To Light Such a Candle: Chapters in the History of Science and Technology

Laidler, Keith J.

ISBN 10: 0198500564 / ISBN 13: 9780198500568

Published by Oxford University Press, 1998

About this Item

Crease on a few pages* Marks on edge *.

Seller Inventory # mon0000598513

Bibliographic Details

• Title: To Light Such a Candle: Chapters in the History of Science and Technology
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198500564
• ISBN 13: 9780198500568
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

In To light such a candle, renowned chemist and science historian Keith Laidler examines the progress of science and technology over the centuries, tracing the often separate paths of these pursuits, showing how they have ultimately worked together to transform everyday life. Faraday's pure research on electricity, for example, had immense technological implications, while Maxwell's theory of electromagnetic radiation led directly to the discovery of radio transmission, something of which Maxwell himself had no conception. Conversely, the early steam engines were by no means science-based, but they led directly to the science of thermodynamics, one of the most fundamental branches of pure science. Illuminated by many fascinating stories from the history of science, this book provides a powerful argument for the relevance of pure research, and gives the general reader and scientist alike an idea of the nature and importance of the links between science and technology.

About the Author

Keith Laidler is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Ottawa. He is the author of the award-winning The World of Physical Chemistry (OUP, 1993).