History of science

Success is a slippery, fickle thing.

To be human is to wonder.

This book focuses on the development of the National Museum of Natural History's David H.

A sweeping intellectual biography that restores the Enlightenment polymath to the intellectual, scientific, and courtly worlds that shaped his early life and thoughtDescribed by Voltaire as ';perhaps a man of the most universal learning in Europe,' Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (16461716) is often portrayed as a rationalist and philosopher who was wholly detached from the worldly concerns of his fellow men.

Ground Control: A Design History of Technical Lands and NASA's Space Complex explores the infrastructural history of the United States rocket launch complex.

A vivid portrait of the life and work of Carl LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus (17071778), known as the father of modern biological taxonomy, formalized and popularized the system of binomial nomenclature used to classify plants and animals.

Modern scientific research has changed so much since Isaac Newton's day: it is more professional, collaborative and international, with more complicated equipment and a more diverse community of researchers.

"e;What purpose is served by showing that England's greatest natural philosopher is flawed .

"e;The body cries out to not be hungry, not be thirsty, not be cold.

Spices, scents and silks were at the centre of world trade for millennia.

Spices, scents and silks were at the centre of world trade for millennia.

Although poisonous substances have been a hazard for the whole of human history, it is only with the development and large-scale production of new chemical substances over the last two centuries that toxic, manmade pollutants have become such a varied and widespread danger.

This volume explores the Industrial Age (1860-1914), bringing together published and archival primary sources with introductory essays that contextualize a period of extraordinary social, cultural, and economic transformation.

'The book neatly illuminates a forgotten history of female chemists - and this is not an overstatement.

Reveals some of the thrilling developments that have transformed biology since the 1960s.

To break a code, you have to put yourself in the mind of your enemy in order to probe the strengths and weaknesses of their systems.

'How can a three-pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos?

'The importance of the end in view prompted me to undertake all this work, which seemed to me destined to bring about a revolution in physics and chemistry.

An intellectual history of scurvy in the eighteenth centuryScurvy, a disease often associated with long stretches of maritime travel, generated sensations exceeding the standard of what was normal.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose questions some of the most fashionable ideas in physics today, including string theoryWhat can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe?

The explosive debate that transformed our views about time and scientific truthOn April 6, 1922, in Paris, Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson publicly debated the nature of time.

This book describes William Dawes' life and professional achievements.

Ben Garrod: As seen on TV Baby Chimps Rescue.

With Science Hacks, you no longer need a PhD to understand the fascinating ideas behind science's greatest theories and discoveries.

On the Origin of Species is a book that changed the way we think about the development of life on earth.

Perfume is part of the biblical text from Genesis through to Revelation, just as perfume pervades our modern life.

One of the most important parts of British heavy industry today is our railway system.

Traveling with the Atom is a historical travel guide to the development of one of the most significant and enduring ideas in the history of humankind: the atomic concept.

Pink warships that vanish at dusk, urinary maladies of an emperor, and a gold test for cocaine - behold the chemistry of metal ions as never before.

Here is the tale of Canada's intriguing development of the science of Radio Astronomy.

Here is the tale of Canada's intriguing development of the science of Radio Astronomy.

An investigation into the remarkable "e;poetics of the atom"e; in English literary texts from the mid to late seventeenth century.

John Tyndall (1822-1893) is best known as a leading natural philosopher and trenchant public intellectual of the Victorian age.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, engagement with science was commonly used as an emblem of modernity.

Margaret Thatcher was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, during which time her Conservative administration transformed the political landscape of Britain.

Alexander Williamson was professor of chemistry at UCL (1849-87) and a leading scientist of his time.

Here is an idea that just might save the world.