A Brief History of Science: As Seen Through the Development of Scientific Instruments - Hardcover

Crump, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786709073 ISBN 13: 9780786709076

Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group, 2001

Synopsis

From the gnomons and sundials of ancient times to the 26-kilometer underground particle accelerator of the twenty-first century, this fascinating and enlightening volume by mathematician and anthropologist Thomas Crump shows how science has continually redefined the world's horizons, extended the frontiers of knowledge, and advanced human civilization. With sixteen pages of photographs, and vivid vignettes of scientists and their inventions, Crump guides readers through early attempts to measure time and space?from astronomical charts and calendars to Arabic numerals and algebraic notation?before he examines the birth of an essentially modern technology in the 1600s. With Galileo's telescopic exploration of the skies at the beginning of the seventeenth century and Newton's experiments with the prism and light at its end, the optical instruments fundamental to all scientific research had been invented. Crump then proceeds to electromagnets, cathode tubes, thermometers, vacuum pumps, X rays, accelerators, semiconductors, microprocessors, and instruments currently being designed to operate in subzero temperatures. Here, then, in an accessible, succinctly narrated volume, is the enduring human quest for knowledge through technology. Here, too, is the proof that what is knowable is, and has always been, far more compelling than what is known. "[Crump] provides lively summaries of the progress in different fields, and succeeds in breathing new life into familiar stories."?The Economist "Fascinating reading."?Publishers Weekly

About this title

Review

'A serious and fully furnished history of science, from which anyone interested in the development of ideas . . . will greatly profit.' -- A. C. Grayling, Financial Times, January 12, 2002

'Crump dispenses layman-friendly explanations and absorbing biographical details of major figures with equal ease.' -- The Scotsman, October 19, 2002

'Provides an enduring sense of the extraordinary ingenuity that defines our relationship with nature.' -- The Guardian, October 26, 2002

From the Publisher

'...the book is a serious and fully furnished history of science, from which anyone interested in the development of ideas - or indeed, in history itself - will greatly profit.'
Financial Times, 12 January 2002

Edition details

• Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786709073
• ISBN 13: 9780786709076
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384