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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It goes without saying that while it is my name that appears on the front cover, this book would never have come into existence without the hard work and expertise of a great number of people helping me along the way. So starting from the beginning, with my awesome literary agent, Will Francis: Thank you, Will, for getting in touch back in 2008 after reading Life in the Universe and for all your guidance and encouragement over the years since, and, let’s be honest, for outright hassling me into going beyond simply mulling over this concept in the back of my mind and actually researching and writing a book on it . . . Thanks too to Kirsty Gordon, Rebecca Folland, and Jessie Botterill in the Janklow & Nesbit agency offices in London for all their help, as well as PJ Mark and Michael Steger in New York.
Thank you to Stuart Williams at The Bodley Head and Colin Dickerman at Penguin Group (USA) for showing so much enthusiasm for the idea and for your faith in me actually pulling this ambitious project off. I’m enormously indebted to Colin, and especially Jörg Hensgen (The Bodley Head) for his unbelievably skillful and perceptive editing of my writing: any finesse in this finished book is from his exquisite craftsmanship, which has uncovered and polished a sculpture hidden within the roughly hewn block of stone I submitted as a first draft. Many thanks also to Akif Saifi and Mally Anderson for all her help and to Scott Moyers (Penguin), who seamlessly took over from Colin Dickerman. And a greatly appreciative bow to Katherine Ailes (The Bodley Head), particularly for all her efforts in securing such a stunning set of images to adorn these pages and bring the words alive. Thanks too to Maria Garbutt-Lucero and Will Smith (The Bodley Head) and Samantha Choy Park, Sarah Hutson, and Tracy Locke (Penguin) for your help with the publicity and marketing of the book.
The subject matter of this book is very eclectic, and has taken me far beyond the horizons of my own academic field of expertise. Conducting the research has brought me into contact with a hugely diverse range of people, and I have been constantly warmed by the extent to which people will go in offering their time and effort to help a stranger. These contributions have been utterly invaluable and include: replying to an out-of-the-blue e-mail with useful information and tip-offs of what else to look into; agreeing to be subjected to me picking their brains with a toddler-like series of whys, whats, and hows; helping with illustrations or reading through draft chapters to check for howlers; and generously spending hours sitting down with me and explaining slowly (and repeatedly!) the details and history of their own specialties. So a deep and heartfelt thank you to:
Paul Abel, Jon Agar, Richard Alston, Stephen Baxter, Alice Bell, John Bingham, John Blair, Keith Branigan, Alan Brown, Mike Bullivant, Donal Casey, Andrew Chapple, Jonathan Cowie, Thomas Crump, Sam Davey, John Davis, Oliver de Peyer, Klaus Dodds, Julian Evans, Ben Fields, Steve Finch, Craig Gershater, Vince Gingery, Vinay Gupta, Rick Hamilton, Vincent Hamlyn, Colin Harding, Andy Hart, Rebekah Higgitt, Tim Hunkin, Alex Karalis Isaac, Richard Jones, Jason Kim, James Kneale, Roger Kneebone, Monika Koperska, Nancy Korman, Paul Lambert, Simon Lang, Marco Langbroek, Pete Lawrence, Andrew Mason, Gordon Masterton, Rich Maynard, Steve Miller, Mark Miodownik, John Mitchell, Ginny Moore, Terry Moore, Francisco Morcillo, James Mursell, Jheni Osman, Sam Pinney, David Pryor, Antony Quarrell, Noah Raford, Peter Ransom, Carole Reeves, Alby Reid, Alexander Rose, Steven Rose, Andrew Russell, Tim Sammons, Andrea Sella, Anita Seyani, James Sherwin-Smith, Tony Sizer, William Slaton, Simon Smallwood, Frank Swain, Stefan Szczelkun, Ian Thornton, Thomas Thwaites, Phiroze Vasunia, Alex Wakeford, Mike Ware, Simon Watson, Andrew Wear, Kathy Whalen Moss, Sophie Willett, Emma Williams, Andrew Wilson, Peter Wilson, Lofty Wiseman, and Marek Ziebart.
If civilization ever does go belly-up, I would feel privileged to have any of you on my post-apocalyptic survival team!
Thank you to Max Richter, Arvo Pärt, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, M83, Tom Waits, Kate Rusby, and Jon Boden (your Songs from the Floodplain is quite possibly the best post-apocalyptic folk album in the genre . . .) for providing the soundtrack within my work bubble, and Nor and Fat Cat cafés for putting up with my long hours of mocha mainlining and lip-chewing while writing. Your pork belly sandwiches are the pinnacle of civilized society.
