Did you know that the principle behind the zipper also governed the building of the pyramids? Did you know that the dentist's drill is a direct descendant of the first windmill? These are some of the fascinating connections made by Macaulay in this brilliant but highly enjoyable guide to the workings of machines. And when Macaulay says machines, he means everything that moves, even using nail clippers when discussing the basics of levers. He provides wonderful drawings to demonstrate how gears work, why jumbo jets can fly, what the computer actually does. If you've got any aspirations of passing any mechanical-aptitude tests in the near future, or if you're just naturally curious about the way things work, this best-selling book has nearly all the answers you'll ever need. Little kids, non-mechanical grandmothers, and even people who thought they knew the principles behind every mechanical gizmo that exists have been captivated by the drawings and lucid explanations in this wonderful book.

Originally published in 1861, the lectures presented here were addressed to a group of young scholars at the Royal Institution in London in 1860. Faraday chose this subject because, as he explained, "There is not a law under which this universe is governed which does not come into play and is not touched upon in these phenomena." Faraday, perhaps the greatest experimental scientist of all time, essentially created the science of electrochemistry. He laid the foundations of the electric power industry, discovered electromagnetic induction, and converted electrical force into mechanical force. He developed the concept that magnetism was one of the fundamental forces of nature; and he was the principal architect of the classical field theory later developed by Maxwell and Einstein.