The Sixth Element
How Carbon Shapes Our World
$39.16
- Paperback
264 pages
- Release Date
8 December 2026
Summary
The Sixth Element
A cosmic perspective on carbon – its importance in the universe and our lives.
When we think of carbon, we might first think of a simple element near the top of the periodic table: symbol C, atomic number 6. Alternatively, we might think of something more tangible – a sooty piece of coal or a sparkling diamond, both made of carbon. Or, as Earth’s temperature continues to rise alarmingly, we might think of the role carbon plays in climate change. Yet carbon’…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691292755 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0691292752 |
| Author: | Theodore P. Snow, Don Brownlee |
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Imprint: | Princeton University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 264 |
| Release Date: | 8 December 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 140mm x 216mm |

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Critics Review
“A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year”
“Meticulously researched and comprehensive in scope, the book will be an asset to science libraries for decades to come.”—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes
“Snow and Brownlee have filled their narrative with well-told stories … [and] factoids of all sorts.”—Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History
”[A] very informative book… . Highly recommended.” * Choice *
“The book is neatly structured, beginning with a brief introduction to carbon’s origin, discovery and importance, explaining the complex chemistry in a clear and elegant way … [It] makes the reading experience both fun and enlightening.”—R. Arun Prasath and Pruthul Patel, Geoscientist
Theodore P. Snow
Theodore P. Snow is professor emeritus at the Centre for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy at the University of Colorado Boulder. Over the course of his career, he has worked on two orbital telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, built experiments for rocket and satellite observations, and studied chemical reactions important in interstellar space. He is the author of the award-winning textbook The Dynamic Universe.
Don Brownlee is professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Washington. He has been involved in spacecraft, rocket, high-altitude balloon, and U-2 airplane experiments since he was a graduate student, and he was the principal investigator in charge of the NASA Stardust mission that collected samples from a comet and returned them to Earth. He is the coauthor of Rare Earth and Life and Death of Planet Earth.
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