Showing results for "James" in History

Asked to name a great physicist, most people would mention Newton or Einstein, Feynman or Hawking. But ask a physicist and there’s no doubt that James Clerk Maxwell will be near the top of the list. Maxwell, an unassuming Victorian Scotsman, explained how we perceive color. He uncovered the way gases behave. And, most significantly, he transformed the way physics was undertaken in his explanation of the interaction of electricity and magnetism, revealing the nature of light and laying the groundwork for everything from Einstein’s special relativity to modern electronics.

Nominated for the best popular science book of 2024 by Smart Book. 'Who said science was dry? Certainly not Tim James' New York Post 'James writes with infectious enthusiasm and optimism' Kirkus Reviews 'A science teacher by profession, Mr. James knows how to get his audience's attention' Wall...

What is electricity? Not just in theory, but really. What is it? Where did it come from? Who figured it out? How does it move, store, think, and shape the entire world? This isn’t a textbook. It’s the real story of how humans stumbled into one of the most powerful forces in nature and slowly, painfully, turned it into the thing that runs civilization.

The discovery of DNA’s structure is the story of five towering minds in pursuit of the advancement of science, and for almost all of them, the prospect of fame and immortality: Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, and Linus Pauling. Howard Markel skillfully recreates the intense intellectual journey, and fraught personal relationships, that ultimately led to a spectacular breakthrough. But it is Rosalind Franklin - fiercely determined, relentless, and an outsider at Cambridge and the University of London in the 1950s - who becomes a focal point for Markel.

What if the secrets of existence were hiding in plain sight—in shapes, spirals, and symmetry? 'Sacred Geometry: The Blueprint of Everything' is a journey through the invisible code behind the visible world. This book isn’t just about lines and patterns—it’s about unlocking the structures that build reality itself. From the infinite loop of the circle to the silent elegance of the Platonic Solids, JJ walks you through the visual grammar of creation.

The Los Angeles Times headline screamed: Rocket Scientist Killed in Pasadena Explosion. The man known as Jack Parsons, a maverick rocketeer who helped transform a derided sci-fi plotline into actuality, was at first mourned as a scientific prodigy. But reporters soon uncovered a more shocking story: Parsons had been a devotee of the city’s occult scene.

Why do we have bodies? Where did this weird meat suit come from? And how did we go from ancient guesses about "black bile" to installing pacemakers and printing 3D organs? In this audiobook, JJ takes you on a full-body tour through the history of anatomy, from mummified pharaohs to modern mind uploads. We crack it open, name the parts, track the fluids, x-ray the bones, and watch as the human body goes from sacred vessel to scanned-and-sold biometric data. This isn't a textbook. It's a scalpel with jokes. And it's got everything inside.

Embark on a captivating voyage through the skies with "In The Sky With Stars: A History of Air Balloons." This meticulously crafted exploration unveils the extraordinary story of humanity's quest to conquer the skies, from the pioneering days of the Montgolfier brothers to the modern frontiers of space exploration.

Science isn’t a subject — it’s a system. A way of seeing, testing, and making sense of everything. From ancient myths to AI-powered labs, Science 101 tells the story of how humans figured out how to figure things out. This isn’t about listing facts or memorizing disciplines — it’s about the evolution of the scientific mindset. How did we go from believing lightning was a god… to splitting atoms? How did we learn to measure, test, repeat, and doubt? And what happens when machines start doing the science for us?

Life didn’t begin with a roar. It began with goo. Before brains, bones, bugs, or breathing, Earth was just a soup of chemicals getting zapped by lightning until something clicked. This is the story of what happened next. From the first self-replicating molecule to the rise of humans with god complexes, From Goo to You is a ride through four billion years of biology. The true story of how atoms turned into cells, cells turned into creatures, and creatures started asking, "What even is life?"

From the sleek Aston Martin that spits out bullets, nails, and passengers at the push of a button to the microjet that makes hairpin turns to avoid a heat-seeking missile, the science and technology of James Bond films have kept millions of movie fans guessing for decades. Are these amazing feats and gadgets truly possible? The Science of James Bond takes you on a fascinating excursion through the true science that underlies Bond's most fantastic and off-the-wall accoutrements.

John James Audubon's The Birds of America stands as an unparalleled achievement in American art. With that work, Audubon became one of the most adulated artists of his time, and America's first celebrity scientist. A self-made man incessantly striving to secure his place in American society, Audubon made himself into a skilled painter, a successful entrepreneur, and a prolific writer, whose words went well beyond birds and scientific description.

James Smithson is best known as the founder of the Smithsonian Institution, but few people know his full and fascinating story. He was a widely respected chemist and mineralogist and a member of the Royal Society, but in 1865, his letters, collection of 10,000 minerals, and more than 200 unpublished papers were lost to a fire in the Smithsonian Castle. His scientific legacy was further written off as insignificant in an 1879 essay published through the Smithsonian 50 years after his death - a claim that author Steven Turner demonstrates is far from the truth.

Unlock the secrets of tomorrow with The Precision Prognosticator: Navigating the Path to Accurate Future Prediction. This incredible audiobook will transform your understanding of the future, sharpen your mind, and empower you to make life-changing decisions. Dive into a journey of innovation, insight, and inspiration that will elevate your life to new heights! The Precision Prognosticator is an extraordinary exploration of forecasting’s art & science.