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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A satisfying airplane read
I read the collection of essays in "The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments" while flying in the US, and this lightweight and interesting book makes a convenient choice for travelers who like to read about the history of science. The separate essays were concise and each focused more on an experiment than on the experimenter, although key facts about people also rounded out each piece. Regarding choice of subjects, a key concept was that the experiment should have been done by only one or a few persons ... Read More
Rating: - Some Deserve it, Some don't
Johnson set out with an admirable goal: to chronicle what he thought of as the ten most beautiful experiments of all time, and to a large degree he succeeds. He freely admits that "anyone, after reading this book, could come up with a different list", and that is expected due to the nature of the book,but i contested certian choices of his. Certianly some are example of scientific brilliance, such as Millikan's oil drop experiment, but for other, such as Galileo's, their inclusion is completley absurd.. ... Read More
Rating: - the real value is the list itself
I really enjoyed reading this book, but it's not obvious that I couldn't have gotten just as much information out of Wikipedia. It's a nice quick read and is definitely worth the relatively small price, but the information contained is not the result of years of investigation and research. Rather, each experiment is presented succinctly and simply.
Rating: - Delightful Reminders
George 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 drop experiment. ... Read More
Rating: - A guiltless pleasure
The 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 so many great minds ... Read More
- A satisfying airplane read
- Some Deserve it, Some don't
- Delightful Reminders
