History's Greatest Discoveries

Author: Joel Levy

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  • : 29.99 AUD
  • : 9781743363775
  • : Murdoch Books Pty Limited
  • : Pier 9
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  • : February 2015
  • : Australia
  • : 29.99
  • : April 2015
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • :
  • : Joel Levy
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  • : Paperback
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  • : English
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  • : 256
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Barcode 9781743363775
9781743363775

Description

A lighthearted but informative look at fifty of the most important and spectacular discoveries in the history of science and exploration.

Author description

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specializing in history and science. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Newton's Notebook, Great Scientists, Mad Science (revealing the secret histories of madness, magic, and mysticism among great inventors and scientists), The Doomsday Book (a guide to scenarios for the end of civilization), History's Lost Treasures, and History's Worst Battles. He has also written features and articles for the national press, and has appeared on national television and numerous local and national radio shows. A long-term student of the history of science and medicine, Joel has a BSc in Biological Sciences and an MA in Psychology.

Table of contents

Flint-knapping: Early Man Makes Advanced Stone Tools Taming the Flames: How to Control Fire The Pythagorean Theorem: An Ancient Geometric Rule The Archimedes' Principle: The Original 'Eureka!' Moment An Explosive Reaction: The Secret of Gunpowder The New World: Columbus Sails the Ocean Blue By Sea to the Indies: Da Gama's Epic Voyage Into the Jungle: Orellana Discovers the Amazon A Star is Born: Tycho Brahe and the Nova Challenging Aristotle: Stevin's Falling Bodies Courting Controversy: Galileo Glimpses the Jovian Moons Super Fast Maths: Napier's Logarithms Storming the Darkness of the Mind: The Laws of Planetary Motion Abhorrent to Nature: The Existence of the Vacuum An Odd Straying of the Light: Grimaldi Perceives Diffraction Newton's Genius: Universal Gravitation, Calculus and the Nature of Colour A Wonderful Spectacle: Van Leeuwenhoek's Microscopic World The Great Southern Land: James Cook Lands in Australia Oxygen: Joseph Priestley and the Breath of Life The Georgian Planet: William Herschel Discovers Uranus Animal Electricity: Galvani Detects the Presence of Bioelectricity Vaccination: Jenner's Medical Breakthrough The Voltaic Pile: The Principle of the Electric Battery No Laughing Matter: The Pain-Numbing Effects of Nitrous Oxide Infra-Red Light: One Extreme of the Visible Spectrum The Air Up There: Joseph Gay-Lussac's Hot Air Balloon Revelation The Great Falls of the Missouri: Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery Electromagnetism: Why Electric Current Deflects a Compass Needle The First Dinosaur Fossils: Mrs Mantell Unearths Iguanodon Teeth Natural Selection: Darwin's Theory of Evolution The Agent of Infection: John Snow Identifies the Cause of Cholera The Source of the Nile: Burton and Speke Travel to the Heart of Africa The Laws of Inheritance: Gregor Mendel's Principles Radio Waves: Heinrich Hertz Picks Up the First Transmission The Polyphase Motor: Tesla Switches on the Power Age X-Rays: Roentgen Discovers a Mysterious Radiation Radioactivity: The Hidden Powers of Uranium Revealed The Electron: Dissecting the Cathode Ray Making Sense of Matter: The Structure of the Atom Gravitational Lensing and Relativity: Einstein's Big Ideas Penicillin: The Invention of Antibiotics Nuclear Fission: Splitting the Atom The Lascaux Caves: A New World of Prehistoric Art The Double Helix: The Mystery of DNA is Decoded The Butterfly Effect: Edward Lorenz and the Birth of Chaos Theory Spinning Neutron Stars: Radio Astronomers Detect Pulsars 'Lucy', the Hominid Skeleton: The Missing Link is Found Life in the Depths: Life Forms Are Found Around Hydrothermal Vents The First Exoplanet: Planets Are Observed Circling Other Suns The Higgs Boson: The God Particle