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The focus of this series is engineering, broadly construed. It covers technological innovation from a range of periods and cultures, but centres on the technological achievements of the industrial era in the West, particularly in the nineteenth century, as understood by their contemporaries. Infrastructure is one major focus, covering the building of railways and canals, bridges and tunnels, land drainage, the laying of submarine cables, and the construction of docks and lighthouses. Other key topics include developments in industrial and manufacturing fields such as mining technology, the production of iron and steel, the use of steam power and chemical processes such as photography and textile dyes.

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151 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Technology

Page 5 of 8

Essai sur Les Moulins à Soie
  • Et Description d'un Moulin
  • Charles-Bruno Le Payen
  • Published online:
    05 March 2014
    Print publication:
    06 June 2013
    First published in:
    1764
  • From the fifteenth century, the silk industry developed in France to rival that of Italy. Taking off during the reign of Henri IV, sericulture was historically centred on Tours and Lyon. In the eighteenth century, attempts were made to introduce it to the north-east of France, to compensate for the decline of viticulture, which had until then represented the region's main economic activity. Agronomist and director of the Royal Academy of Metz, Charles-Bruno Le Payen (1715–82) was the first to breed silkworms on local mulberry leaves in 1754. He also invented a new type of silk-weaving mill. In this work of 1767, he gives a detailed and illustrated description of the structure and functioning of his mill. Le Payen also shares his views on the challenges of breeding silkworms and mulberry trees in the colder climate of Metz.

Lectures on Electricity
  • Comprising Galvanism, Magnetism, Electro-Magnetism, Magneto- and Thermo-Electricity
  • Henry Minchin Noad
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    11 October 2012
    First published in:
    1844
  • During the early nineteenth-century craze for conducting kite experiments in lightning, deaths were not unheard of. Electrical physicists, meanwhile, were often shocked badly enough to collapse in the course of their work. However, the perils of electricity did not deter its proponents. Published in 1844, this enlarged collection of lectures by Henry Minchin Noad (1815–77) had proven immensely popular in earlier incarnations, eventually running to four editions and recognised as an invaluable textbook for electricians and telegraph engineers until the turn of the century. An electrical practitioner himself, Noad includes illustrated explanations of some of the most significant ideas in the field, and describes many of his own experiments, from his version of the lightning kite to a battery constructed with fifty jars and a thousand feet of wire. His work remains relevant to students in the history of science.

The Electric Arc
  • Hertha Ayrton
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    11 October 2012
    First published in:
    1902
  • An electric arc is formed when a current passes between two conductors through a non-conducting medium like air. Although the phenomenon was discovered during early electrical experiments and utilised widely in lighting by the end of the nineteenth century, its problems were not fully understood. First published in 1902, this book represents one of the first systematic investigations of the electric arc, and the best-known work of suffragist and electrical engineer Hertha Ayrton (1854–1923). It includes a chapter on the history of the discovery, over a hundred illustrations and tables, and Ayrton's explanation of the enduring problem of arc instability. As a result of her research, she went on to patent anti-aircraft lights and new arc-lamp technology. She later became the first female recipient of the Royal Society's Hughes Medal. Remaining relevant to students of electrical engineering and the history of science, this book shares her insights and expertise.

The Midland Railway: Its Rise and Progress
  • A Narrative of Modern Enterprise
  • Edited by Frederick Smeeton Williams
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    26 April 2012
    First published in:
    1876
  • Frederick Smeeton Williams (1829–86) was a Congregational minister and pioneering railway historian. His first major transport work, Our Iron Roads (1852), enjoyed significant popularity, reaching its seventh edition by 1888. This, his second such effort, first published in 1876, is a lively history of the incorporation and development of one of Britain's first major railway companies following the earliest large-scale railway amalgamation of the Victorian age. Including 123 illustrations and 7 maps, this book is especially valuable for its contemporary description of the building of the Settle and Carlisle line, a notoriously difficult and expensive route to construct, with costs reaching £3.8 million by the time of its opening in 1875. Williams's spirited style lends colour to his portrayal of the Midland Railway's beginnings, its increasing competitiveness and the everyday concern of railway operations, making this an engaging resource for historians of transport, business and engineering.