Thank you too to my family and friends who have smilingly endured my repetitive dinner table and pub chat on post-apocalyptic matters, or humored me on research adventures. The final and most important thanks are, of course, to my wonderful wife. Vicky has stoically supported me through this long process, quietly tolerating the many weekends lost to a grouchy husband hunched over the laptop and effortlessly picking up my mood after an evening home alone “doing background research” from bleak post-apocalyptic films and novels.
INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
acetic acid, 84, 118, 120
acetone, 118, 161
acetylene, 131
acids, 82, 84, 92, 104, 113, 116, 120–22
agar, 161, 162
agriculture, 52, 53–77, 247–48, 253, 265, 274, 275–76
calcium carbonate in, 109, 110
draft animals in, 170, 195–98
equipment for, 60, 62
fertilizers for, 57, 58, 69, 70, 72, 73, 76, 77n, 110, 121, 237, 238, 247–48, 250, 278–79
handheld tools for, 60, 61, 67, 68
herbicides and pesticides in, 57, 77n, 279
machinery for, 57, 188, 189, 195
manure fo
r, 61, 69, 70, 73–76, 237, 243, 247, 250
Norfolk four-course rotation in, 69–73
plants in, 53–54, 56, 64–69
principles of, 56–58
seeds in, 54–55, 56, 63–64
soil in, 57, 58–64, 70–72, 76, 110
Alas, Babylon (Frank), 165
alcohol, 89–91, 118–19, 120
in gasoline, 189–90
Alkali Act, 244n
alkalis, 82, 84, 104, 113, 114, 116, 120, 212, 234, 243
alloys, 130, 195, 235n
aluminum, 115n, 132, 133, 174n, 232–33
ammonia, 94, 115, 120, 159, 240n, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250
ammonium bicarbonate, 245
ammonium nitrate, 159, 250
analgesia, 155–57
anatomy, 154, 158
anesthesia, 158–59
antibiotics, 146, 147, 162–63
penicillin, 12, 162, 163–64
antifreeze, 119
antifungals, 155
antimalarials, 155
animals:
draft, 170, 195–98
livestock, 69, 71–73, 146–47, 247
antiseptics, 119, 155, 158, 162
antivirals, 147
Apollo program, 8
arc furnace, 132
arc lamp, 178
argon, 178
asepsis, 158
Asimov, Isaac, 162
asphalt, 120, 187
aspirin, 157
atmospheric pressure, 284–85
atomic hypothesis, 9–10
atoms, 279
Atwood, Margaret, 103
Babylonians, 257, 258
bacteria, 160
Baghdad battery, 175
balance scales, 283, 284
barium, 233
barley, 55, 60, 66, 67, 71–73, 86, 89, 90
Barnard’s star, 262–63, 263
barometer, 141, 144, 284–86
batteries, 47–48, 174–77, 183, 207, 266
Baghdad, 175
rechargeable, 175–76, 180
Beagle, HMS, 272n
beer, 90, 161
Bessemer converter, 137–38
bicycle, 200–201, 205
biofuels, 74–75, 119, 191, 206–7, 208
bird guano, 238, 248, 250
birthing forceps, 149–50, 150
Black Death, 23
blast furnace, 136–37, 137
bleach, 37, 212–13, 232
blood pressure cuff, 152
bone meal, 75–76
books, 51, 215, 216, 218
printing of, 214–20, 276
printing press for, 12–13, 215–19
boron, 233
Brazil, 189, 190
bread, 87–90, 161
bricks, 124–27
bridges, 29
brine, 232, 245
Britain, 77n
bromine, 241
Brush, Charles Francis, 179–80, 179
buildings, 28–30
apartment, 44–45
butane, 191
butter, 85
buttons, 100–101
Caesar, Julius, 261n
calcium, 84, 85, 233
carbonate, 109–10, 237
hydroxide (slaked lime; limewater), 111, 112, 115, 120, 127, 212, 237
hypochlorite, 212
oxide (quicklime), 110–12, 139, 140, 233, 245
sulfide, 244n
calendar, 253, 260–65
cam mechanism, 171, 171, 203, 204
candles, 108, 109
canning, 92, 291
Canticle for Leibowitz, A (Miller), 123
capacitor, 224–25, 226–27
capsaicin, 155–56
carbon, 31, 107, 116, 138, 176, 294
dioxide, 31–32, 110, 245, 279, 294
in iron and steel, 130, 136, 137
monoxide, 193
carbon-black pigments, 219
carrots, 60, 65, 66
cars, 41–42
alternators in, 46–47
carts made from, 197, 197
electric, 206–7
motors in, 173
catalytic converter, 250
cathode rays, 152–53
caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), 115, 190, 212, 232, 233, 234, 243, 244, 244n
