Background and Education -- At the 19th Century's End -- A New Abel -- Introduction: Tempora Mutant Et Nos Cum Illis Mutamur -- Geomagnetic and Solar System Research -- Aurora in a Vacuum Chamber -- The Norwegian Auroral Expeditions -- The Universe in a Vacuum Chamber -- Technology and Applied Physics -- Fast Switches and Electromagnetic Cannons -- In as Little as Four Years -- Birkeland the Ma…