Extracts from the Private Letters of the Late Sir W. F. Cooke
  • Relating to the Invention and Development of the Electric Telegraph
  • Edited by Latimer Clark
  • William Fothergill Cooke
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1895
  • Originally a maker of wax anatomical models, William Fothergill Cooke (1806–79) became aware of the new electric telegraph while he studied anatomy in Germany. Hoping initially for a return of perhaps a hundred pounds from the English railway companies, he abandoned his studies and turned his attention to the commercial development of the technology, which, though demonstrable in laboratory conditions, was still little understood. Because the process relied on secrecy and many different clockmakers and engineers, it soon became so fraught that Cooke almost gave up before its completion. However, after receiving the encouragement of Michael Faraday and joining forces with Charles Wheatstone, Cooke finally brought his plans to fruition and eventually set up the Electric Telegraph Company in 1846. First published in 1895, this book includes a selection of his private letters, written as he worked and often movingly uncertain, as well as a short memoir.

On the Safety Lamp for Preventing Explosions in Mines, Houses Lighted by Gas, Spirit Warehouses, or Magazines in Ships, etc.
  • With Some Researches on Flame
  • Humphry Davy
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    14 June 2012
    First published in:
    1825
  • Self-taught chemist and inventor Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829) was one of the first professional scientists of his age. President of the Royal Society from 1820 to 1827, he was also a brilliant lecturer whose popularising of science made him famous. He also pioneered electrochemistry, isolating potassium, sodium and calcium. But Davy is best known for creating the safety lamp when he was asked to address the frequent occurrence of explosions in coal mines. He realised that firedamp - flammable gases such as methane - was ignited at high temperature by the open flames of miners' lamps. In 1815, he devised a lamp with a mesh screen that prevented ignition of firedamp; this application of science allowed miners to work in greater safety. First published in 1818 and revised in 1825, this work details the invention that cemented Davy's position as a national hero and earned him the Royal Society's Rumford Medal.

Talks about Wireless
  • With Some Pioneering History and Some Hints and Calculations for Wireless Amateurs
  • Oliver Lodge
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    09 August 2012
    First published in:
    1925
  • In the 1860s, radio waves were predicted by James Clerk Maxwell in his work on electromagnetism. It took a further twenty years for the first experiments to produce a working demonstration. In this guide to radio technology, first published in 1925, eminent physicist Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) provides a concise history of the development of the wireless radio, explains the theory behind it, and includes some practical tips for amateurs. Having lived through and contributed to the discovery, he explains the difficulty of the early experiments, which took place in a time when terms like 'frequency' and 'inductance', now taken for granted, did not exist in the scientific vocabulary. His first-hand account reveals the incredible efforts poured into the development of a revolutionary modern technology, rekindling the sense of wonder that once surrounded this strange new science.

The Scientific Papers of Sir Charles Wheatstone
  • Charles Wheatstone
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    25 August 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802–75) was a shoemaker's son whose fascination with physics led him to become one of the most celebrated scientists and inventors of his time. Apprenticed to his uncle, a musical instrument manufacturer, Wheatstone studied the physics of sound, publishing his first scientific paper in 1823. He was the chief developer of telegraphy, inventing increasingly advanced instruments for transmitting and receiving information. Telegraphy revolutionized communication in the Victorian era, eventually making almost instantaneous global communication possible. This collection of Wheatstone's works, first published in 1879, spans his entire career and includes fully illustrated details of many of his pioneering inventions. His broad-ranging research led to numerous important advances; those in telegraphy and cryptography were still in military use as late as the Second World War. This collection is a valuable source for the history of science, and a fitting tribute to Wheatstone's 'industry and versatility'.

Lives of the Engineers
  • With an Account of their Principal Works; Comprising Also a History of Inland Communication in Britain
  • Volume 2
  • Samuel Smiles
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    02 August 2012
    First published in:
    1861
  • A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was also a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series). His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between 1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 2 includes accounts of the lives of three important engineers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: John Smeaton (1724–92), John Rennie (1761–1821) and Thomas Telford (1757–1834).

