The Character of Physical Law (Messenger Lectures, 1964)
by Richard Feynman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Richard FeynmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0262560038
Number of pages: 173
Publisher: The MIT Press
Book Reviews of The Character of Physical Law (Messenger Lectures, 1964)
Book Review: Best coverage of Newtonian Gravity and Feynman is always readable
Summary: 4 Stars
This is not one of the most popular Feynman books you can get but it is a short introduction to physics along with Feynman's way of helping people to learn about it. While I wouldn't have this on my list of first Feynman books to get (or physics books for that matter) if you do find it and have an interest in physics then by all means, pick it up.
The book is a collection of Lectures Feynman made. He deals with seven topics in fewer than 200 pages. The topics are.
1) Gravitation
2) Mathematics and physics
3) The conservation of energy
4) Symmetry
5) The arrow of time
6) Quantum mechanics
7) How to find new laws
Feynman brings a lot to the table in such a small space of time. His examples are usually quite good but some are hit and miss. It was written in 1965 and while most of it is still valid (it is missing over 50 years of physics!) you may find that you can learn about these topics better elsewhere... and that's really the catch. However, I would certainly say you can learn a lot here and the point of getting this book is to get Feynman's take on these subjects. He is still as good today as he was back then.
I wouldn't say that if this was your first time coming across physics that Feynman is too advanced, as this book and Feynman's lectures are designed for any audience with an interest in physics, but that is not to say that it is easy. In fact Feynman goes out of his way to explain that it is hard because it is so counterintuitive. I would say though that if you could get a modern book on cosmology that you will get a better introduction to these topics. In fact several books on cosmology would have you better prepared but in the end you are probably going to want to read Feynman. This may not be a bad place to go, but at the same time I feel there are probably much better Feynman books out there.
There are some illustrations in this book but most of them are hand drawn and apart from the images of galaxies are not always helpful. However notice that this still gets 4 stars for all its failings. Why? Because when it clicks you learn something you won't elsewhere. That is just how it is with physics books. They all have these accomplishments and failings to some degree. If you come away from a book with something new or a new way to look at physics, or have something explained to you in way you have never seen before, then it has already done its job. Within these 200 pages are some gems. I think his explanation of Newtonian Gravity is one of the best I have ever seen though. Also his overall explanation of how science works is nearly worth the price of this book alone.
Pros:
- Feynman's explanations
- Newtonian Gravity explained
- Short
Cons:
- 50 recent years of physics is not covered
- Can get very difficult even for experienced physics readers
Summary of The Character of Physical Law (Messenger Lectures, 1964)
In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not "how clever we are to have found it out, but . . . how clever nature is to pay attention to it," and tends his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws. Rather than an essay on the most significant achievements in modern science, The Character of Physical Law is a statement of what is most remarkable in nature. Feynman's enlightened approach, his wit, and his enthusiasm make this a memorable exposition of the scientist's craft. The Law of Gravitation is the author's principal example. Relating the details of its discovery and stressing its mathematical character, he uses it to demonstrate the essential interaction of mathematics and physics. He views mathematics as the key to any system of scientific laws, suggesting that if it were possible to fill out the structure of scientific theory completely, the result would be an integrated set of mathematical axioms. The principles of conservation, symmetry, and time-irreversibility are then considered in relation to developments in classical and modern physics, and in his final lecture Feynman develops his own analysis of the process and future of scientific discovery. Like any set of oral reflections, The Character of Physical Law has special value as a demonstration of the mind in action. The reader is particularly lucky in Richard Feynman. One of the most eminent and imaginative modern physicists, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology until his death in 1988. He is best known for his work on the quantum theory of the electromagnetic field, as well as for his later research in the field of low-temperature physics. In 1954 he received the Albert Einstein Award for his "outstanding contribution to knowledge in mathematical and physical sciences"; in 1965 he was appointed to Foreign Membership in the Royal Society and was awarded the Nobel Prize.Computer Mathematics Books
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