An Entertainment for Angels (Icon Science) - Electricity in the Enlightenment (Paperback, New edition)

Electricity was the scientific fashion of the Enlightenment, 'an Entertainment for Angels, rather than for Men'. Lecturers attracted huge audiences to marvel at sparkling fountains, flaming drinks, pirouetting dancers and electrified boys. Enlightenment optimists predicted that this new-found power of nature would cure illnesses, improve crop production, even bring the dead back to life. Benjamin Franklin, better known as one of America's founding fathers, played a key role in developing the new instruments and theories of electricity during the eighteenth century. Celebrated for drawing lightning down from the sky with a kite, Franklin was an Enlightenment expert on electricity, developing one of the most successful explanations of this mysterious phenomenon. But Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor of Clare College Cambridge, reveals how the study of electricity became intertwined with Enlightenment politics. By demonstrating their control of the natural world, Enlightenment philosophers hoped to gain authority over society. And their stunning electrical performances provided dramatic evidence of their special powers.

General

Imprint:	Icon Books
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Icon Science
Release date:	July 2017
Authors:	Patricia Fara
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 14mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	192
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-1-78578-207-7
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Electricity, magnetism & electromagnetism Promotions
LSN:	1-78578-207-X
Barcode:	9781785782077

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