Publisher's Synopsis
A trusted reference for over 40 years!The need for a comprehensive encyclopedia of science and technology first became apparent during the years following World War II, when a new scientific and technical revolution set off an avalanche of fundamental advances in areas such as genetics, chemistry, materials science, computing, cosmology and physics.With this fresh knowledge, came a surge of applications that created a new industrial society based on electronics, miraculous new pharmaceutics, automatic control, telecommunications and data processing. Many of these technologies changed everyday life in the Western world during the late 1940's and 1950's; think of the transistor radio, television, the jet airliner, antibiotics, plastics and the digital computer. Public awareness of scientific research grew, along with an increase in research funding and the number of students enrolling in science and engineering courses. The start of the space age and, in particular, the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union further intensified the spotlight on science. It was at this time that editors at McGraw-Hill met informally around a small conference table and sketched out their idea for a monumental work a reference that would survey the state-of-the-art in the physical, earth, life and applied sciences and spare no effort or funding. The product of this venture, the 1st Edition of McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, was published four years later in 1960.
