Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World

Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World

by David Bodanis (Author)

Synopsis

For centuries, electricity was viewed as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention, transforming our world. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. A superb storyteller, Bodanis weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through lucid accounts of scientific breakthrough. The great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Alexander Graham Bell, driven to invent by his love for a young deaf student. From the cold waters of the Atlantic, to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm and the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery by a master science writer.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Edition: New title
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 20 Jan 2005

ISBN 10: 0316729728
ISBN 13: 9780316729727
Prizes: Shortlisted for Aventis General Prize for Science Books 2006.

Media Reviews
Praise for ELECTRIC UNIVERSE *'Hugely impressive. No one makes complex science more fascinating and accessible - and indeed more pleasurable - than David Bodanis' Bill Bryson *'A technological odyssey complete with heroes and villains, triumph and tragedy - a true scientific adventure' Simon Singh, author of BIG BANG and FERMAT'S LAST THEOREM.
Author Bio
David Bodanis is an American living in London, and the author of the highly acclaimed E=MC2.