What do you think?
Rate this book
Cambridge Science Biographies
Humphry Davy: Science and Power
In this illuminating and entertaining biography David Knight draws upon Humphry Davy's poetry, notebooks and informal writings to introduce us to one of the first professional scientists. Davy is best remembered for his work on laughing gas, for the arc lamp, for isolating sodium and potassium, for his theory that chemical affinity is electrical and, of course, for his safety lamp. His lectures on science made the fortunes of the Royal Institution in London, and he taught chemistry to the young Faraday. He is also recognized for his poetry and was the friend of Coleridge, Wordsworth and Byron. By investigating Davy's life Knight shows what it was like to be a creative scientist in Regency England, demonstrating the development of science and its institutions during this crucial period in history.
236 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 1996
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 23, 2018
Knight's biography is like hearing from an engaging history teacher, who throws in those details that bring out historical figures with all their human eccentricity, and Knight captures the oddness of science during the Romantic period.
March 2, 2021
This is a good biography, and it teaches us how science was built. We have been living with the results of scientific research that we take for granted, it's really interesting to know how our present knowledge was acquired - we use everyday sodium and potassium levels, but there was a time when these elements were unknown, and someone discovered them!
Read
January 1, 2023This book is very detailed and very boring.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews