Driving Force unfolds the long and colorful history of magnets: how they guided (or misguided) Columbus; mesmerized eighteenth-century Paris but failed to fool Benjamin Franklin; lifted AC power over its rival, DC, despite all the animals, one human among them, executed along the way; led Einstein to the theory of relativity; helped defeat Hitler's U-boats; inspired writers from Plato to Dave Barry. In a way that will delight and instruct even the nonmathematical among us, James Livingston shows us how scientists today are creating magnets and superconductors that can levitate high-speed trains, produce images of our internal organs, steer high-energy particles in giant accelerators, and--last but not least--heat our morning coffee.
From the "new" science of materials to everyday technology, Driving Force makes the workings of magnets a matter of practical wonder. The book will inform and entertain technical and nontechnical readers alike and will give them a clearer sense of the force behind so much of the working world.
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Driving Force: The Natural Magic of Magnets
Driving Force unfolds the long and colorful history of magnets: how they guided (or misguided) Columbus; mesmerized eighteenth-century Paris but failed to fool Benjamin Franklin; lifted AC power over its rival, DC, despite all the animals, one human among them, executed along the way; led Einstein to the theory of relativity; helped defeat Hitler's U-boats; inspired writers from Plato to Dave Barry. In a way that will delight and instruct even the nonmathematical among us, James Livingston shows us how scientists today are creating magnets and superconductors that can levitate high-speed trains, produce images of our internal organs, steer high-energy particles in giant accelerators, and--last but not least--heat our morning coffee.
From the "new" science of materials to everyday technology, Driving Force makes the workings of magnets a matter of practical wonder. The book will inform and entertain technical and nontechnical readers alike and will give them a clearer sense of the force behind so much of the working world.
Driving Force unfolds the long and colorful history of magnets: how they guided (or misguided) Columbus; mesmerized eighteenth-century Paris but failed to fool Benjamin Franklin; lifted AC power over its rival, DC, despite all the animals, one human among them, executed along the way; led Einstein to the theory of relativity; helped defeat Hitler's U-boats; inspired writers from Plato to Dave Barry. In a way that will delight and instruct even the nonmathematical among us, James Livingston shows us how scientists today are creating magnets and superconductors that can levitate high-speed trains, produce images of our internal organs, steer high-energy particles in giant accelerators, and--last but not least--heat our morning coffee.
From the "new" science of materials to everyday technology, Driving Force makes the workings of magnets a matter of practical wonder. The book will inform and entertain technical and nontechnical readers alike and will give them a clearer sense of the force behind so much of the working world.
In about 300 pages [Livingston] takes us on a magical mystery tour...For the layperson, it is a wonderful way to learn about how magnets are hidden in almost all modern technology used in war and peace--radar, microwave, ovens, maglev trains, etc...For the science teacher, I cannot think of a better way to integrate all disciplines of math and life and physical sciences than this book...I can see teachers using the information for their own self-enjoyment and in the classroom as a great tool for integrated science teaching: it could easily be a text book in the hands of a great teacher.
Joel M. Rosenberg
The book deals exclusively with magnets, describing past, present, and future applications and history. Livingston's light and conversational style makes the material easy to read, quite accessible, and rather entertaining. His lifetime of experience with magnets, both at MIT and while doing research and development with General Electric, which he refers to often, comes through is his thorough treatment of the subject. — Joel M. Rosenberg, The Tech (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Ken Brady
In about 300 pages [Livingston] takes us on a magical mystery tour...For the layperson, it is a wonderful way to learn about how magnets are hidden in almost all modern technology used in war and peace--radar, microwave, ovens, maglev trains, etc...For the science teacher, I cannot think of a better way to integrate all disciplines of math and life and physical sciences than this book...I can see teachers using the information for their own self-enjoyment and in the classroom as a great tool for integrated science teaching: it could easily be a text book in the hands of a great teacher. — Ken Brady, Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers
Leon M. Lederman
Here is everything you ever, ever wanted to know about magnets...Covering subjects ranging from the science of magnetic forces to that great magnet in the sky, our planet, to the fakes who assure you that magnets will improve your wine and your sexual prowess, Livingston has written a book that is easy, entertaining, and often fascinating. — Leon M. Lederman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988, and author of The God Particle
