Horvitz L.A. Eureka! Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002. — vi, 246 p. — ISBN: 0-471-40276-1, 978-0471402763.The common language of genius: Eureka! While the roads that lead to breakthrough scientific discovery can be as varied and complex as the human mind, the moment of insight for all scientists is remarkably similar. The word "eureka!", attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes, has come to express that universal moment of joy, wonder-and even shock-at discovering something entirely new. In this collection of twelve scientific stories, Leslie Alan Horvitz describes the drama of sudden insight as experienced by a dozen distinct personalities, detailing discoveries both well known and obscure. From Darwin, Einstein, and the team of Watson and Crick to such lesser known luminaries as fractal creator Mandelbrot and periodic table mastermind Dmitri Medellev, "Eureka!" perfectly illustrates Louis Pasteur's quip that chance favors the prepared mind. The book also describes how amateur scientist Joseph Priestley stumbled onto the existence of oxygen in the eighteenth century and how television pioneer Philo Farnsworth developed his idea for a TV screen while plowing his family's Idaho farm.Introduction. A Sudden Flash of Light
A Breath of Immoral Air. Joseph Priestley and the Discovery of Oxygen
Epiphany at Clapham Road. Friedrich Kekule and the Discovery of the Structure of Carbon Compounds
A Visionary from Siberia. Dmitry Mendeleyev and the Invention of the Periodic Table
The Birth of Amazing Discoveries. Isaac Newton and the Theory of Gravity
The Happiest Thought. Albert Einstein and the Theory of Gravity
The Forgotten Inventor. Philo Farnsworth and the Development of Television
A Faint Shadow of Its Former Self. Alexander Fleming and the Discovery of Penicillin
A Flash of Light in Franklin Park. Charles Townes and the Invention of the Laser
The Pioneer of Pangaea. Alfred Wegener and the Theory of Continental Drift
Solving the Mystery of Mysteries. Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species
Unraveling the Secret of Life. James Watson and Francis Crick and the Discovery of the Double Helix
Broken Teacups and Infinite Coastlines. Benoit Mandelbrot and the Invention of Fractal Geometry
Recommended Reading