Timelines of Science

402 Pages·2013·117.32 MB·English

by  DK Publishing

s m i t h s o n i a n

s m i t h s o n i a n
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A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4654-1434-2
First American edition, 2013 Published by DK Publishing,
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CONTRIBUTORS
Jack Challoner Philip Parker Mary Gribbin
Science writer and communicator with a Historian and writer whose books include Science writer for young readers and a Visiting
background in physics. He contributed to DK’s Eyewitness Companion: World History, Timelines Fellow at the University of Sussex.
DK’s Science and has written more than 30 of History, and Engineers.
other books on science and technology, for GLOSSARY
readers of all ages. Marcus Weeks
Richard Beatty
Writer on history, economics, and popular science. Edinburgh-based science writer, editor, and
Derek Harvey He has contributed to DK’s Science, Engineers, scientific lexicographer.
Naturalist and science writer for titles including and Help Your Kids with Math.
DK’s Science and The Natural History Book.
Giles Sparrow
John Farndon Popular science writer, specializing in astronomy
Popular science writer, specializing in Earth and space science.
science and the history of ideas.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CONSULTANTS SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Smithsonian contributors include historians and
Professor Robert Winston John Gribbin museum specialists from:
Robert Winston is Professor of Science and Society Science writer, astrophysicist, and Visiting Fellow
National Air and Space Museum
and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial in Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He is the
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
College London and runs a research program in the author of Science: A History, published by Penguin.
maintains the world’s largest collection of historic
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology.
aircraft and spacecraft, and its mission is to educate
He is an author and broadcaster and regularly writes Marty Jopson
and inspire by preserving and displaying historically
and hosts popular science programs, many of which
Science communicator and TV presenter, with a Ph.D.
significant aeronautical and spaceflight artifacts.
have been shown around the world. Previous DK books
in plant cell biology.
include the award-winning What Makes Me Me?, National Museum of American History
Science Experiments, and Human.
Jane McIntosh The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American
Senior Research Associate at the Faculty of Asian History dedicates its collections and scholarship to
CHIEF EDITORIAL and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. inspiring a broader understanding of the American
nation and its many peoples.
CONSULTANT
National Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural
Patricia Fara History is the most visited natural history museum
in the world and the most visited museum in the
Patricia Fara is Senior Tutor of Clare College, University
Smithsonian museum complex.
of Cambridge. She has published a range of academic
and popular books on the history of science, and is a
National Museums of Asian Art
regular contributor to radio and TV programs.
The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery hold in trust the nation’s extraordinary
collections of Asian art and of American art of the late
19th century aesthetic movement, and are dedicated
to the acquisition, care, study, and exhibition of works
in their collections.
1 2 3
2.5
MYA–799 CE 800–1542 1543–1788
010 BEFORE 044 THE EUROPEAN 074 THE AGE
SCIENCE BEGAN AND ISLAMIC OF DISCOVERY
RENAISSANCE
Features Features Features
016 Early Metallurgy 054 Understanding Stars 078 The Story of Anatomy
020 The Story of The Wheel 062 The Story of Gears 084 Measuring Instruments
026 The Story of Geometry 090 Medicine
034 Understanding Simple 100 Understanding
Machines Planetary Orbits
108 T he Story of
Measuring Time
114 Microscopes
120 Understanding Newton’s
Laws of Motion
132 Navigational Tools
146 Meteorological
Instruments
CONTENTS
4 5 6 7
1789–1894 1895–1945 1946–2013
158 THE AGE 230 THE ATOMIC 276 THE 350 REFERENCE
OF REVOLUTIONS AGE INFORMATION AGE
Features Features Features Categories
164 Fossils 234 Understanding 284 Understanding DNA 352 Measurements and Units
Electromagnetic
170 The Story of the Engine 292 The Story of 355 Physics
Radiation
Oceanography
174 Understanding Compounds 358 Chemistry
240 Flying Machines
and Reactions 298 The Story of Space
360 Biology
244 Understanding Relativity Exploration
184 The Story of Calculating
Machines 250 Understanding Atomic 316 Communication 364 Astronomy and Space
194 Understanding Cells Structure 326 Understanding 366 Earth Science
204 Understanding Evolution 260 The Story of Plastics Global Warming
212 Surgery 266 Understanding 334 The Story of Robotics
Radioactivity
218 The Story of Sound 344 Understanding
Recording Cosmology
368 Who’s Who
375 Glossary
382 Index
398 Acknowledgments