage of the biophysical and biochemical entries from the Dictionary of Science together with the entries relating to biology. SI units are used throughout this book and its companion volumes.