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When we think of electricity, we likely imagine the energy humming inside our home appliances or lighting up our electronic devices鈥攐r perhaps we envision the lightning-streaked clouds of a stormy sky. But electricity is more than an external source of power, heat, or illumination. Life at its essence is nothing if not electrical.

The story of how we came to understand electricity鈥檚 essential role in all life is rooted in our observations of its influences on the body鈥攊nfluences governed by the body鈥檚 central nervous system. Spark explains the science of electricity from this fresh, biological perspective. Through vivid tales of scientists and individuals鈥攆rom Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk鈥擳imothy Jorgensen shows how our views of electricity and the nervous system evolved in tandem, and how progress in one area enabled advancements in the other. He explains how these developments have allowed us to understand鈥攁nd replicate鈥攖he ways electricity enables the body鈥檚 essential functions of sight, hearing, touch, and movement itself.

Throughout, Jorgensen examines our fascination with electricity and how it can help or harm us. He explores a broad range of topics and events, including the Nobel Prize鈥搘inning discoveries of the electron and neuron, the history of experimentation involving electricity鈥檚 effects on the body, and recent breakthroughs in the use of electricity to treat disease.

Filled with gripping adventures in scientific exploration, Spark offers an indispensable look at electricity, how it works, and how it animates our lives from within and without.

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Awards and Recognition

• Finalist for the PROSE Award in Popular Science and Popular Mathematics, Association of American Publishers