To mark the centenary of Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) H. W Dickinson and Arthur Titley published a fascinating book on the engineer and his work. They succeed in producing a work which appeals to the scientist, the historian and the general reader, without feeling obliged to over-simplify the technical details. Today best remembered for his early railway locomotive, Trevithick worked on a wide range of projects, including mines, mills, dredging machinery, a tunnel under the Thames, military engineering, and prospecting in South America. The book and other centenary activities helped to restore Trevithick's rather neglected reputation as a pioneering engineer of the Industrial Revolution, although his difficult personality and financial failures caused him to be overshadowed by his contemporaries such as Robert Stephenson and James Watt. The book places his achievements in their historical context, and contains many illustrations of his inventions.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), novelist and poet, was descended from a famous Scottish engineering family. His grandfather Robert, his father Thomas, two uncles and a cousin were all noted engineers, particularly known for their lighthouses. This family history, focusing particularly on his grandfather, was written while R. L. Stevenson was living in Samoa, and was published posthumously in 1912. It first outlines the history of the name 'Stevenson' from the thirteenth century. Chapter 1 begins in the mid-eighteenth century, and records Robert Stevenson's birth in 1772, and his father's death. The young Robert worked with his stepfather for the Northern Lighthouse Board and was its sole Engineer from 1808 to 1843. Chapter 2 describes his experiences in that role. Chapter 3 reproduces substantial extracts from Robert's own diary of the construction (1807–1811) of his most famous structure, the Bell Rock lighthouse off Arbroath, which revolutionised lighthouse design.
Robert Willis (1800–1875) was a scientist, inventor and architectural historian of international repute. As Jacksonian Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge, he demonstrated specially made mechanical devices to huge audiences. First published in 1841, Principles of Mechanism provided the theory behind the demonstrations. He defined mechanism as the means by which any relations of motion could be realised. The book was extremely influential, with all books in English, French, and German on the subject for the next generation adopting Willis' classification and nomenclature. He worked closely with William Whewell, whose Mechanics of Engineering was published in the same year. These two books established the science of mechanism, and provided study materials for the rapidly growing engineering profession. The work became a standard textbook for engineering and mathematics students, with a second edition issued in 1870.
Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925), the self-taught physicist and electrical engineer, began his career as an operator on the newly laid Anglo-Danish telegraph cable in 1868. The most advanced electrical technology of the time, the cable system inspired several of his early mathematical papers. This monograph, first published as a paper in the Philosophical Magazine in 1888, then as a book in 1889, draws on his established work on telegraphic propagation and self-inductance, and on Maxwell's field theory. In a fascinating insight into the contemporary scientific community, he complains that these subjects are still often misunderstood, and explains his formulae afresh from several angles. Also covered - and frequently questioned - are contemporary theories of permittivity, the speed of electromagnetic waves, and the dielectric properties of conductors. Heaviside's Electrical Papers (2 volumes, 1892) and his Electromagnetic Theory (3 volumes, 1893–1912) have also been reissued in this series.
In 1889, a year after both he and Heinrich Hertz discovered electromagnetic waves and for the first time demonstrated the truth of Maxwell's great theory of the electromagnetic field, physicist Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) published his deepest reflections on the nature and meaning of electricity, how it originates, and its different manifestations. There had been great scientific advances - the work of Faraday and Maxwell, his own experiments and those of Hertz - and a revolution in technology. There were also puzzling questions. What is the connection between electricity and the ether that occupies space? How does electricity manifest itself in matter? Why does it come in fixed units? The discovery of the electron eight years later would offer crucial answers. Always lucid and direct, with a gift for making the difficult seem simple, Lodge engages the reader with his fascination for the subject, much as he did in his famous lectures.
