The story of electrical and magnetic measurements : from 500 B.C. to the 1940s

"Joseph F. Keithley, a modern pioneer of instrumentation, brings you a fascinating history of electrical measurement from the ancient Greeks to the inventors of the early twentieth century. Written in a direct and fluent style, the book illuminates the lives of the most significant inventors in the field, including George Simon Ohm, Andre Marie Ampere, and Jean Baptiste Fourier. Chapter by chapter, meet the inventors in their youth and discover the origins of their lifelong pursuits of electrical measurement. Not only will you find highlights of important technological contributions, you will also learn about the tribulations and excitement that accompany the discoveries of these early masters. Included are nearly 100 rare photographs from museums around the world. THE STORY OF ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS is a ""must read"" for students and practitioners of physics, electrical engineering, and instrumentation and metrology who want to understand the history behind modern day instruments." Sponsored by: IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society Choice Readers not already familiar with electrical and magnetic measurements will have difficulty following the thread of this story. After a brief introduction highlighting classical and medieval discoveries, Keithley, in a series of discreet biographical accounts, offers interesting information on the human side of scientific investigation, the types of hypotheses and materials used in experiments, and key technical discoveries since 1600. Technical details of experiments are given without translation for nonengineers in the same straightforward, factual style that marks the whole book. There is little discussion of the overall historical framework in which the significance of the discoveries might be understood, nor of applications outside the world of experimental science. However, Keithley's style is quite readable, sentences and paragraphs are short, descriptions and narratives are clear, and each biography is nicely illustrated with portraits and engravings, diagrams, or photos of the experimental apparatus. Each chapter ends with a brief list of sources and recommended readings. An appendix contains additional illustrations. The author, a successful instrument manufacturer and leader in measurement research, has written this useful sourcebook for electrical engineering students and as intellectual entertainment for engineers and scientists. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through professionals. DH Porter, Western Michigan University. In all sciences and many commercial activities, the ability to measure is fundamental in understanding phenomena, and communication knowledge, electricity, and magnetism are no exceptions. Presented in this book is a story of how these sciences developed and how the skills and tools for measuring them has changed with the passage of time and sophistication of the sciences. Information about the human aspects of the scientists and engineers who did the experiments and drew the enlightening conclusions from their results is also discussed. This book is concerned with and inspired by curious individuals and their accomplishments. It contains many illustrations of the processes of a scientists developing ideas and building the body of knowledge for which he or she becomes recognized, and often famous.