An Entertainment for Angels

Download or read book An Entertainment for Angels written by Patricia Fara and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity was the scientific fashion of the Enlightenment, 'an Entertainment for Angels, rather than for Men'. By demonstrating their control of the natural world, Enlightenment philosophers hoped to gain authority over society. And their stunning electrical performances provided dramatic evidence of their special powers. Using contemporary illustrations, Patricia Fara vividly portrays how Franklin and his colleagues struggled to understand the strange and exciting effects their experiments were producing.