Published 1839–52, this two-volume work records the contribution of William Scoresby (1789–1857) to magnetic science, a field he considered one of 'grandeur'. The result of laborious investigations in
Published between 1839 and 1852, this two-volume work records the contribution of William Scoresby (1789–1857) to magnetic science, a field he considered one of 'grandeur'. The result of laborious investigations into magnetism and (with James Prescott Joule) electromagnetism, Scoresby's work was particularly concerned with improving the accuracy of ships' compasses. A whaler, scientist and clergyman, he epitomised the contribution which could be made to exploration and science by provincial merchant mariners - men often less celebrated than their counterparts in the Royal Navy or in metropolitan learned societies. In addition to his pioneering work on magnetic science, Scoresby furthered knowledge of Arctic meteorology, oceanography and geography. Volume 2 records Scoresby's investigations into the problem of navigating on iron-built ships, the section on shipwrecks proving just how pressing this was.
Published between 1839 and 1852, this two-volume work records the contribution of William Scoresby (1789–1857) to magnetic science, a field he considered one of 'grandeur'. The result of laborious investigations into magnetism and (with James Prescott Joule) electromagnetism, Scoresby's work was particularly concerned with improving the accuracy of ships' compasses. A whaler, scientist and clergyman, he epitomised the contribution which could be made to exploration and science by provincial merchant mariners - men often less celebrated than their counterparts in the Royal Navy or in metropolitan learned societies. In addition to his pioneering work on magnetic science, Scoresby furthered knowledge of Arctic meteorology, oceanography and geography. Volume 1 considers the magnetism of steel and suggests ways to determine its quality and hardness.
In the 1860s, radio waves were predicted by James Clerk Maxwell in his work on electromagnetism. It took a further twenty years for the first experiments to produce a working demonstration. In this guide to radio technology, first published in 1925, eminent physicist Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) provides a concise history of the development of the wireless radio, explains the theory behind it, and includes some practical tips for amateurs. Having lived through and contributed to the discovery, he explains the difficulty of the early experiments, which took place in a time when terms like 'frequency' and 'inductance', now taken for granted, did not exist in the scientific vocabulary. His first-hand account reveals the incredible efforts poured into the development of a revolutionary modern technology, rekindling the sense of wonder that once surrounded this strange new science.
An electric arc is formed when a current passes between two conductors through a non-conducting medium like air. Although the phenomenon was discovered during early electrical experiments and utilised widely in lighting by the end of the nineteenth century, its problems were not fully understood. First published in 1902, this book represents one of the first systematic investigations of the electric arc, and the best-known work of suffragist and electrical engineer Hertha Ayrton (1854–1923). It includes a chapter on the history of the discovery, over a hundred illustrations and tables, and Ayrton's explanation of the enduring problem of arc instability. As a result of her research, she went on to patent anti-aircraft lights and new arc-lamp technology. She later became the first female recipient of the Royal Society's Hughes Medal. Remaining relevant to students of electrical engineering and the history of science, this book shares her insights and expertise.
A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was also a noted biographer in the Victorian period, paying particular attention to engineers. His first biography was of George Stephenson (1781–1848), whom he met at the opening of the North Midland Railway in 1840. After Stephenson died, Smiles wrote a memoir of him for Eliza Cook's Journal. With the permission of Stephenson's son, Robert, this evolved into the first full biography of the great engineer, published in 1857 and reissued here in its revised third edition. This detailed and lively account of Stephenson's life, which proved very popular, charts his education and youth, his crucial contribution to the development of Britain's railways, and his relationships with many notables of the Victorian world. It remains of interest to the general reader as well as historians of engineering, transport and business.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) was one of the outstanding civil engineers of the nineteenth century. He began his professional life while still in his teens, as his father's chief assistant engineer on the Thames Tunnel, and remains famous for projects including the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Eastern. This study by his elder son, who was assisted in technical details by his engineer brother and by colleagues of their father, was published in 1870. The opening and closing chapters discuss Brunel's childhood and his private life, but the main body of the book presents Brunel's work thematically, with sections on bridges, railways, steamships, and dock and pier works. In all these areas Brunel was an innovator, pioneering the use of new materials and revolutionising early Victorian transport networks. The book also includes reports to the directors of the Great Western Railway and Great Western Steamship Company.
