First published in 1963, Nickel presents a readable account of Nickel’s development from early times to the present day. Weapons and implements containing a small proportion of nickel have been found on the 3500-year-old sites of Ur and Kish in Sumeria; while in 1962 the first United States manned space capsule to orbit the earth made use of nickel alloys to withstand the effects of exposure to elevated temperature, dynamic and acoustical stress, and fatigue.Nickel was ide...

Connections is a brilliant examination of the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological achievements of today.How did the popularity of underwear in the twelfth century lead to the invention of the printing press? How did the waterwheel evolve into the computer? How did the arrival of the cannon lead eventually to the development of movies?In this highly acclaimed and bestselling book, James Burke brilliant...

***NATIONAL BESTSELLER*Is a global pandemic what it took to show us that saving our planet is possible?**In the absence of motorized boats and gondolas, Venice’s waters have returned to a sparkling blue color. Deer have been spotted roaming cities in Italy, and mountain goats recently took over a small seaside town in Wales. Taking advantage of the decreased boat traffic, whales have returned to roaming Vancouver’s harbours. The absence of “regular” human activitie...

A “meticulously researched” (The New York Times Book Review) examination of energy transitions over time and an exploration of the current challenges presented by global warming, a surging world population, and renewable energy—from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Richard Rhodes.People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challe...

The enlightening, best-selling book on understanding sustainable energy and how we can make energy plans that add up.If you've ever wondered how much energy we use, and where it comes from – and where it could come from – but are fed up with all the hot air and 'greenwash', this is the book for you. Renewable resources are 'huge', but our energy consumption is also 'huge'. To compare 'huge' things with each other, we need numbers, not adjectives.

'Fascinating and enjoyable ... enthused with insight' - Brian CoxUranium, carbon, iron, titanium, gold, silver and silicon - former BP CEO John Browne explains how seven elements are shaping the 21st century, for good and for bad.Humans have put the Earth's resources to extraordinary use, but not always for the benefit of humankind. SEVEN ELEMENTS vividly describes how iron, carbon, gold, silver, uranium, titanium and silicon have ...

This entertaining and informative book tells the dramatic tale of explosives from gunpowder to the H-bomb. Laying the emphasis on the lives of the people involved, on the diverse uses of explosives and on their social and historical impact, the author relates a story of remarkable international and human endeavour. Many of those involved - Roger Bacon, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, Robert Oppenheimer - are famed worldwide; others, such as C F Schonbein, William Bickford, Sir F...

Energy is vital for a good standard of living, and much of the world's population does not have enough. Affordable and adequate sources of power that do not cause climate change or pollution are crucial; and renewables provide the answer. Wind and solar farms can now provide the cheapest electricity in many parts of the world. Moreover, they could provide all of the world's energy needs. But while market forces are fast helping the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, there are oppo...

Invention and innovation are what distinguish the human race from all of the other species on Earth. Throughout history the imagination and pioneering spirit of human kind has compelled us to question why we do things in a certain way and, more importantly, how we can do things better.Celebrating the ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness that has led to some of the most amazing technological leaps through the ages, Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions examines the key innovat...

"What Went Wrong?" has revolutionized the way industry views safety. The new edition continues and extends the wisdom, innovations and strategies of previous editions, by introducing new material on recent incidents, and adding an extensive new section that shows how many accidents occur through simple miscommunications within the organization, and how strightforward changes in design can often remove or reduce opportunities for human errors. Kletz' approach to learning as deeply as possib...

The period between 1867 and 1914 remains the greatest watershed in human history since the emergence of settled agricultural societies: the time when an expansive civilization based on synergy of fuels science and technical innovation was born. At its beginnings in the 1870s were dynamite the telephone photographic film and the first light bulbs. Its peak decade - the astonishing 1880s - brought electricity - generating plants electric motors steam turbines the gramophone cars aluminum pro...

The history of the inventors is exciting, we know very little of those geniuses and their prodigious minds, they changed the World and wrote the most brilliant pages of History. They knew that the bulb was not invented by Edison, and that the radio was not invented by Marconi, and the telephone, could you tell me who invented the telephone, most of us would say that it was Graham Bell, and the steam engine, we would surely say it was Watt, because none of them were the real inventors, with...