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by: George Johnson  List Price: $22.95 Amazon.com's Price: $15.61 You Save: $7.34 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 507.8 EAN: 9781400041015 Edition: 1 ISBN: 1400041015 Label: Knopf Manufacturer: Knopf Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 208 Publication Date: April 08, 2008 Publisher: Knopf Release Date: April 08, 2008 Studio: Knopf Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: From the acclaimed New York Times science writer George Johnson, an irresistible book on the ten most fascinating experiments in the history of science—moments when a curious soul posed a particularly eloquent question to nature and received a crisp, unambiguous reply. Johnson takes us to those times when the world seemed filled with mysterious forces, when scientists were dazzled by light, by electricity, and by the beating of the hearts they laid bare on the dissecting table. We see Galileo singing to mark time as he measures the pull of gravity, and Newton carefully inserting a needle behind his eye to learn how light causes vibrations in the retina. William Harvey ties a tourniquet around his arm and watches his arteries throb above and his veins bulge below, proving that blood circulates. Luigi Galvani sparks electrical currents in dissected frog legs, wondering at the twitching muscle fibers, and Ivan Pavlov makes his now-famous dogs salivate at ascending chord progressions. For all of them, diligence was rewarded. In an instant, confusion was swept aside and something new about nature leaped into view. In bringing us these stories, Johnson restores some of the romance to science, reminding us of the existential excitement of a single soul staring down the unknown. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Delightful RemindersGeorge Johnson chose experiments that "...were those rare moments when, using the materials at hand, a curious soul figured out a way to pose a question to the universe and persisted until it replied." Most of the experiments Johnson chose are familiar to science enthusiast but usually we haven't thought about them in years; this book is a delightful reminder. The ten experiments range from Galileo's determining that objects fall at the same speed no matter their weight to Robert Millikan's oil ... Read More Rating: - A guiltless pleasureThe book is a delightful surprise. I bought it mostly because I enjoy the author's unpaid appearances on bloggingheads.tv, and thought I'd show my appreciation. I've enjoyed the book more than expected. While I agree with Johnson's assessments that the experiments are truly beautiful, the book captures another important notion. By reliving the "ah ha" moments revealed by these beautiful experiments, I was continuously amazed that the simple ideas we take for granted today could be hidden from ... Read More Rating:  - Great theme, lacks accuracyVery readable, with notes and citations by page number, an index, and good illustrations, the idea of the book should have been irresistible to the publisher. Experiments or investigations by Galileo on motion, Harvey on blood circulation, Newton on color, Lavoisier on combustion, Galvani on bioelectricity, Faraday on the connection between magnetism and electricity, Joule on the relation of heat and work, Michelson on the speed of light, Pavlov on mental conditioning, and Millikan on the charge ... Read More Rating: - Entertaining and InspiringI thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found myself wishing I could have been a part of some of the discoveries Johnson discusses. Another reviewer commented that the book was too short. It was a fairly short book, and it didn't go into great detail about all of the science behind each experiment, but for me that was a plus. It was short enough to read quickly (I finished it on one plane trip) and keep your interest. If you are looking to dig into the details of any of the experiments, there ... Read More Rating: - Too brief...Scientists call an experiment beautiful or elegant if it is relatively simple and yields clear results, preferably involving a new discovery on an important topic. All of the experiments described by Johnson meet that criterion. We read brief descriptions of experiments by major scientists such as Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Faraday, Michelson, and Pavlov. The author, George Johnson, tells us a little bit about the personalities and the scientific-historical context of the experiments, including brief ... Read More 
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