An Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment (Revolutions in Science S.)

by PatriciaFara (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $5.71

  Electricity was the scientific fashion of the Enlightenment, 'an Entertainment for Angels, rather than for Men'. Lecturers attracted huge audiences to marvel at sparkling fountains, flaming drinks, pirouetting dancers and electrified boys. Flamboyant experimenters made chains of soldiers leap into the air, while wealthy women titillated their admirers with a sensational electric kiss. Enlightenment optimists predicted that this new-found power of nature would cure illnesses, improve crop production, even bring the dead back to life. Benjamin Franklin, better known as one of America's founding fathers, played a key role in developing the new instruments and theories of electricity during the eighteenth century. Celebrated for drawing lightning down from the sky with a kite, Franklin was an Enlightenment expert on electricity who introduced rods to protect tall buildings, treated paralysed patients, and developed one of the most successful explanations of this mysterious phenomenon. But the study of electricity became intertwined with Enlightenment politics. By demonstrating their control of the natural world, Enlightenment philosophers hoped to gain authority over society. And their stunning electrical performances provided dramatic evidence of their special powers. Using contemporary illustrations, Patricia Fara vividly portrays how Franklin and his colleagues struggled to understand the strange and exciting effects their experiments were producing.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.15

  Electricity was the scientific fashion of the Enlightenment. Lecturers attracted huge audiences to marvel at sparkling fountains, flaming drinks, pirouetting dancers and electrified boys. Flamboyant experimenters made chains of soldiers leap into the air, while wealthy women titillated their admirers with a sensational electric kiss. Enlightenment optimists predicted that this new-found power would cure illnesses, improve crop production, even bring the dead back to life. Patricia Fara vividly portrays how Benjamin Franklin, better known as one of America's founding fathers, and his colleagues struggled to understand their strange and exciting experiments. Electricity was intertwined with Enlightenment politics, and by demonstrating their control of the natural world, philosophers hoped to gain authority over society. Their stunning electrical performances provided dramatic evidence of their special powers. An incredible story of the hamessing of nature by man - the beginnings of our technological age.