Spark
eBook - ePub

Spark

The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life

  1. 336 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Spark

The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life

About this book

A fresh look at electricity and its powerful role in life on Earth

When we think of electricity, we likely imagine the energy humming inside our home appliances or lighting up our electronic devices—or perhaps we envision the lightning-streaked clouds of a stormy sky. But electricity is more than an external source of power, heat, or illumination. Life at its essence is nothing if not electrical.

The story of how we came to understand electricity's essential role in all life is rooted in our observations of its influences on the body—influences governed by the body's central nervous system. Spark explains the science of electricity from this fresh, biological perspective. Through vivid tales of scientists and individuals—from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk—Timothy Jorgensen shows how our views of electricity and the nervous system evolved in tandem, and how progress in one area enabled advancements in the other. He explains how these developments have allowed us to understand—and replicate—the ways electricity enables the body's essential functions of sight, hearing, touch, and movement itself.

Throughout, Jorgensen examines our fascination with electricity and how it can help or harm us. He explores a broad range of topics and events, including the Nobel Prize–winning discoveries of the electron and neuron, the history of experimentation involving electricity's effects on the body, and recent breakthroughs in the use of electricity to treat disease.

Filled with gripping adventures in scientific exploration, Spark offers an indispensable look at electricity, how it works, and how it animates our lives from within and without.

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Yes, you can access Spark by Timothy J. Jorgensen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Biology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface: Current Events
  7. 1. Sparks Will Fly: Static Electricity
  8. 2. Shocking Developments: Animal Electricity
  9. 3. Bolt from the Blue: Lightning
  10. 4. For All That Ails You: Electrotherapy Machines
  11. 5. A Circuitous Route: The Battery
  12. 6. Jolted Back to Reality: Electrocution
  13. 7. A Field Day: Alternating Current and Lines of Force
  14. 8. Zombie Fish: Electric Force Fields
  15. 9. Crookes of the Matter: The Electron
  16. 10. Redbud: The Neuron
  17. 11. Zombie People: Voltage-Gated Channels
  18. 12. The Wanderer: Nerve Fibers
  19. 13. Crossed Circuits: Neuroprosthetic Limbs
  20. 14. Sounds of Silence: Sensory Neurological Implants
  21. 15. Inner Sanctum: The Brain
  22. 16. Future Shock: Artificial Intelligence
  23. Acknowledgments
  24. Notes
  25. Bibliography
  26. Index