Interesting biography of a troubled genius. ( )

Fascinating biography of the 19th-early 20th century Norwegian physicist, Kristian Birkeland. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, were a lifelong obsession. He spent years in researching them. Although his theories were considered wrong by fellow scientists at the time, or at least they were met with indifference, space exploration in the mid-sixties has vindicated him and he is receiving his proper place in the history of science. He was a workaholic and his marriage broke up. He was cheated out of the Nobel Prize. Later, when he might have gotten it with another man for their work on auroras, he had died, and the Nobel isn't awarded posthumously. He had a brilliant mind and was always coming up with new ideas: for instance, improvements on hearing aids, margarine from vegetable fat, caviar from cod roe, and most importantly a process for fertilizer production. He spent years in Egypt and the Sudan, studying the Zodiacal Light, another celestial phenomenon, possibly the Biblical "pillar of fire". He died under murky circumstances in Japan.

Well written, for the educated layperson. Highly recommended. ( )

The Northern Lights is a biographical account of the life and scientific exploits of Kristian Birkeland of Norway. He became interested in the auroras so often seen in the northern climes and in 1899 he began a lifelong effort to find out all he could about the aurora borealis, later adding the zodiacal light to his researches. The book opens with Birkeland and his assistants climbing to the peak of Haldde Mountain in the north of Norway through a winter storm. They were on their way to an observatory that had been constructed for Birkeland and intended to spend the winter making their observations of the lights and any attendant changes in the weather and the magnetic fields at the site. Both this expedition and the next one in 1902 convinced him that more was needed than field observations so he set about finding a way to finance a proper laboratory to study magnetism and to produce artificial auroras.

The various ventures he tried for raising money led to a number of patents and even to a founding of Norway's first multinational company, Norsk Hydro, which is still in existence. However, outside of Norway and particularly in Great Britain, Norwegian science was considered backward and not worth bothering with. Although Birkeland's theories regarding emissions from the sun and their effects on the earth's magnetic field were essentially correct this was not recognized until long after his death. Since he was bipolar this lack of recognition was particularly difficult for him and his sojourn in Egypt to study the Zodiacal Light was especially hard on him because of the Great War which deprived him of his assistant (who was recalled home for military service) as many letters were lost to censorship and sunken ships so he felt forgotten and alone.

The Epiilogue was a good summing up of Birkeland's many achievements and his eventual recognition long after his death. Now the currents that run down to auroral heights along magnetic field lines are called Birkeland Currents and there is a crater on the moon named for him. The author also noted the successful careers of many of the young men who worked as his assistants, which was another lasting contribution to science. Birkeland's adventures in the name of science are worth reading about.

Recommended.

Great biography/natural science book. I wish the author had included more about what people thought about the northern lights throughout history, before the 1800s, and a bit more about what we've discovered about them since Birkeland's discoveries 100 years ago. And I wish the book included more photos, both of the northern lights themselves and of the people mentioned in the book. But those are quibbles as the book was great! ( )

Story of Kristian Birkeland, the Norwegian physicist who was first to explain the Northern Lights in 1900 before slipping to drug & alcohol fuelled decline.
Read Sept 2006 ( )