Spark, Timothy J. Jorgensen
Spark, Timothy J. Jorgensen
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Spark
The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life

Author: Timothy J. Jorgensen

Narrator: Gary Tiedemann

Unabridged: 14 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/23/2021


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—or perhaps we envision the lightning-streaked clouds of a stormy sky. But electricity is more than an external source of power, heat, or illumination. 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 scientists and individuals—from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk—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. He explains how these developments have allowed us to understand—and replicate—the ways electricity enables the body's essential functions of sight, hearing, touch, and movement itself.

About Timothy J. Jorgensen

Timothy J. Jorgensen is professor of radiation medicine and biochemistry, and director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program, at Georgetown University in Washington DC. His scientific expertise is in radiation biology, cancer epidemiology, and public health. He served on the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) and he chairs the Georgetown University Radiation Safety Committee.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lukasz on February 06, 2023

If you ever wondered why an electric eel doesn't electrocute itself, that's the book for you. It offers an informative and entertaining look at the intersection of biology and electricity. Well worth a read/ a listen.......more

Goodreads review by Laura on July 19, 2023

Really interesting. Sometimes a bit much for my physics-stupid brain, but an interesting insight into the history of electricity......more

Goodreads review by John_g on February 11, 2022

Learning so much about electricity’s role in the neurons was unexpected and a happy surprise. Also good was his method of reporting disagreements with past and current beliefs. He tries to simplify, apologizing for his few equations, but the few pictures are appreciated, and more would be useful. He......more

Goodreads review by Edgar on January 08, 2025

An excellent read, giving me a straightforward history in the development and understanding of electricity. This book is able to provide information in a very easy to understand way. Very useful for people novel to the fields of physics, biology, electrical engineering, or neuroscience. However, I di......more

Goodreads review by Debbie on August 11, 2024

I technically DNFed at 80% but I’m marking as read I thought the early history of electricity was super interesting, but it took a bit of a turn for me. Reasons I DNFed: He disparages the field of chemistry multiple times in a book that **checks notes** is about electricity. Electricity is simply the......more