One would think that we know a lot about electricity – we are, after all, surrounded by all kinds of electrical things. But Electric Universe by Andrew Bodanis opens up the world of electricity in a whole new light. It chronicles the history of electricity and electrical inventions & innovations, but in a very unusual way.
The book starts by laying out what would happen if there suddenly was a complete, long-lasting blackout – as one would imagine, the end result isn’t pretty and the society would very quickly plunge into a lethal crisis. Imagine everything that needs electricity; radios, the Internet and TV are a given. But monetary traffic would quickly come to quick standstill also. And all traffic, in fact – one would not immediately think of it, but even cars and airplanes are totally reliant on electricity because the underground fuel tanks at gas stations use electricity to pump up the fuel. Given the importance of electricity down to our very own cells, it’s worth understanding it and its history a bit better.
And that’s where Electric Universe starts, from the history of electricity. But it’s not boring history, not the kind of fact-listing one might find from history books. The history here is handled mainly through intimate, real-life stories of the people involved – including their hopes, dreams, aspirations and frustrations. It’s certainly not your typical approach in a science book, but it makes the book an exciting, fun and interesting read. You almost become attached to the “characters” as if they’re people in a novel – but yet all this has really happened. And honestly, the stories also rival some of the best novels out there as truth really is stranger than fiction.
This storytelling approach means that there isn’t that much “hard science”, i.e. scientific little details. Don’t get me wrong; there is science in the book for sure, but it’s definitely not a scientific handbook filled with formulas of any kind. While Electric Universe would’ve easily had room to delve into the scientific details much more than it did, skipping some of the details and sacrificing depth for breadth works well and makes for a very accessible book. It also really opens some eyes: some events – like the gripping developments surrounding radar in World War II – come to life like never before, some supposedly great innovators are exposed as nothing more than clever patent thieves and even the strange origin of Silicon Valley as an innovation center because of one extremely repulsive character becomes clear.
But when the book ends, it doesn’t really end. There are three fascinating and very welcome additions that are normally either skipped altogether or handled very differently. First comes a “What happened next”, which quickly covers what each person discussed in the book went on to do later in their life. It brings nice closure to their stories. Next is “Notes”, which includes more detailed explanations for a bunch of phrases passingly mentioned in the text – phrases such as “intruder atoms such as phosphorus” followed by the explanation on what it does and what Bardeen & Brattain thought when they found out they had inserted phosphorus into their semiconductors in late 1947. Finally, there is a “Guide to further reading”, a sort of very readably reference list which explains the additional material in just enough detail to make an informed decision on which to go read next, if any.
This is how all non-fiction books ought to be wrapped up. While I also thoroughly enjoyed the main book itself, this ending is the icing on the cake. So is the book perfect? No; there are some things which could be improved. For example, it’d be nice if the references were actually referred to in the text where appropriate – they’re not, so finding further information on something in particular requires some sifting through the further reading-section. But overall, Electric Universe is a wonderful book and is highly recommended for anyone wishing to understand a bit of background to the things we take for granted in everyday lives. It’s a fascinating read.
