ReMaking History, Volume 3, 1st Edition

Book description

Makers of the Modern World is the third volume of William Gurstelle's unique, hands-on journey through history. Each chapter examines a remarkable character from the past, one of the people whose insights and inventions helped create our modern world. What sets this series apart from other history books - including other histories of technology - is that each chapter also includes step-by-step instructions for making your own version of the historical invention. History comes to life in a way you have never experienced before when you follow the inventors' steps and recreate the groundbreaking devices of the past with your own hands.

This volume brings you to the early modern era and the invention of the electric light, the movie projector, and the automobile. Inside, you will discover:

  • Alessandro Volta and Electroplating
  • Humphrey Davy and the First Electric light
  • George Cayley and the Aeronautical Glider
  • The Lumiere Brothers and the Movie Projector
  • Rudolf Diesel and the Automobile Engine
  • Hans Goldschmidt and the Thermite Reaction
  • August Mobius and the Mobius Strip
  • Louis Poinsot's Loads, Moments, and Torques

Be sure to also check out ReMaking History, Volume 1: Early Makers and ReMaking History Volume 2 :Industrial Revolutionaries.

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Table of contents

  1. Titlepage
  2. Copyright
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. About the Author
  5. The Golden Age of Invention
    1. World’s Fairs and Expos
    2. How This Book Is Organized
    3. First Things First: Working Safely
    4. Getting Started
  6. Part I: Blue Ribbon Projects
    1. Chapter 1: Rudolf Diesel and the Fire Piston
      1. A New Kind of Automobile Engine
      2. Making a Fire Piston
      3. How Fire Pistons Work
      4. Making Charcloth
    2. Chapter 2: Samuel Morse and the Telegraph
      1. From Artist to Inventor
      2. Making a Morse-Style Telegraph
      3. How the Telegraph Works
    3. Chapter 3: Squire Whipple and the Truss Bridge
      1. The Origin of the Truss
      2. Whipple and the Design of Structures
      3. Building a Warren Truss Bridge
      4. How Truss Bridges Stand
    4. Chapter 4: Lee de Forest and the Amplifier
      1. De Forest Develops the Amplifying Vacuum Tube
      2. Building an Amplifier-Based Touch Switch
      3. How Amplifiers Work
    5. Chapter 5: August Möbius and the Möbius Strip
      1. The Arrival of the Möbius Strip
      2. The Möbius Strip Coffee Cup Carrier
      3. How Does the Möbius Strip Coffee Cup Carrier Work?
  7. Part II: Inspired by Hephaestus
    1. Chapter 6: Hans Goldschmidt and the Invention of Thermite
      1. Goldschmidt Discovers Thermite
      2. Producing the Thermite Reaction
      3. How the Thermite Reaction Works
    2. Chapter 7: The Brothers Lumière and the Motion Picture
      1. The Rise of the Lumières
      2. Making a Lumière Cam and Follower Mechanism Desk Toy
      3. Understanding the Cam
    3. Chapter 8: Chester Rice and the Loudspeaker
      1. Chester Rice at Home
      2. Making a Dynamic Loudspeaker
      3. How Does a Loudspeaker Make Sounds?
    4. Chapter 9: Joseph McKibben and the Air Muscle
      1. McKibben and the Atom Bomb
      2. A Human Muscle, Powered by Air
      3. Making an Air Muscle
      4. How Air Muscles Work
    5. Chapter 10: Sir George Cayley and the Glider
      1. Flying without Flapping
      2. The Four Forces of Flight
      3. Making a Cayley-Inspired Glider
      4. How Do Airplanes Work?
  8. Appendix: Going Further, Deeper, and Higher
  9. The Inventor’s Workshop
    1. The Workbench
    2. Necessary Tools
  10. Ideas for Further Study
    1. Ride a Möbius Strip Roller Coaster
    2. Fly a Glider
    3. See Samuel Morse’s Greatest Artwork
    4. Walk across a Squire Whipple Bridge
    5. See a Movie at the Institut Lumière
    6. Read a Book
  11. Index

Product information

  • Title: ReMaking History, Volume 3, 1st Edition
  • Author(s): William Gurstelle
  • Release date: February 2017
  • Publisher(s): Make: Community
  • ISBN: 9781680450729