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As the gateway to scientific thinking, an understanding of the scientific method is essential for success and productivity in science. This book is the first synthesis of the practice and the philosophy of the scientific method. It will enable scientists to be better scientists by offering them a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of the scientific method, thereby leading to more productive research and experimentation. It will also give scientists a more accurate perspective on the rationality of the scientific approach and its role in society. Beginning with a discussion of today's 'science wars' and science's presuppositions, the book then explores deductive and inductive logic, probability, statistics, and parsimony, and concludes with an examination of science's powers and limits, and a look at science education. Topics relevant to a variety of disciplines are treated, and clarifying figures, case studies, and chapter summaries enhance the pedagogy. This adeptly executed, comprehensive, yet pragmatic work yields a new synergy suitable for scientists and instructors, and graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
When this work first appeared in 1767, electricity was seen as such a minor aspect of natural philosophy that its investigation was not considered a priority for contemporary scientists. The polymath Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was one of the few who devoted serious effort to advancing the field. Here he charts the history of electrical study from experiments with amber in ancient Greece to the most recent discoveries. The book comprises explanations of the principal theories of electricity - both historical and contemporary - in addition to a selection of well-known experiments carried out by previous researchers. Priestley also details his own experiments, covering such topics as the colour of electric light, the effects of temperature, and even the musical tone of electrical discharges. One of his most successful works, testifying to the clarity of his explanations, the book remains an important text in the history of science.
With Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph, the beautiful music that was the preserve of the wealthy became a mass-produced consumer good, cheap enough to be available to all. In 1877 Edison dreamed that one day there would be a talking machine in every home. America on Record: A History of Recorded Sound, first published in 2006, provides a history of sound recording from the first thin sheet of tinfoil that was manipulated into retaining sound to the home recordings of rappers in the 1980s and the high-tech studios of the 1990s. This book examines the important technical developments of acoustic, electric, and digital sound reproduction while outlining the cultural impact of recorded music and movies. This second edition updates the story, describing the digital revolution of sound recording with the rise of computers, Napster, DVD, MP3, and iPod.
Science and the Enlightenment is a general history of eighteenth-century science covering both the physical and life sciences. It places the scientific developments of the century in the cultural context of the Enlightenment and reveals the extent to which scientific ideas permeated the thought of the age. The book takes advantage of topical scholarship, which is rapidly changing our understanding of science during the eighteenth century. In particular it describes how science was organized into fields that were quite different from those we know today. Professor Hankins's work is a much needed addition to the literature on eighteenth-century science. His study is not technical; it will be of interest to all students of the Enlightenment and the history of science, as well as to the general reader with some background in science.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 1, published in 1882, includes articles from the period 1841–1853 and covers issues relating to heat, especially its linear motion and theories about it. Other topics include aspects of electricity, thermodynamics and research relating to magnetism.
An Irish-born gardener and writer, William Robinson (1838–1935) travelled widely to study gardens and gardening in Europe and America. He founded a weekly illustrated periodical, The Garden, in 1871, which he owned until 1919, and published numerous books on different aspects of horticulture. Topics included annuals, hardy perennials, alpines and subtropical plants, as well as accounts of his travels. This book, his most famous work, was first published in 1883, and fifteen editions were issued in his lifetime. It has been described as 'the most widely read and influential gardening book ever written'. Aimed at both amateurs and experienced gardeners, it sets out clearly the different types of plant suitable for each type of situation, and how to grow them. Robinson advocated a revolution in garden design, rejecting the more formal flower-beds which had long been popular in favour of a more natural and individual style.