The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments offers a glimpse into the most fascinating experiments in the history of science—moments when a curious soul posed a particularly eloquent question to nature and received a crisp, unambiguous reply.

George Johnson takes us to those times when the world seemed filled with mysterious forces. Scientists were dazzled by light, by electricity, and by the beating of the hearts they laid bare on the dissecting table.

Experience the awe as Galileo sings to mark time while measuring the pull of gravity, or as Newton carefully inserts a needle behind his eye to learn how light affects the retina. Witness William Harvey proving blood circulation by tying a tourniquet around his arm and observing his arteries and veins.

Luigi Galvani sparks electrical currents in dissected frog legs, marveling at the twitching muscle fibers, while Ivan Pavlov makes his now-famous dogs salivate at ascending chord progressions.

In an instant, confusion was swept aside, and something new about nature leaped into view. Johnson restores some of the romance to science, reminding us of the existential excitement of a single soul staring down the unknown.