Description
Book SynopsisThe latest advances and discoveries in science have made, and continue to make, a huge impact on our lives. This book is a history of the social impact of science and technology from the beginnings of civilization up to the present. The book explains how the key inventions: agriculture, writing and printing with movable type, initiated an explosive growth of knowledge and human power over the environment. It also shows how the Industrial Revolution changed the relationship between humans and nature, and initiated a massive use of fossil fuels. Problems related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, genetic engineering, information technology, exhaustion of non-renewable resources, use of fossil fuels and climate change are examined in the later chapters of the book. Finally, the need for ethical maturity to match our scientific progress is discussed.
Table of ContentsPreface; The Beginnings of Civilization; Ancient Greece; The Hellenistic Era; Civilizations of the East; Science in the Renaissance; Galileo; The Age of Reason; The Industrial Revolution; Evolution; Victory Over Disease; Atoms in Chemistry; Electricity and Magnetism; Atomic and Nuclear Physics; Relativity; Nuclear Fission; Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Genesplicing; Artificial Intelligence; Caring for the Earth; Looking Towards the Future; Index;
