Humphry Davy: Science and Power (Cambridge Science Biographies)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.45 (836 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0521565391 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 236 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-07-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
By investigating Davy's life Knight shows what it was like to be a creative scientist in Regency England, demonstrating the development of science and its institutions during this crucial period in history.. He is also recognized for his poetry and was the friend of Coleridge, Wordsworth and Byron. His lectures on science made the fortunes of the Royal Institution in London, and he taught chemistry to the young Faraday. In this illuminating and entertaining biography David Knight draws upon Humphry Davy's poetry, notebooks and informal writings to introduce us to one of the first professional scientists. Davy is best remembered for his work on laughing gas, for the arc lamp, for isolating sodium and potassium, for his theory that chemical affinity is electrical and, of course, for his safety lamp
"In his exploration of Davy's life and times, Knight has vividly depicted what it was like to be a creative scientist in Regency England, and has demonstrated the development of science and its institutions during this crucial historical period." Chemical & Engineering News
Knight is at the University of Durham, UK
Chemist, poet, angler - the life of Humphry Davy, the first great popularizer of science Daniel Putman Today we bemoan the gap between the so-called "two cultures," the sciences and the humanities, and the common inability of those involved in one to communicate with the other. If any historical person shows the ability to bridge that gap, it was Humphry Davy. Davy was both a first rate chemist and a reasonably good poet largely because, when he lived, the specializations that dominate the intellectual scene today were just beginning to develop. This biography by David Knight shows all sides of the man, combining his ground-breaking work in chemistry with ma