Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them
by Clifford Pickover
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Book Summary Information
Author: Clifford PickoverEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-16
ISBN: 0195336119
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them
Book Review: A must addition to your personal library
Summary: 5 Stars
For anyone with an interest in astronomy, astrophysics, or just a passing interest in modern science and it's history, Archimedes to Hawking, by Clifford Pickover is a must addition to your personal library. Clifford Pickover, while not being a scientist himself, manages to take the reader by the hand and lead them through two-thousand years of study, testing, trial-by-error, and in some cases depression and alienation. In the end, I was touched by man's ability to adapt his beliefs to match the "known" world around him.
One of the insights that happened to me personally as I read about Kepler's search for the Laws of Planetary Motion was profoundly moving. As I read this part of the book (I didn't necessarily take them in order) I was moved when I realized that what I was reading in the matter of an evening was the work of a life time of searching, study, sacrifice, and in some cases knowledge that came only with the near ruin of their personal lives, Kepler included. That thought sent shivers through me.
Pickover does a masterful job in presenting, sometimes very difficult material and concepts in a manner that makes it easy for the non-scientist. Though I've been an amateur astronomer for more than 30 years, the fact is that I'm not a scientist, but I had no difficulty with the material in Archimedes to Hawking. The other point to be made is the completeness of the coverage of the material, Pickover doesn't miss much, at least to this laymans mind. The chapters are compact and the explanations are wonderful.
Whether you read Archimedes to Hawking chronologically or whether you do as I did and read the chapters according to your interests doesn't matter. The book will keep you coming back for more.
Great illustrations!
I highly recommend this must volume.
Peace always.
Summary of Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them
Archimedes to Hawking takes the reader on a journey across the centuries as it explores the eponymous physical laws--from Archimedes' Law of Buoyancy and Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and Hubble's Law of Cosmic Expansion--whose ramifications have profoundly altered our everyday lives and our understanding of the universe.Throughout this fascinating book, Clifford Pickover invites us to share in the amazing adventures of brilliant, quirky, and passionate people after whom these laws are named. These lawgivers turn out to be a fascinating, diverse, and sometimes eccentric group of people. Many were extremely versatile polymaths--human dynamos with a seemingly infinite supply of curiosity and energy and who worked in many different areas in science. Others had non-conventional educations and displayed their unusual talents from an early age. Some experienced resistance to their ideas, causing significant personal anguish. Pickover examines more than 40 great laws, providing brief and cogent introductions to the science behind the laws as well as engaging biographies of such scientists as Newton, Faraday, Ohm, Curie, and Planck. Throughout, he includes fascinating, little-known tidbits relating to the law or lawgiver, and he provides cross-references to other laws or equations mentioned in the book. For several entries, he includes simple numerical examples and solved problems so that readers can have a hands-on understanding of the application of the law.
A sweeping survey of scientific discovery as well as an intriguing portrait gallery of some of the greatest minds in history, this superb volume will engage everyone interested in science and the physical world or in the dazzling creativity of these brilliant thinkers.
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