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Scientific popularization, history and education: some reflections about the case of chemistry.
Pierluigi Riani
(University of Pisa)
Paper of the national journal ‘La Chimica nella scuola’ (‘Chemistry in school’)
Italian
The paper makes an analysis of the divulgation in the field of Chemistry , which is neglected by italian publishers. A first apparent result is that the possibility of understanding the topics is not key to editorial success; this fact can be shown by many books in the field of Physics and Cosmology. A better way to proceed is through the history of Chemistry, at a general level and without too strict specialization. An example is mentioned of a book about the history of chemical elements, but this book has been out of print for more than 40 years.
In conclusion the author underlines that books dealing with history of chemistry seem to be more attractive for both readers and publisher rather than books dealing with chemistry.
The paper suggests a winning strategy to make divulgation in the field of chemistry through books. Subjects of modern chemistry should be discussed by properly using the history of chemistry.
Dr.Maria Maddalena Carnasciali
Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale - University of Genoa
Researcher