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12661 results in History of science

Page 34 of 634

Concrete
  • Its Use in Building and the Construction of Concrete Walls, Floors, Etc.
  • Thomas Potter
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    10 July 2014
    First published in:
    1877
  • Clerk of works to an aristocratic landowner, Thomas Potter possessed considerable practical experience when he published this work in 1877. His intention was to provide a source of helpful information relating to a building material that was being increasingly used in Victorian construction, yet not without detractors, who objected on aesthetic as well as technical grounds. Clearly enthusiastic about concrete's potential applications, Potter seeks to give a balanced assessment of its usefulness and versatility. While the text does not discuss the chemical processes involved, it does cover aggregates, matrices, how to mix the two, the apparatus needed, the construction of walls, floors and roofs, and the costs and disadvantages of using concrete. The book also features several contemporary advertisements, including one for 'Potter's Concrete Building Apparatus and Appliances'. Of related interest, Charles William Pasley's Observations on Limes, Calcareous Cements, Mortars, Stuccos, and Concrete (1838) is also reissued in this series.

An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe, Founded upon the Laws of Nature
  • And Solving by Mathematical Principles the General Phænomena of the Visible Creation, and Particularly the Via Lactea
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
    First published in:
    1750
  • Although his yeoman father is said to have burnt his books to discourage excessive studiousness, Thomas Wright (1711–86) nevertheless acquired considerable knowledge in the fields of mathematics, navigation and astronomy. Later benefitting from the patronage of wealthy families, he also surveyed estates, designed gardens, and tutored aristocrats. He is best known, however, for his contribution to astronomy: this illustrated work of 1750 was his most famous publication. Written in the form of nine letters, the book quotes both poets and scientists in the opening discussion as Wright sets out to fuse, rather than separate, science and religion. Combining his observations of the Milky Way with his theological belief in a universe of perfect order, he notes, among other things, that our galaxy appears to be disc-shaped. While largely ignored by contemporary astronomers, Wright's ideas can be seen as a forerunner to more sophisticated conceptions of our galaxy's configuration.

A Treatise on Engineering Field-Work
  • Comprising the Practice of Surveying, Levelling, Laying Out Works, and Other Field Operations
  • Volume 2
  • Peter Bruff
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
    First published in:
    1842
  • In the 1840s, the civil engineer Peter Bruff (1812–1900) designed what was then the largest brick structure in Britain, the 1,000-foot-long Chappel Viaduct in Essex. He went on to become a railway entrepreneur and developer, and was responsible for the creation of the resort town Clacton-on-Sea, where he also designed many of the buildings. In this illustrated guide, first published in 1838 and here reissued in the revised and expanded two-volume second edition of 1840–2, he discusses the theory and practice of surveying (calculating the accurate position of points in the landscape) and levelling (calculating the accurate height of points). Volume 2 covers levelling; Bruff gives a brief overview of the theory, then describes the typical equipment used. By discussing such examples as the levelling of a projected railway route, he explains what information should be recorded, and how to avoid common errors of technique that affect accuracy.

Treatise on Mills and Millwork
  • William Fairbairn
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
    First published in:
    1861
  • One of the great Victorian engineers, Sir William Fairbairn (1789–1874) had started his career as a millwright's apprentice, going on to become a civil engineer, a designer of industrial machinery and an expert on the failure of materials and structures. The present work distils a lifetime's experience of mechanical design into two highly illustrated parts. First published in 1861 and 1863, they are here reissued in a single volume. Part 1 gives a general overview of mechanisms such as gears, cranks and cams, and then moves on to the design of prime movers: waterwheels and turbines, steam engines and boilers, and windmills. Part 2 covers the design of mechanisms in more detail, and discusses power transmissions and their components: shafts, gears, bearings, couplings and so on. Lastly, Fairbairn gives overviews of the most important types of industrial mill - including cotton, wool, paper, iron and gunpowder - and their machinery.

Emma Darwin, Wife of Charles Darwin
  • A Century of Family Letters
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by H. E. Litchfield
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    22 April 2010
    First published in:
    1904
  • This remarkable collection of private correspondence between Emma Darwin and members of her family, published in 1904, provides the reader with a delightful and informative account of life in the late nineteenth century, and a picture of an amusing, educated, and caring woman. Emma Darwin (1808–1896) was especially remembered for her patience and fortitude in dealing with her husband's long term illness, which became apparent shortly after their marriage. In nursing and humouring Charles through his many ups and downs, she was a crucial factor in her husband's scientific accomplishments. She was responsible for bringing up their large family, running their household, and hosting visits from relatives and scientists. This, the first of two volumes edited by her daughter Henrietta, focuses on Emma's parents and relatives, up to 1839. Both volumes are organised chronologically, and include delightful illustrations from the family archives.

