About the Author

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is one of the world's leading science and technology publications. In English, it reaches more than 3 million people around the world by subscription, newsstands, and online at www.sciam.com.

RODNEY CARLISLE, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and Senior Associate at History Associates Inc. of Rockville, Maryland, is the author of a number of books on the history of science and technology, including the forthcoming Encyclopedia of the Atomic Age and Jack Tar: The Life of the Sailor, 1750--1910. He lives in New Jersey.