Litmus: Short Stories from Modern Science [Paperback]

This anthology draws out and distills science’s love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories and delving into the humanity of theorists and experimenters as they stood on the brink of significant discoveries. From Archimedes’ bath to Newton’s apple, these vivid accounts of scientific discovery explore the principles behind each theory and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works. Including Joseph Swan’s original lightbulb moment, Einstein’s revelation on a Bern tram, and Pavlov’s identification of personality types thanks to a freak flood in his St. Petersburg lab, this record brings these eureka moments to life and explains the science behind them to the general reader. Contributors include Kate Clanchy, Stelly Duffy, Maggie Gee, Sarah Hall, Alison MacLeod, Sara Maitland, Sean O’Brien, Prof. Jim al-Khalili, Jane Rogers, and more.

A very alive, illuminating, and good-natured collection.   —Observer

Exquisite . . . delectable.   —New Scientist

The pairings work brilliantly, giving stereoscopic vision . . . ingenious . . . unfailingly interesting.   —Independent

An inspiring tribute to inquiring minds.   —Guardian

Ra Pageis the editor ofBracket,The City Life Book of Manchester Short Stories, Comma, Hyphen,LeedsStories, andParenthesis, and is a former editor ofNewcastle Storiesmagazine.Very few books combine the literary and the factual, and Litmus appeals to professionals and academics while simultaneously attracting the general reader with very human stories of discovery and failure, to which we can all relate.