Pursuing Power and Light

In the nineteenth century, science and technology developed a close and continuing relationship. The most important advancements in physics-the science of energy and the theory of the electromagnetic field-were deeply rooted in the new technologies of the steam engine, the telegraph, and electric power and light. Bruce J. Hunt here explores how the leading technologies of the industrial age helped reshape modern physics. This period marked a watershed in how human beings exerted power over the world around them. Sweeping changes in manufacturing, transportation, and communications transformed the economy, society, and daily life in ways never before imagined. At the same time, physical scientists made great strides in the study of energy, atoms, and electromagnetism. Hunt shows how technology informed science and vice versa, examining the interaction between steam technology and the formulation of the laws of thermodynamics, for example, and that between telegraphy and the rise of electrical science. Hunt's groundbreaking introduction to the history of physics points to the shift to atomic and quantum physics. It closes with a brief look at Albert Einstein's work at the Swiss patent office and the part it played in his formulation of relativity theory. Hunt translates his often-demanding material into engaging and accessible language suitable for undergraduate students of the history of science and technology.

ISBN 0801893593   Weight (grammes) 272 ISBN13 9780801893599 (What's this?)   Published in Baltimore, MD Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press   Series title Johns Hopkins Introductory Studies in the History of Science Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press   Height (mm) 229 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 152 Publication date 16 Apr 2010   Spine width (mm) 12 DEWEY 609.034   Academic level Tertiary education DEWEY edition DC22   Interest age From 13 To 17 Pages 192

Introduction		A World Transformed		1
1		Steam and Work		4
2		Energy and Entropy		25
3		The Kinetic Theory: Chaos and Order		46
4		Electricity: Currents and Networks		68
5		Electromagnetism: Ether and Field		94
6		Electric Power and Light		120
7		Into a New Century		142
		Epilogue: Einstein at the Patent Office		163
		Suggested Further Reading		169
		Index		177

Highly recommended. Choice 2010 Pursuing Power and Light is the best and most up-to-date treatment, especially for undergraduates, of the key concepts and figures of 19th-century physics. -- Robert Friedel Physics Today 2011 Essential reading both for students in engineering and the sciences and for those in HPS departments... enjoyable and very interesting reading. -- Stathis Arapostathis Metascience 2011

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