On The Connexion Of The Physical Sciences

by Mary Somerville

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: Science, Physics

550 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1834

About the author

Mary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and was nominated to be jointly the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society at the same time as Caroline Herschel.

Reviews

[Kaustubh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will recommend this book to those who are interested in the science writing in 19th century. Though the book is quite long (I read select sections) and some of the explained scientific concepts have been falsified (eg. luminiferous aether), it was very advanced for its time. Importantly, it aimed at explaining the then advanced topics to non-scientific community. One thing that I like about the Victorian era science writing is the way authors tried to generate curiosity in a particular topic. This is particularly important today because now science is strongly influenced by Government decisions and people who are not motivated enough to understand facts about nature. Secondly, I like the way other researchers are quoted in these books. There is always a sense of respect towards a person even if his/her scientific views contradict yours.