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Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
In a sweeping yet marvelously concise history, Tom Shachtman ushers us into
a world in which scientists tease apart the all-important secrets of cold. Readers take
an extraordinary trip, starting in the 1600s with an alchemist's air conditioning of
Westminster Abbey and scientists' creation of thermometers. Later, while entrepreneurs
sold Walden Pond ice to tropical countr...more
a world in which scientists tease apart the all-important secrets of cold. Readers take
an extraordinary trip, starting in the 1600s with an alchemist's air conditioning of
Westminster Abbey and scientists' creation of thermometers. Later, while entrepreneurs
sold Walden Pond ice to tropical countr...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
December 12th 2000
by Mariner Books
(first published 1999)
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I read this book in the same spirit as I used to watch and rewatch the James Burke "Connections" series. Raising a family, including shepherding the education of my sons, has forced me to be on the lookout for books like this. We parents like to encourage, what are lamely referred to as success behaviors (I've hated that term ever since it appeared on my job reviews). A book like this combines the benefits of a historical analysis with the wonder of serendipitous discovery and the, all too human...more
While the writing could have been tightened up a bit (a few parts seemed repetitious), overall it's an interesting history of the science and application of cold. I particularly liked the insight into how refrigeration affected the standard of living in the US and beyond- I had not realized how early in the country's history refrigeration came into use for shipping produce and meat, or what an impact that had. For some reason I thought refrigeration was a twentieth century innovation.
This book was a little like reading a meticulously researched, exhaustive, four-hundred page book on tractors. I mean, at the very least you have to respect the effort, and acknowledge that tractor people would really be into it. If I hadn't agreed to read the book so I could teach a honors college class on refrigeration, I'd have stopped after the first 50 pages. I just feel badly for the 160 students in the class, who likewise had to wade through the book.
This book makes the history of cold fun. A bit repetitious in tone, but otherwise entertaining discovery of when and how people discovered ways to put cold to use. The bickering between the Victorian scientists adds a gossipy touch that livens things up. The descriptions of harvesting Hudson River ice and of how you achieve temperatures close to absolute zero made this a worthwhile read for me.
A history of artificial cooling. The early chapters are more humanities-based, leading to chemistry and finally to physics and absolute zero.
In 1995 a Bose-Einstein Condensate was created at 170-billionths of a degree above Absolute Zero...
May 07, 2013
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