CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 76th Edition

My adviser recommended I get this book for all my reference need. Looking up properties of metals, boiling point of water at different pressures, etc. I use this book on regular basis and it's never left my sight. These tend to be rather expensive, but you can always pickup a used copy (I got it used, no problems there). If I didn't own it I would definitely buy it again.

While the first reviewer is correct concerning the Handbook's comprehensive and encyclopedic nature, I doubt it would make for a comfortable pillow. The Chemical Rubber Company issues its 88th edition of authoritative listings of Fundamental Physical Constants and other scientific data necessary for university and professional research. The Handbook is broken up into 16 Sections followed by two appendices and an index, all of which are listed as follows: Section 1: Basic Constants, Units, and Conversion Factors Section 2: Symbols, Terminology, and Nomenclature Section 3: Physical Constants of Organic Chemistry Section 4: Properties of the Elements and Inorganic Compounds Section 5: Thermochemistry, Electrochemistry, and Kinetics Section 6: Fluid Properties Section 7: Biochemistry Section 8: Analytical Chemistry Section 9: Molecular Structure and Spectroscopy Section 10: Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Section 11: Nuclear and Particle Physics Section 12: Properties of Solids Section 13: Polymer Properties Section 14: Geophysics, Astronomy, and Acoustics Section 15: Practical Laboratory Data Section 16: Health and Safety Information Appendix A: Mathematical Tables Appendix B: Sources of Physical and Chemical Data It must be said early on that this Handbook is not intended to provide any type of tutorial on the topics, but is the product of many experiments from among the various fields mentioned in the listed sections above. The Handbook is a collection of scientific facts and values to be used for calculations and experiments. (The reviewer for the 87th edition of the Handbook rated it 4 stars because the tome failed to give his son good explanations for phenomena in chemistry--again, that is not the Handbook's purpose.) Therefore, I am probably preaching to the choir with regard to those who will actually purchase the current edition. All others uninterested in chemistry & physics research, as well as up-to-date information on scientific data, will probably want to steer clear of such an expensive pillow. Nevertheless, those that are interested will be grateful for the depth and scope of work done to produce the best sets of tables, data, and constants so that we can frutifully carry out our own personal research.

This is a comprehensive, encyclopedic listing of a whole lot of data! Very useful, and if you can't use it, it's big so you could use it as like a pillow or something.

Some years ago, an author in a science fiction magazine put forth a gedanken (thought experiment). Suppose you would be transported to another planet and you had to attempt to rebuild our civilisation. But you could only take 6 books with you.What would you take? Well, that author gave a list of his suggestions. One of which was this; well an earlier edition anyway. He pointed out something about the Rubber Handbook, which is what anyone who regularly uses this book calls it. So easy to take for granted, because in any lab, you can usually rummage around and find some edition of it. But it represents millions of hours of engineering and research to measure and collate its results.If there is one book that summarises the engineering of our civilisation, it is this.Always nice to see CRC continually updating it. But having said the above, whether you need this latest edition is another matter. The changes are incremental. If you have an older edition, and there is no specific reason to upgrade, then you probably shouldn't. Note that I did not say never. Just tell yourself you can defer it till next year. Then, at that time, ask yourself again.

While this doesn't contain *everything* for a single topic, it certainly contains all that a chemist usually needs for easy reference about chemistry and physics.If you (or your current copy of the CRC) are a bit older, you'll probably find some sections in the new edition missing - e.g., no more trigonometry tables with the proliferation of cheap calculators - and new things added. This is the sort of book which has SO much stuff, you will never use it all - but it will (almost) always be able to help you.This is the one reference book I was willing to pay for out of pocket, whether or not my employer paid for it.I found a 1927 copy of this at a used book store a few years ago ... - I still have it, and believe it or not, I do use it. It's got really neat stuff the modern editions don't. Which is why you shouldn't hesitate to drop [money] for one today. It will still be useful 60 years from now.This is not the sort of thing I would replace annually!