The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments by George Johnson
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
xiv, 192 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
I enjoy books of science and this one was pretty good. The author has chosen what he considers to be ten experiments that capture the power and aesthetic of the scientific method because of the creative, straightforward and elegant means used to arrive at various scientific conclusions. Experiments range from Galileo's experiments with the constant acceleration of falling objects to Lavoisier's conclusions about oxygen to Galvani's experiments (see the graphic above) with bioelectrical impulses.
My only complaint of the book is that the brevity given to each episode can make them either a bit difficult to appreciate or forgettable. However, the shortness makes the book excellent for on the spot reading and does not require the reader to read the book beginning to end - on the contrary it is an excellent book for sampling a chapter here or there.
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