Ph.D. Albert Martini
INTRODUCTION It is a genuine pleasure and challenge for me to try to express the full extent of my emotions and reasons for writing this book on the STORY OF THE ATOM AND THE SCIENCES, with special reference to the CHEMICAL SCIENCES. In one sentence, I can distill the essence of the purpose for this study by simply stating that it has been a labor of love that transcended the written word because sentiments and ideas belong in the realm of the ethereal and the philosophical as well as in the domain of LITERATURE and SCIENCE. Ever since a young and impressionable student attending a country school in a community of a few hundred people, began to be introduced to the world of knowledge over 65 years ago, the sciences became to me what water is to fish, air is to birds and earth is to humanity. The introduction to the mathematical, physical, chemical and biological sciences felt like reading a beautiful poem or listening to a romantic melody. In essence, it was truly a joyful experience, full of the enigmatic, the mysterious and the fantastic, beyond my wildest imagination. The words used in the title of this book, were carefully chosen to represent its content and purpose. The word RENAISSANCE signifies the rebirth of the glorious world of science as we enter the 21st Century. The word STORY, instead of HISTORY, was selected to allow the literary, philosophical and scientific licenses, which gave us the freedom to explore the domain of CHEMISTRY without becoming dull, oblivious and obtuse, but with a sense of joyfulness, fascination and adventure. The word ATOM was chosen to celebrate the existence of a majestic and enigmatic entity, which transcends human intelligence and imagination, and enters the QUANTUM REALM of the supernatural with lucid integrity and harmony. The word SCIENTIST was used to bring to the forefront the magnificent SCIENTISTS, to whom we pay tribute and dedicate this book with admiration, gratitude and respect, for their fabulous accomplishments.
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