Book dossier

The Mechanical universe-- and beyond

by David L. Goodstein

Program 27 looks at electricity, magnetism, and the twentieth century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics. Program 28 looks at Coulomb's law and the principles of static electricity. Program 29 deals with Michael Faraday's contribution to the modern idea of the field of force. Also covers electric fields of static charges, Gauss's law, and the conservation of flux. Program 30 discusses Benjamin Franklin's theory of the Leyden jar and his invention of the parallel plate capacitor. Also covers electrical potential, the potential of charged conductors, equipotentials, and capacitance. Uses computer animation sequences, historical reenactments, and close-up photography of experiments.