CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is a comprehensive compendium of physical and chemical data widely used by researchers, educators, and industry professionals. First issued in 1913, it has evolved through numerous editions to cover thermodynamic, spectroscopic, crystallographic, and material property data, serving as a reference alongside works such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, NIST Chemistry WebBook, Landolt–Börnstein, Handbook of Mathematical Functions, and Merck Index. The Handbook's longevity places it in the reference tradition shared with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Oxford English Dictionary, Gray's Anatomy, and The Chicago Manual of Style.

History and editions

The Handbook originated under the aegis of CRC Press in 1913 during an era of rapid expansion in industrial chemistry associated with firms like DuPont, BASF, and research institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, and University of California, Berkeley. Early editors corresponded with scientists including Linus Pauling, Gilbert N. Lewis, and Fritz Haber to compile empirical constants and tables paralleling earlier compendia by A. J. Porter and later by D. R. Lide. Throughout the 20th century the Handbook reflected technological milestones connected to World War I, World War II, and the Manhattan Project, and later expanded in response to advances at laboratories like Bell Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. Landmark editions—mid-century volumes, the postwar print expansions of the 1960s and 1970s, and late-20th-century editions—responded to contributions from centers such as Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, and ETH Zurich. Recent editions have been produced concurrently with digital initiatives at publishers including Taylor & Francis and distribution partners like Wiley.

Content and scope

The Handbook assembles diverse data sets: atomic and molecular constants, thermochemical tables, phase equilibria, optical constants, crystallographic parameters, electrochemical series, and transport properties. Readers find information complementary to resources produced by Royal Society of Chemistry, American Chemical Society, European Chemical Society, International Union of Crystallography, and agencies such as United States Geological Survey and National Institutes of Health. Coverage spans inorganic compounds catalogued by groups resembling classifications used by IUPAC and organic compounds cross-referenced with entries akin to those in Beilstein Database and Reaxys. Physical constants and fundamental values are presented alongside measured quantities from experiments at facilities like CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Handbook also includes tabulations relevant to industrial applications linked to corporations such as General Electric, Siemens, Shell plc, and BASF SE.

Organization and editorial process

The Handbook is organized into sections and tables edited by specialists drawn from universities and national laboratories, with editorial oversight reflecting standards similar to those of National Academies Press and peer networks involving scholars from Princeton University, Yale University, University of Oxford, Stanford University, and Columbia University. Editorial committees solicit data, reconcile conflicting measurements, and apply conventions informed by bodies like IUPAP and IUPAC. The process integrates peer review, errata management, and updates to units and standards to align with directives from organizations such as the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and the International Organization for Standardization. Contributors have included laboratory directors, crystallographers, spectroscopists, and thermodynamicists affiliated with institutions like Max Planck Society, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Influence and reception

The Handbook has been cited across disciplines—chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering—and referenced in works by researchers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and in patent filings examined by offices such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Its role as a standard reference has been compared with that of CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Fisher Scientific catalogs, and it has been both praised for breadth by academics at University of Chicago and critiqued for selection biases by commentators associated with Nature and Science. Libraries from the Library of Congress to university systems in Australia, Canada, and Germany have held consecutive editions, and the Handbook has influenced curricula at institutions like Tokyo University and Seoul National University. Awards and recognitions indirectly associated with contributors include honors from societies such as the Royal Society, the American Physical Society, and the American Chemical Society.

Digital formats and supplements

In response to the digital transition exemplified by databases like SciFinder, Web of Science, and Scopus, the Handbook is available in electronic formats with search functionality, cross-references, and datasets suitable for integration with laboratory information management systems used at companies like Pfizer, Roche, and GlaxoSmithKline. Supplementary materials and online updates parallel initiatives by National Center for Biotechnology Information and data repositories at Zenodo and Dryad, while licensing and distribution have involved partnerships with vendors such as ProQuest and EBSCO Information Services. The digital editions enable linking of numerical data to primary literature from journals like Journal of the American Chemical Society, Physical Review Letters, and Nature Materials, and support modern workflows in computational chemistry conducted at centers like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

Category:Handbooks