Oliver Heaviside: Maverick Mastermind of Electricity (History of Technology Series) (History and Management of Technology Book 36)

One of the great pioneers of electrical science, Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) was a self-educated, fiercely independent genius who cared nothing for social or mathematical conventions. Among many achievements, he showed how to rid telephone lines of distortion and put Maxwell's wonderful but hitherto inaccessible theory of electromagnetism into its modern form. In his writings, and in life, he was always provocative, often amusing, sometimes infuriating, but never dull. This is a compelling account of Heaviside's life with a powerful insight into his scientific thinking and why it has been so influential. Also available: Curiosity Perfectly Satisfied: Faraday's travels in Europe 1813-1815 - ISBN 9780863412349 A Scientist's War: The diary of Sir Clifford Paterson 1939-45 - ISBN 9780863412189

Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) was one of the great pioneers of electrical science. His ideas led to huge advances in communications and now form much of the bedrock of electrical engineering - every textbook and every college course bears his stamp.

Despite having little formal education he created the mathematical tools that were to prove essential to the proper understanding and use of electricity. At first his ideas were thought to be outrageous and he had to battle long and hard against ignorance, prejudice and vested interests to get them accepted. Yet they are now so much a part of everyday electrical science that they are simply taken for granted and our great debt to him is rarely acknowledged.

Caring nothing for social or mathematical conventions, he lived a fiercely independent life, much of the time close to poverty. His writings reveal a personality like no other and are laced with wickedly irreverent humour; he is by far the funniest author of scientific papers.

Basil Mahon combines a compelling account of Heaviside's life with a powerful insight into his scientific thinking and the reasons for its enduring influence.

Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) was one of the great pioneers of electrical science. His ideas led to huge advances in communications and now form much of the bedrock of electrical engineering - every textbook and every college course bears his stamp. Despite having little formal education he created the mathematical tools that were to prove essential to the proper understanding and use of electricity. At first his ideas were thought to be outrageous and he had to battle long and hard against ignorance, prejudice and vested interests to get them accepted. Yet they are now so much a part of everyday electrical science that they are simply taken for granted and our great debt to him is rarely acknowledged. Caring nothing for social or mathematical conventions, he lived a fiercely independent life, much of the time close to poverty. His writings reveal a personality like no other and are laced with wickedly irreverent humour; he is by far the funniest author of scientific papers. Basil Mahon combines a compelling account of Heaviside's life with a powerful insight into his scientific thinking and the reasons for its enduring influence.

Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) was one of the great pioneers of electrical science. His ideas led to huge advances in communications and now form much of the bedrock of electrical engineering every textbook and every college course bears his stamp. Despite having little formal education he created the mathematical tools that were to prove essential to the proper understanding and use of electricity. At first his ideas were thought to be outrageous and he had to battle long and hard against ignorance, prejudice and vested interests to get them accepted. Yet they are now so much a part of everyday electrical science that they are simply taken for granted and our great debt to him is rarely acknowledged. Caring nothing for social or mathematical conventions, he lived a fiercely independent life, much of the time close to poverty. His writings reveal a personality like no other and are laced with wickedly irreverent humour; he is by far the funniest author of scientific papers. Basil Mahon combines an account of Heaviside's life with an insight into his scientific thinking and the reasons for its enduring influence Contents......Page 8 List of figures......Page 9 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Chronology: principal events in Heaviside’s life......Page 14 Cast of main characters: relations, friends and adversaries......Page 17 Introduction......Page 20 1 Do try to be like other people: London 1850–68......Page 24 2 Seventy words a minute: Fredericia 1868–70......Page 30 3 Waiting for Caroline: Newcastle 1870–74......Page 42 4 Old Teufelsdröckh: London 1874–82......Page 52 5 Good old Maxwell!: London 1882–86 ......Page 62 6 Making waves: London, Liverpool, Dublin and Karlsruhe1882–88......Page 72 7 Into battle: London 1886–88......Page 88 8 Self-induction’s in the air: Bath and London 1888–89......Page 102 9 Uncle Olly: Paignton 1889–97......Page 112 10 Country life: Newton Abbot 1897–1908......Page 128 11 A Torquay marriage: Torquay 1908–24......Page 144 12 Last days: Torquay 1924–25......Page 158 Heaviside’s legacy......Page 162 Notes......Page 168 Bibliography......Page 190 Index......Page 194 This volume contains a transcript of Faraday's journal, with his own account of his travels, his observations, and the people he met. There are entries for almost every day up to 20 April 1814, when the manuscript breaks off in mid sentence. The manuscript is in a bound volume entitled 'Common place Book Vol 2' in the Archives of the IEE. Also Michael Faraday's 'Chemical Notes, Hints, Suggestions and Objects of Pursuit' of 1822 - ISBN 9780863412554 Exhibiting Electricity - ISBN 9780852968956 The Institution of Engineering and Technology is one of the world's leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community. The IET publishes more than 100 new titles every year; a rich mix of books, journals and magazines with a back catalogue of more than 350 books in 18 different subject areas -Power & Energy -Renewable Energy -Radar, Sonar & Navigation -Electromagnetics -Electrical Measurement -History of Technology -Technology Management One of the great pioneers of electrical science, Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) was a self-educated, fiercely independent genius who cared nothing for social or mathematical conventions. Among many achievements, he showed how to rid telephone lines of distortion and put Maxwell s wonderful but hitherto inaccessible theory of electromagnetism into its modern form. In his writings, and in life, he was always provocative, often amusing, sometimes infuriating, but never dull. This is a compelling account of Heaviside s life with a powerful insight into his scientific thinking and why it has been so influential. A compelling account of the life of one of the great pioneers of electrical science Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925). He showed how to analyse circuit, how to rid telephone lines of distortion and interpreted Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism in a way that working engineers and physicists could understand. The diary of Faraday, published for the first time, together with letters he wrote whilst travelling in Europe with Humphry Davy, who, by permission of Napoleon, was visiting scientists in France, Italy and Switzerland. The reader shares Faraday's interest in the people and the places he visited. This book contains the diary he kept from 1939 until 1945, recording work in the laboratories and his own wider role in the planning and organisation of the scientific war effort, against the background of the progress of the war problems of members of his staff. The diary of the Director of the General Electric Company's Research Laboratories, which records the progress of work done in the laboratories during World War II, as well as the role Paterson played in the planning and organization of the scientific war effort Edited By Brian Bowers And Lenore Symons. Includes Bibliographical References (p. Xvi) And Index.