Schonland, B.F.J.

The Flight of Thunderbolts.

Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1950. 22cm x 14.5cm. (8) 152 pages. Original Hardcover in original illustrated price-clipped dustjacket. In protective Mylar. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Pastedown signed by preowner.

Includes for Example: Before the lightning-rod/ The invention of the lightning-rod by Benjamin Franklin/ The forms taken by lightning and some of its effects/ The luminous processes involved in the lightning-flash/ The electrical processes in the lightning discharge/ Protection against lightning/ The electrification of thunderclouds/ The indirect and distant effects of thunderstorms.

Plates include: Franklin’s electrical machine/ The first public announcement of the lightning-rod in ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac’ for 1753/ Sir Charles Boys with his first lightning camera/ Boys-camera picture of a lightning flash, with fixed picture and pictures of stroke ‘d’ mounted for measurement/ Stepped leaders to first strokes/ Flash of two strokes photographed on a fast-moving camera in daylight etc.

This is a book on lightning for both the general reader and the specialist. Starting with an account of the thunder-magic of primitive peoples, and the interesting history of the damage caused by lightning to ships and buildings before Franklin’s invention of the lightning rod, it then describes the dramatic events involved in and following upon Franklin’s experiments. The book includes a chapter on protection against lightning an account of recent important work on atmospherics and other distant effects of thunderstorms. It provides for the reader a scientific ‘case-history’ of much interest, and for the meteorologist, physicist, and electrical engineer, the first full historical and general account of the subject in English.

• Keywords: Catalogue Autumn 2020 · Science – Rare · Weather · Weather Phenomenon
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 41183AB

EUR 60,--