Book Reviews - Apr 2009 - Volume 109 (4)

Cosmology 101

Author: Kristine M. Larsen
Greenwood Press
88 Post Road West
Westport CT 06881
2007; 216 pages
Hardback $49.95

Reviewer: Robert J. Whitaker
Missouri State University
Springfield, MO 65897

When early humans looked up into the sky, they saw the sun, moon, stars, and those “wandering” stars called planets. Questions soon arose. “Of what are these made?” “How far away are they?” “How do they move?” Various cultures offered various answers by invoking their god or gods. These “creation myths” proved satisfactory until such a time that an explanation of natural phenomena would be considered to be amenable to human reason.

The author, a professor of astronomy, emphasizes the way in which astronomers learn about the universe. She notes that astronomers cannot conduct experiments on the objects of their study. They cannot change the motion of any of these; they cannot “build” a star in a laboratory. All that they know about the celestial objects comes from observations of the light that comes from these. A major contribution to the study of the heavens came with the invention of the telescope. The invention of the spectroscope in the Nineteenth Century made possible the identification of the elements making up a star. This was supported by photography and is now being replaced by the electronic “charge-coupled device” or CCD. And large radio-telescopes provide information from long wavelength radiation.

The photographic study of stars at the end of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century led to a system of spectral classification of stars by such luminaries as Annie Jump Cannon at Harvard. At this same time H. N. Russell of Princeton and Ejnar Hertzsprung in Denmark independently determined a relationship between the star's absolute magnitude (brightness) and its spectral class. The “HR-Diagram” is still a basic concept of modern astronomy. In this context the author then traces astronomers' attempts to construct theories to explain the structure of stars and that will account for their observations.

But innumerable stars of different sizes and properties are gathered together in huge galaxies. And billions of these galaxies extend enormous distances in all directions. Attempts to understand the beginning of the universe and the formation of stars and galaxies have generated several competing theories. Space precludes a meaningful discussion of these, but the debates among their respective proponents provides an interesting look at the interface between theory and observation and the way that “science works.” We are provided with a look at the acquiring and interpretation of new observations, reinterpretation of older observations, development of new theoretical explanations, and the revision of older ones. Observational and theoretical cosmology are clearly active areas of scientific research.

A caveat on a couple of the author's historical references might be in order. Historians, who study the science of the Middle Ages, have eliminated the term, ‘dark ages,” from their lexicon. Reference to the works of such historians as David Lindberg and Edward Grant would be appropriate. Similarly, Galileo was not “put on trial by the Inquisition for heresy,” but for “vehement suspicion of heresy.” While this may appear to be a trivial legalism, it was critical in the conduct of Galileo's trial and of its outcome. If mention of this is considered important, then reference to some of the recent scholarship (including useful documents published as a result of the recent Vatican Commission) would provide valuable nuances frequently absent in discussions of Galileo's controversies with his Church.

Larsen has produced a short, but comprehensive, account of modern cosmological thought along with its history. It concludes with a useful glossary and a selected, annotated list of references. While her book is intended for the general reader, the subject is challenging. However, it is clearly written and provides the interested reader with a useful introduction to a fascinating subject.

Electricity and Magnetism: A Historical Perspective
(Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science)

Author: Brian Baigrie
Greenwood Press
88 Post Road West
Westport CT 06881
2007; 185 pages
Hardback $65.00

Reviewer: Robert J. Whitaker
Missouri State University
Springfield, MO 65897

As the title suggests, Electricity and Magnetism is a history of the subject from ancient times to early Twentieth Century. It is intended for students as well as the general reader. The author carries the reader through effluvia and fluid theories of electricity and of magnetism. These include, for example, the two fluid concept of Dufay and the one fluid idea of Franklin. Volta's electric “pile” made possible a continuous source of “electricity.” The relationship between electricity and magnetism, discovered by Oersted and theoretically explored by Ampere, leads to the work of Faraday. The discussion concludes with a brief look at the theoretical exposition by Maxwell and the later exploration of “cathode rays,” “x-rays,” and “electrons.” In all, this is an ambitious work that covers considerable ground in a fairly short space.

A few misprints should be mentioned. Miletus, the home of Thales, was located on the coast of Asia Minor across the Aegean from the Greek peninsula. In the references, the author of The De Magnete of William Gilbert should be Duane H. D. Roller; and “The Development of the Concept of Electric Charge,” Case 8 of the Harvard Case Histories in Experimental Science, co-written with his father, Duane Roller, is missing from the references.

The acceptance and use of Franklin's lightning rod is far more complex (and interesting) than the author presents. Opposition to its use was partially the result of the widely held idea that lightning caused earthquakes; thus, the fear that lightning rods on many buildings in a city would lead to an increased hazard from earthquakes. This opposition requires a much more nuanced approach such as was given by I. Bernard Cohen in his Benjamin Franklin's Science (listed in the Bibliography). Thus, the author's statement, regarding the destruction of a church and much of the city of Brescia, Italy, that the “... disaster impelled the Roman Catholic Church to abandon the religious objection to using lightning rods to protect property” cannot be justified by the contemporary evidence. And, the lightning rod provides us with the first instance of science guiding the invention of a technological device.

The author also distracts from the historical account at times by introducing modern explanations. For example, when discussing Coulomb's experiment to determine the nature of the force between two “charges,” he includes a paragraph stating the modern, textbook statement of “Coulomb's Law,” including modern units. Similarly, the author introduces the modern concepts of protons and electrons to explain the Voltaic pile and of the pile's later use to aid in the understanding of “chemical bonding.” Finally, while the author notes that the use of modern vector notation in the description of Maxwell's theory is different from his original presentation, this use distracts from its history.

In the few places in which the author includes citations they seem to be to the 1895 work by Park Benjamin. A great deal of important historical research on the subject has been done since that time, and the history of science has matured as a discipline. Thus, in his bibliography, one might wish for some additional aid. Several classic works, such as Gilbert's de Magnete are available in translation. The edition of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, begun in 1959, is superior to the one cited. L. Pearce Williams' definitive biography of Faraday; three valuable accounts of Thomson and the “electron,” published in 1997 in conjunction with the centenary of its “discovery;” and Millikan's The Electron are missing.

This is an attractive volume, and the plates from classic works are clearly reproduced. It has a useful (if limited) bibliography and event timeline. Its broad scope of topics and the restricted number of pages, however, prevents a more comprehensive and in-depth historical analysis of the subject. That the history of science might guide a reader past the idea that this history is merely a chronology of events and theories that are judged in terms of today's understanding should be paramount in any such work. Unfortunately, the author has only partially succeeded, and the price may deter many readers for whom this work is intended.