cellulose, 211, 212–13, 238
Celsius scale, 286
cement, 127–28
cereal crops:
bread from, 87–90, 161
growing, 66, 67, 70–73
preparation of, 86–91
Cesarean section, 149
chalk, 37, 110, 111
charcoal, 106–7, 116, 124, 135, 184
cheese, 85
chemicals, 103–4, 110
see also substances
chemistry, 231–51
electrolysis, 212, 232–33, 234, 249
explosives, 104, 110, 116, 118, 122, 235–38, 242, 247, 250
glass equipment for, 142
industrial, 242–51, 253, 278–79
inorganic, 278–79
organic, 279
photography, see photography
reversible and unidirectional reactions in, 249
Chicago, Ill., 28
childbirth and neonatal care, 149–50
China, 73, 276, 277–78
chlorine gas, 212, 232
cholera, 148
chronometers, 272n
cinchona, 155
cities:
abandoning, 35, 44–45
cannibalizing, 49–52
Clarke, Arthur C., 4
clay, 124–25, 232
cliché, 218n
climate change, 31–32, 45, 294
clocks, 143, 254–60, 258, 271
oscillator in, 257–58, 271
pendulum, 257–59, 271, 289–90
water, 205, 206, 254
clothing, 34
clothing production, 95–102
fabrics for, 98–101
fasteners for, 100–101
clutch, 204
coal, 105–8, 116, 184, 276, 277
codeine, 156
cold, common, 147
collagen, 116
collodion process, 241
combined heat and power (CHP) plants, 185, 207
combine harvesters, 68–69, 77n
communication, 208, 209–30
electrical, 220–30, 232
paper for, 210–13, 215, 218, 232, 243, 276
printing, 214–20, 276
printing press for, 12–13, 215–19
radio, see radio
telegraph, 220–21
writing, 210–14, 215
compass, 265–66, 276
compost, 74
compressed natural gas (CNG), 191
computers, 230
concrete, 29, 124, 127, 128–29
reinforced, 29, 129
continental drift, 279
cooking, 79–81, 124
copper acetate, 118
cordite, 118
corn (maize), 53–54, 66, 67, 84n, 86
Coupland, Douglas, 231
crank, 171, 171, 173, 200, 202–3, 204
cream of tartar, 226
creosote, 83, 119
crime and violence, 20–22
Crookes, William, 248
cross-flow turbine, 181–82
crude oil, 116, 119–20, 189, 279
Cuba, 41–42, 198n
Dahl, Roald, 176
Danny, the Champion of the World (Dahl), 187
Dark Ages
, 168, 262, 276
Darwin, Charles, 272n
Da Vinci effect, 14
Day of the Triffids, The (Wyndham), 53
dead reckoning, 270
Defoe, Daniel, 33
Design that Matters, 150
diarrhea, 148
dibber, 60, 61
Diderot, Denis, 8, 19, 253
diesel, 41, 173, 188–89, 191, 202
biodiesel, 119, 191
Diesel, Rudolf, 189
diesel engines, 188, 190
differential, 205
digitalin, 155, 156
Dillo Dirt, 75
diode, 229
diseases, 146–47
hand washing and, 112, 148
infectious, 112, 147–48
distillation, 91, 94, 118, 119–20, 121, 159, 189
drugs, see medicines
dynamite, 238
see also explosives
earphones, 225–26, 227
Ecclesiastes, 253
ecosystems, 56–57, 59
Edison, Thomas, 291
Egyptians, 261
Einstein, Albert, 94
electricity, 12, 44, 104, 105, 165, 174–78, 183–85, 206, 207, 232, 286, 287
alternating current, 183, 184–85, 222
communications and, 220–30, 232
current in, 183, 184
direct current, 183, 184, 222
off-grid, 45, 46–49
resistance and, 183, 286
transformer and, 183–84
voltage in, 183, 184
electricity generators, 5, 41, 45, 46–47, 131, 178–79, 183
hydropower, 48–49, 48
see also energy and power
electric light, 177–78
electric vehicles, 206–8
electrochemical cell, 175
electrolysis, 212, 232–33, 234, 249
electrolyte, 174
electromagnetism, 174, 176–77, 184, 220–25
electrons, 152–53, 174, 175, 183
elements, 233–34
periodic table of, 234–35, 242
Eliot, T. S., vii, 10, 275
Encyclopédie (Diderot), 8, 19
energy and power, 15, 165–85
batteries for, see batteries
consumption per person, 166
from fossil fuels, 31, 57–58, 105, 165, 166, 190
generation and distribution of, 178–85
mechanical, 166–74
solar, 13, 47
steam engine for, 170n, 172–73, 182, 197, 201, 277, 290–91
steam turbine for, 182–83, 185, 206–7
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