This dictionary provides an authoritative and accessible guide to the lives, labours and achievements of the men and women who have shaped the world of science. The in-depth biographies are comprehensive in their coverage of scientists and provide a wealth of information about the great scientists and their idiosyncrasies - for example, the effect of Humphrey Davy's jealousy of his former protege Michael Faraday, the prejudice against women that barred Lize Meitner from working in a major laboratory, and why the astronomer Tycho Brahe wore a false nose.

The dictionary covers all of the major scientists and provides readable reviews of each scientist's early life, career, major discoveries and significant publications. This edition has been updated and includes over 50 more biographies, focusing particularly on contemporary scientists, such as astronomers George Smoot and John C Mather, the US winners of the 2006 Nobel Prize of Physics.