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A unique A-to-Z reference of brilliance in innovation and invention

Combining engagingly written, well-researched history with the respected imprimatur of Scientific American magazine, this authoritative, accessible reference provides a wide-ranging overview of the inventions, technological advances, and discoveries that have transformed human society throughout our history.

More than 400 entertaining entries explain the details and significance of such varied breakthroughs as the development of agriculture, the "invention" of algebra, and the birth of the computer. Special chronological sections divide the entries, providing a unique focus on the intersection of science and technology from early human history to the present. In addition, each section is supplemented by primary source sidebars, which feature excerpts from scientists' diaries, contemporary accounts of new inventions, and various "In Their Own Words" sources.

Comprehensive and thoroughly readable, Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries is an indispensable resource for anyone fascinated by the history of science and technology.

Topics include:

aerosol spray ? algebra ? Archimedes' Principle ? barbed wire ? canned food ? carburetor

? circulation of blood ? condom ? encryption machine ? fork ? fuel cell ? latitude ? music synthesizer ? positron ? radar ? steel ? television ? traffic lights ? Heisenberg's uncertainty principle

All the milestones in human ingenuity?from the discovery of fire to the invention of the microwave oven

This Scientific American reference book is essential for anyone who wants to get a handle on the history of technology. More than 400 engagingly written entries explain the details and significance of each breakthrough, and numerous primary source sidebars add depth and immediacy. Divided into six chronological sections from early human history to the present and featuring scores of illustrations, this is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in history or technology.

Rodney Carlisle, PhD, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, is the author of Encyclopedia of the Atomic Age and several works on the history of technology. Scientific American is the world's most prestigious science and technology magazine and has more than 3 million readers worldwide. Its books include Scientific American Science Desk Reference (0-471-35675-1).

If you like the style of a Scientific American issue, then you should check out this book. Their editors have amassed a chronicle of key inventions and discoveries, spanning the history of human civilisation. Some 400 inventions are explained. Albeit briefly, because of space considerations.

The book tries to put these into a context of ever onward and upward. Though in the historical periods (especially antiquity), these inventions must have been repeatedly invented and forgotten.

As an item of terminology - the "inventions" also include things which are arguably discoveries. Like the positron. It certainly existed in nature before physicists were aware of it. Though algebra might indeed be an invention, to some who would regard it as a pure construct of the mind. But others, especially some physicists, would pay that no heed; saying that such things exist independent of human consciousness.

Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123