Lives of the Engineers
  • With an Account of their Principal Works; Comprising Also a History of Inland Communication in Britain
  • Volume 3
  • Samuel Smiles
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    02 August 2012
    First published in:
    1862
  • A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was also a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series). His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between 1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 3 includes a revised version of Smiles's biography of George Stephenson (1781–1848), as well as a biography of his equally famous son, Robert (1803–59).

The Life Story of the Late Sir Charles Tilston Bright, Civil Engineer
  • With Which is Incorporated the Story of the Atlantic Cable, and the First Telegraph to India and the Colonies
  • Volume 2
  • Edward Brailsford Bright, Charles Bright
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    05 July 2012
    First published in:
    1898
  • Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832–88) was a renowned telegraph engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward Brailsford Bright (1831–1913) and son Charles (1863–1937), both telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 2 traces Bright's work on the burgeoning telegraph network, laying imperial cables to the Mediterranean, India, the West Indies, and further afield. Bright's significant contributions to the field of electrical engineering are also acknowledged in these pages, along with his personal qualities and political pursuits.

Magnetical Investigations
  • Volume 2
  • William Scoresby
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    12 July 2012
    First published in:
    1839
  • Published between 1839 and 1852, this two-volume work records the contribution of William Scoresby (1789–1857) to magnetic science, a field he considered one of 'grandeur'. The result of laborious investigations into magnetism and (with James Prescott Joule) electromagnetism, Scoresby's work was particularly concerned with improving the accuracy of ships' compasses. A whaler, scientist and clergyman, he epitomised the contribution which could be made to exploration and science by provincial merchant mariners - men often less celebrated than their counterparts in the Royal Navy or in metropolitan learned societies. In addition to his pioneering work on magnetic science, Scoresby furthered knowledge of Arctic meteorology, oceanography and geography. Volume 2 records Scoresby's investigations into the problem of navigating on iron-built ships, the section on shipwrecks proving just how pressing this was.

Lightning Conductors and Lightning Guards
  • A Treatise on the Protection of Buildings, of Telegraph Instruments and Submarine Cables, and of Electrical Installations Generally, from Damage by Atmospheric Discharges
  • Oliver Lodge
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    16 August 2012
    First published in:
    1892
  • As a result of being asked to give public lectures on the subject, the eminent physicist Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) published in 1892 a pioneering study of the protection of buildings, cables and telegraphic instruments from the devastation caused by lightning strikes. This work led him almost immediately to the discovery of electromagnetic wave transmission and ultimately to the development of a version of radio telegraphy. Lodge also saw that many of the current theories about the nature of lightning were seriously in error, and his investigations led to a number of significant changes in the design of lightning conductors and lightning guards. Some of the methods and procedures that Lodge advocated have since become standard practice. They are described with Lodge's characteristic flair and accompanied by a wealth of illustrations that give a fascinating insight into how contemporary scientists and engineers tackled this significant problem.

The Life of George Stephenson, Railway Engineer
  • Samuel Smiles
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    28 June 2012
    First published in:
    1857
  • A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was also a noted biographer in the Victorian period, paying particular attention to engineers. His first biography was of George Stephenson (1781–1848), whom he met at the opening of the North Midland Railway in 1840. After Stephenson died, Smiles wrote a memoir of him for Eliza Cook's Journal. With the permission of Stephenson's son, Robert, this evolved into the first full biography of the great engineer, published in 1857 and reissued here in its revised third edition. This detailed and lively account of Stephenson's life, which proved very popular, charts his education and youth, his crucial contribution to the development of Britain's railways, and his relationships with many notables of the Victorian world. It remains of interest to the general reader as well as historians of engineering, transport and business.

