The Making of Modern Science: Science, Technology, Medicine and Modernity: 1789 - 1914
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.26 (740 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0745636764 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2018-02-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
. David Knight is Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Durham University
Eighteenth-century steam engines preceded understanding of the physics underlying them; but electric telegraphs and motors were applied science, based upon painstaking interpretation of nature. The ideas, discoveries and inventions of scientists transformed the world: lives were longer and healthier, cities and empires grew, societies became urban rather than agrarian, the local became global. Bringing together the people, events, and discoveries of this exciting period into a lively narrative, this book will be essential reading both for students of the history of science and for anyone interested in the foundations of the world as we know it today.. Men of science rivalled clerics and critics as sages; they were honoured as national treasures, and buried in state funerals. And by the opening years of the twentieth century, science was spreading beyond Europe and North America, and women were beginning to be visible in the ranks of scientists. In 1833 the word ‘scientist’ was coined; forty years later science (increasingly specialised) was a becoming a profession. Peripatetic congresses, great exhibitions, museums, technical colleges and laboratories blossomed; and new industries based on chemistry and electricity brought pros
The book is a social history, an institutional history and an internal history all in one, and it is gratifying to see chemistry assuming a rather central position in the story."Eric Scerri, author of The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance"This book is a pleasure to read: light in style, yet incisive, informative, and even profound. It conveys the excitement of science and of its history."Social History of Medicine"Knight ably discusses the various threads in this complex story, his description of the people and events which shaped the scientific developments are always interesting, and his interpretation of the philosophical