Michael Faraday [Paperback]

Geoffrey Cantor (Author), David Gooding (Author), Frank A. J. L. James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

This book offers a brief but authoritative introduction to Faraday's life, thought, and influence. It is a more complex, contextualised portrait of Faraday. The text is simply but clearly written, and is illustrated with technical drawings and reproductions of painting.

Editorial Reviews

Review

..". a brief but authoritative introduction to his life, thought, and influence.... a more complex, contextualized portrait of Faraday ... The text is simply but clearly written, and is illustrated with technical drawings and reproductions of painting."

Product Details

• Paperback: 111 pages
• Publisher: Humanity Books; Revised edition (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157392556X
• ISBN-13: 978-1573925563
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Covers all the aspects of a premier scientist, December 21, 2003

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Michael Faraday (Paperback)

Michael Faraday is generally unappreciated as a scientist, he was clearly one of the greatest of all experimental scientists. In this book, we learn the many facets of this outstanding scientist, from his popular lectures to his deep-seated religious beliefs. He was an active member of a very small religious sect called the Sandemanians, a group whose numbers have never exceeded 1000. Religion was always present in his science, his firm belief in the conservation of energy was based on the thought that God would not waste anything. Often criticized for the lack of mathematical rigor in his publications, he nevertheless made fundamental contributions to the understanding of electricity, magnetism and chemistry.
However, the most significant aspect of the book is how it takes us back to an era when scientists openly explained their results to the public. Faraday regularly delivered lectures to a public that was very interested in what he would say, and in many ways this is something that the scientific community has lost. Common wisdom is that the public is generally uninterested in scientific matters, but that is not true. If the reasons for the research are explained in a sensible manner, then the public will support it financially.
A short, yet thorough book, it is ideal for a supplemental text in a history of science course. His scientific advances are explained using non-technical language with almost no mathematics.