Magnetical Investigations
  • Volume 1
  • William Scoresby
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    12 July 2012
    First published in:
    1839
  • Published between 1839 and 1852, this two-volume work records the contribution of William Scoresby (1789–1857) to magnetic science, a field he considered one of 'grandeur'. The result of laborious investigations into magnetism and (with James Prescott Joule) electromagnetism, Scoresby's work was particularly concerned with improving the accuracy of ships' compasses. A whaler, scientist and clergyman, he epitomised the contribution which could be made to exploration and science by provincial merchant mariners - men often less celebrated than their counterparts in the Royal Navy or in metropolitan learned societies. In addition to his pioneering work on magnetic science, Scoresby furthered knowledge of Arctic meteorology, oceanography and geography. Volume 1 considers the magnetism of steel and suggests ways to determine its quality and hardness.

An American Engineer in China
  • William Barclay Parsons
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    28 June 2012
    First published in:
    1900
  • By the late nineteenth century, twenty-nine Chinese ports were open for foreign trade. Often run by foreign commissioners and no longer subject to the stringent local laws, these ports levied one of the smallest import taxes in the world, and Chinese commerce therefore exploded. Originally published in 1900, this account by William Barclay Parsons (1859–1932) investigates the ensuing surge of economic and industrial development in the eastern provinces. Including an introduction to China's history and the structure of its civil service, the book analyses the corrupt but ingenious world of customs officials, the importance of American cotton interests, and export statistics which reveal the multimillion-dollar smuggling operations that slipped around official embargoes. Set against a backdrop of electric lights and western labels in even the most closed of cities, this book offers a fascinating glimpse into the early stages of today's global market.

Modern Views of Electricity
  • Oliver Lodge
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    28 June 2012
    First published in:
    1889
  • In 1889, a year after both he and Heinrich Hertz discovered electromagnetic waves and for the first time demonstrated the truth of Maxwell's great theory of the electromagnetic field, physicist Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) published his deepest reflections on the nature and meaning of electricity, how it originates, and its different manifestations. There had been great scientific advances - the work of Faraday and Maxwell, his own experiments and those of Hertz - and a revolution in technology. There were also puzzling questions. What is the connection between electricity and the ether that occupies space? How does electricity manifest itself in matter? Why does it come in fixed units? The discovery of the electron eight years later would offer crucial answers. Always lucid and direct, with a gift for making the difficult seem simple, Lodge engages the reader with his fascination for the subject, much as he did in his famous lectures.

The Life Story of the Late Sir Charles Tilston Bright, Civil Engineer
  • With Which is Incorporated the Story of the Atlantic Cable, and the First Telegraph to India and the Colonies
  • Volume 1
  • Edward Brailsford Bright, Charles Bright
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    05 July 2012
    First published in:
    1898
  • Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832–88) was a renowned telegraph engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward Brailsford Bright (1831–1913) and son Charles (1863–1937), both telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 1 traces Bright's career as an early employee of the world's first public telegraphy company, the Electric Telegraph Company, and his work on land and submarine cable telegraphy, culminating in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cables in the mid-nineteenth century.

Lives of the Engineers
  • With an Account of their Principal Works; Comprising Also a History of Inland Communication in Britain
  • Volume 1
  • Samuel Smiles
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    02 August 2012
    First published in:
    1861
  • A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was also a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series). His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between 1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 1 charts the engineering of early roads, embankments, bridges, harbours and ferries, as well as the lives of the engineers Sir Hugh Myddelton (c.1560–1631) and James Brindley (1716–72).

The Diamond Mines of South Africa
  • Some Account of their Rise and Development
  • Gardner F. Williams
  • Published online:
    05 December 2012
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1902
  • A life-long friend of Cecil Rhodes, Garner F. Williams (1842–1922) was the first general manager of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, which once produced 95% of the diamond yield of the world. First published in 1902, this work opens with a chapter on notable historical diamonds, and goes on to describe the initial discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the development of mines, the mining methods adopted, the welfare of the miners and a history of the whole diamond-producing region. Williams also includes an appendix, which describes the mechanical workings of winding engines and pumps, and the value of different types of coals, and provides a table listing the yearly yield of the mines since 1888. Nearly 700 pages long, The Diamond Mines of South Africa contains over 500 illustrations and maps.

Page 5 of 8