Heroes of Science

William Garnett follows the growth of physics through seven biographical sketches, from Robert Boyle and Benjamin Franklin to Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell. Written to make the history behind scientific principles accessible to young readers, the volume connects individual lives with changing ideas about electricity, heat and light. Its introduction sketches earlier discoveries, including refraction, thermometers and the storage of an electric charge in a Leyden jar.

The account also traces the institutions that supported scientific work. In the pages on Count Rumford, the Royal Institution takes shape through appointments, lectures and disputes over its direction, with Humphry Davy becoming a central figure. These details give the discoveries a setting of laboratories, salaries and personal relationships. Readers interested in the history of physics can follow how Garnett links explanations of natural phenomena to the people and organizations that helped develop them.