Publisher's Synopsis
As part of a series, this book is an overview of scientific developments in the twentieth century.;The first twenty years of the century are concerned with the atomic discoveries of the Curies and Rutherford. The next decade covers an investigation of Bohr's model of the atom, the dual nature of the electron and the theories that began to open up the secrets of matter.;It also includes the discovery of other galaxies, the expanding universe, and drugs and plastic. Among the innovations to occur during the period before the First World War and up to the end of the Second World War were nuclear fission, nuclear weapons, radar, jet engines, rockets, the electronic computer, radio telescopes and the discovery of the planet Pluto.;The next 15 years saw the development of the transistor, the discovery of the structure of DNA and the launching of the first satellites into space. This period is followed by a look at the Big Bang, space probes, continental drift and the development of the laser.;Finally an insight is given into atom smashing, new space discoveries and a prediction of future possibilities in scientific development.
