tsmoon

Seems perfect. Thanks!

Hi, As a layman curious about industrial manufacturing processes, could you recommend some books? Specifically, I am looking for a reference book that I can just pop open at a given page if I am curious about a certain element. I am not looking for a general interest book that deals with elements or molecules in terms of their socio-economic, historical roles as well as their scientific properties (a book of this sort would be "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky or "The Invention of Air" by Steven Johnson). Such a book would be an encyclopedia of elements that discusses among other things (1) chemical properties (2) uses in modern products (e.g. tellurium as it's used in modern semi-conductors) (3) extraction/ production processes (4) geographical location of sources and relative abundance (5) major commercial miners/extractors (e.g. Rio Tinto and all the things they dig up). It would be nice if it were clearly written as well, but I'd prefer accurate, up-to-date, exhaustive and detailed coverage over legibility. It does not have to be written for the general reader. I'd prefer it if it were for professional chemists/engineers. I look forward to your replies.