LIGHT, DARK, AND THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
Light, Dark, and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
by Scott Benjamin Gracie
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GENRE: Non-Fiction (SCIENCE / Physics)
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BLURB:
Since the dawn of time, electromagnetic energy has permeated through the universe, surrounding and interacting with everything it touches, illuminating, destroying and giving life.
The colourful section of the electromagnetic spectrum we see in the form of visible light, rainbows and other phenomena is tiny when compared to its vast entirety. Using many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum have become common everyday occurrence for the majority of people on Earth, as it’s been integrated into our lives in ways that we don’t even think twice about it.
This book illuminates many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and its effects, the endless ways we have harnessed its energy, and how we interact and live with its influence.
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EXCERPT:
Through the Ages of Fire and Light
Inhabitants of Earth were using light in its most basic forms long before they even began to understand what it was.
Humans are the only species that have learned to control fire and use it for light. Making fire at will led to the need for vessels to hold the different emitters of light.
The first evolutions of the use of light throughout the millennia were very slow, with technology and design overlapping during time periods and civilisations.
Today, all of us control fire using its light or infrared energy. Whether it’s the fire from flammable liquids in the engines that power our transport systems, or gas cooking from a stove or heating our homes. Even the electricity we use may come from gas- or coal-fired power stations.
Most of the time we don’t even see the fire; we just turn a knob or push a button and use its effects.
Evolution of Fire to Light Fittings and Luminaires
Circa 2 Million to 1.7 Million Years Ago
Early hominids would have been very aware of fire. Fire from lightning strikes on grasslands or perhaps even fires starting from flowing volcanic lava would have been observed for thousands of years before it was tamed and used.
Hominids would have also witnessed the effects after fires: animals running from it, and the vegetation and regeneration of life that would happen as a result.
The early use of fire must have been something of a miracle, totally unexplained but something that would become so needed it would integrate itself into the heart of every early community.
Taming fire was one of the most prominent turning points in the evolution of early human beings. Fires encouraged groups of early peoples to gather together and provided warmth, light, the ability to cook and protection from predators. It was these things that led to changes in diet, cultural advances, and geographic migration with the ability to survive in colder regions.
Fire also allowed for activity to not be constricted to the day but also continue into night for longer hours. The caves in which a lot of these peoples lived could also be illuminated and further explored.
Circa 1 Million Years Ago
The earliest use of fires that have been uncovered so far are from about 1 million years ago in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.
From stationary fire pits, fire in the form of portable lighting was developed. Torches were possibly made by binding plant material in resin from trees. It wasn’t until the use of stone for lamps that we can truly begin to see the use of light throughout civilisation.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Scott’s passion for light and the electromagnetic spectrum began in his early teens while tinkering with electronics as a hobby. He was formally introduced to the lighting industry while studying Electrical and Electronics in Sydney, Australia, and in 1998 he started his career making custom light fittings and lamps in his dad’s garage. Formal lighting design qualifications expanded his opportunity to help project-manage and design on many industry levels.
Twenty-two years on, and Scott has worked on many major infrastructure, commercial and architectural lighting projects. He is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia & New Zealand, the Colour Society of Australia, the International Dark Sky Association and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
Connect with Scott Benjamin Gracie
WEBSITE https://www.lightdarkeverything.com.au/
GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22364418.Scott_Benjamin_Gracie
LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/lightingprofessional/
Get a copy of Light, Dark and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/0228849969
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KINDLE https://amazon.com/dp/B09XQ13DN3
INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/light-dark-and-the-electromagnetic/9780228849964-item.html
BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/light-dark-and-the-electromagnetic-spectrum-scott-benjamin-gracie/1141351186
BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/Light-Dark-and-the-Electromagnetic-Spectrum-Scott-Benjamin-Gracie/9780228849964
BOOKTOPIA https://www.booktopia.com.au/search.ep?keywords=9780228849964
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Scott Benjamin Gracie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $15 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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