Publisher's Synopsis
A fresh look at electricity and its powerful role in life on Earth
When we think of electricity, we likely imagine the energy humming inside our home appliances or lighting up our electronic devices. But electricity is more than an external source of power. Life at its essence is nothing, if not electrical. The story of how we came to understand electricity's essential role in all life is rooted in our observations of its influences on the body--influences governed by the body's central nervous system. Spark explains the science of electricity from this fresh, biological perspective. Through vivid tales of the scientists and individuals--from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk--as well as a broad range of topics and events, Timothy Jorgensen shows how our views of electricity and the nervous system evolved in tandem, and how progress in one area enabled advancements in the other. Filled with gripping adventures in scientific exploration--including the 1906 Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of the electron and neuron, the history of experimentation involving electricity's effects on the body, and recent breakthroughs in the use of electricity to treat disease--Spark offers an indispensable look at how electricity animates our lives from without and within.
