Humans, over many millennia, have been intrigued with magnetism and continuously revealing its nature and association with other objects, both animate and inanimate. Started with reverence for its mystic power, the beautiful minds soon find the means to harness it. This book is an omnibus that helps one travel through time over many millennia until today while giving glimpses of human achievements in the Odyssey of human civilisation. This is a scientific essay. Nevertheless, it offers a range of flavours, such as the history of science, philosophy, social construct, the early scientific revolution, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the growth of modern science, and discussion on scientific phenomena with no less scientific rigour, while remaining simple and intelligible. The book will be food for academic minds and a pleasant experience for general readers.

This handbook presents a comprehensive survey of magnetism and magnetic materials. The dramatic advances in information technology and electromagnetic engineering make it necessary to systematically review the approved key knowledge and summarize the state of the art in this vast field within one seminal reference work. The book thus delivers up-to-date and well-structured information on a wealth of topics encompassing all fundamental aspects of the underlying physics and materials science, as well as advanced experimental methodology and applications. It features coverage of the host of fascinating and complex phenomena that arise from the use of magnetic fields in e.g. chemistry and biology. Edited by two internationally renowned scholars and featuring authored chapters from leading experts in the field, Springer’s Handbook of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials is an invaluable source of essential reference information for a broad audience of students, researchers, and magnetism professionals.

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

This book begins with a phenomenological treatment of magnetism, introducing magnetic effects at the atomic, mesoscopic and macroscopic levels. This is followed by a section on atomic aspects of magnetism, and finally a presentation of magneto-caloric, magneto-elastic, magneto-optical and magneto-transport coupling effects.

What is that strange and mysterious force that pulls one magnet towards another, yet seems to operate through empty space? This is the elusive force of magnetism. Stephen J. Blundell considers early theories of magnetism, the discovery that Earth is a magnet, and the importance of magnetism in modern technology.

"This book by Lisa Tauxe and others is a marvelous tool for education and research in Paleomagnetism. Many students in the U.S. and around the world will welcome this publication, which was previously only available via the Internet. Professor Tauxe has performed a service for teaching and research that is utterly unique."—Neil D. Opdyke, University of Florida

The mystery of Earth's invisible, life-supporting power Alanna Mitchell's globe-trotting history of the science of electromagnetism and the Earth's magnetic field--right up to the latest indications that the North and South Poles may soon reverse, with apocalyptic results--will soon change the way you think about our planet. Award-winning journalist Alanna Mitchell's science storytelling introduce intriguing characters--from the thirteenth-century French investigations into magnetism and the Victorian-era discover that electricity and magnetism emerge from the same fundamental force to the latest research. No one has ever told so eloquently how the Earth itself came to be seen as a magnet, spinning in space with two poles, and that those poles have dramatically reversed many time, often coinciding with mass extinctions. The most recent reversal was 780,000 years ago. Mitchell explores indications that the Earth's magnetic force field is decaying faster than previously thought. When the poles switch, a process that takes many years, the Earth is unprotected from solar radiation storms that would, among other disturbances, wipe out much and possible all of our electromagnetic technology. Navigation for all kinds of animals is disrupted without a stable, magnetic North Pole. But can you imagine no satellites, no Internet, no smartphones--maybe no power grids at all? Alanna Mitchell offers a beautifully crafted narrative history of surprising ideas and science, illuminating invisible parts of our own planet that are constantly changing around us.