A Synopsis of the British Flora
  • Arranged According to the Natural Orders
  • John Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1829
  • The botanist and horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. This 1829 work is a classification of British plants using the 'natural' system of the French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, which Lindley firmly supported, believing that the Linnaean system was both inaccurate and had 'almost disappeared from every country but our own'. Lindley describes genera and species in English, but using a uniform, standard vocabulary, and gives the alternative Latin names proposed by taxonomists including Smith, Curtis, Linnaeus, and the Hortus Kewensis. He also offers tables showing the components of each genus, and substantial indexes giving both Latin and English common names of the plants discussed.

A System of Mechanical Philosophy
  • Volume 1
  • John Robison
  • Edited by David Brewster
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
    First published in:
    1822
  • After a brief career at sea, during which he tested Harrison's chronometer for the Board of Longitude, John Robison (1739–1805) became lecturer in chemistry at the University of Glasgow. In 1774, having spent a period teaching mathematics in Russia, he returned to Scotland as professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh. Despite his busy schedule, he contributed major articles on the sciences to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, giving an overview of contemporary scientific knowledge for the educated layperson. After his death, these and other pieces of his scientific writing were edited by his former pupil David Brewster (1781–1868) and were finally published in four volumes in 1822, with a separate volume of illustrative plates. This reissue incorporates those plates in the relevant volumes of text. Volume 1 contains articles on dynamics and on the construction of roofs, arches and bridges, as well as a previously unpublished manuscript on projectile motion.

Electric Illumination
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by James Dredge
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    18 December 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Two years after Thomas Edison patented his electric light bulb, the 1881 International Exposition of Electricity in Paris, featuring many spectacular lighting displays, showcased the potential of this technology for commercial and domestic use. The accompanying International Congress of Electricians also agreed on international standards for units of electrical resistance, potential and current. In its wake, James Dredge (1840–1906), editor of the British periodical Engineering, compiled this illustrated overview of electrical technology and its application to lighting. First published in two volumes between 1882 and 1885, and using material that had previously appeared in Engineering, as well as new articles by various contributors, this substantial work reflects the complexities and possibilities of a propitious technological development. Among other topics, Volume 1 covers electrical units, methods of generation, conductors, and various kinds of lamp. The appendices give abstracts of British electrical patents from 1837 to 1872.

Facts and Arguments for Darwin
  • With Additions by the Author
  • Fritz Müller
  • Translated by William Sweetland Dallas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Known for developing the concept of Müllerian mimicry, whereby poisonous species with a common predator display similar warning signals, the naturalist Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller (1821–97) spent most of his working life in Brazil. Having emigrated from Germany, owing partly to his radical atheism, he became a strong early supporter of Darwinism. Drawing on his studies of crustaceans, he originally published this work in German as Für Darwin (1864), and sent the great naturalist a copy. Müller became a regular correspondent, and Darwin supported the translation of Müller's work, firstly for his personal use and also in the published 1869 version that is reissued here, rendered into English by the naturalist William Sweetland Dallas (1824–90), with several updates by Müller. Using case studies of crustaceans to provide evidence for certain aspects of Darwinian theory, Müller draws up evolutionary classifications of the various species examined.

Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles des quadrupèdes
  • Volume 2
  • Georges Cuvier
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
  • Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, pursued a successful scientific career despite the political upheavals in France during his lifetime. In the 1790s, Cuvier's work on fossils of large mammals including mammoths enabled him to show that extinction was a scientific fact. In 1812 Cuvier published this four-volume illustrated collection of his papers on palaeontology, osteology and stratigraphy. It was followed in 1817 by his famous Le règne animal, available in the Cambridge Library Collection both in French and in Edward Griffith's expanded English translation (1827–35). Volume 2 of Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles describes eleven species of pachyderm found in recent alluvial deposits. They include elephants, mastodons, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapir and the hyrax (which Cuvier classified as an ungulate rather than a rodent). Cuvier argued from osteological comparisons with living species that all should be considered distinct species in their own right.

Page 34 of 634