The Connection of the Physical Sciences

by Mary Somerville

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

Genres: Science, Physics, Nonfiction

396 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]

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.