Cranks Quarks And The Cosmos

Download or read book Relativity in Curved Spacetime written by Eric Baird and published by Chocolate Tree Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relativity theory has become one of the icons of Twentieth Century science. It's reckoned to be a difficult subject, taught as a layered series of increasingly difficult mathematics and increasingly abstract concepts. We're told that relativity theory is supposed to be this complicated and counter-intuitive. But how much of this historical complexity is really necessary? Can we bypass the interpretations and paradoxes and pseudoparadoxes of Einstein's special theory and jump directly to a deeper and more intuitive description of reality? What if curvature is a fundamental part of physics, and a final theory of relativity shouldn't reduce to Einstein's "flat" 1905 theory //on principle//? "Relativity..." takes us on a whistlestop tour of Twentieth Century physics - from black holes, quantum mechanics, wormholes and the Big Bang to the workings of the human mind, and asks: what would physics look like without special relativity? 394 printed pages, 234156 mm, 200 figures and illustrations, includes bibliography and index www.relativitybook.com

Download or read book Cranks, Quarks, and the Cosmos written by Jeremy Bernstein and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asking How can we be sure that Albert Einstein was not a crank?, this book looks at the history of science from a general perspective. It includes an autobiographical account of how the author became science writer for the New Yorker, and a series of profiles of famous scientists from Einstein, Neils Bohr and Alan Turing to Primo Levi, Edwin Land and Sophia Kovalevsky.

Download or read book Calibrating the Cosmos written by Frank Levin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-04-05 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains in clear, non-mathematical language the measurements and the interpretation of the resulting data that have led to the current understanding of the origin, evolution and properties of our expanding Big Bang universe. Theoretical concepts are emphasized, but no other book for the layman explains how model universes are generated, and how they function as the templates against which ours is compared and analyzed. Background material is provided in the first four chapters; the current picture and how it was attained are discussed in the next four chapters; and some unsolved problems and conjectured solutions are explored in the final chapter.

Download or read book American Prometheus written by Kai Bird and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2006-04-11 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPPENHEIMER • "A riveting account of one of history’s most essential and paradoxical figures.”—Christopher Nolan #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative. “A masterful account of Oppenheimer’s rise and fall, set in the context of the turbulent decades of America’s own transformation. It is a tour de force.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review “A work of voluminous scholarship and lucid insight, unifying its multifaceted portrait with a keen grasp of Oppenheimer’s essential nature.... It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior.” —The New York Times

Download or read book Primo Levi written by Ian Thomson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 934 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Primo Levi, author of Survival in Auschwitz and The Periodic Table, wrote books that have been called the essential works of humankind. Yet he lived an unremarkable existence, remaining until his death in the house in which he'd been born; managing a paint and varnish factory for thirty years; and tending his invalid mother to the last. Now, in a matchless account, Ian Thomson unravels the strands of a life as improbable as it was influential, the story of the most modest of men who became a universal touchstone of conscience and humanism. Drawing on exclusive access to family members and previously unseen correspondence, Thomson reconstructs the world of Levi's youth--the rhythms of Jewish life in Turin during the Mussolini years--as well as his experience in Auschwitz and difficult reintegration into postwar Italy. Thomson presents Levi in all his facets: his fondness for Louis Armstrong and fast cars, his insomnia and many near-catastrophic work accidents. Finally, he explores the controversy and isolation of Levi's later years, along with the increasing tensions in his life--between his private anguish and gift for friendship; his severe bouts of depression and passion for life and ideas; his pervasive dread and reasoned, pragmatic ethic. Praised in Britain as "the best sort of history" and "a model of its kind," Primo Levi: A Life is certain to take its place as the standard biography and a necessary companion to the works themselves.

Download or read book E = Einstein written by Donald Goldsmith and published by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. This book was released on 2008-08 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the history of physics, there has been no greater visionary than Albert Einstein. Through his revolutionary Theory of Relativity, he changed the way we look at the universe. But there is more to Einstein than just E=mc[superscript 2]. "In addition to contributing to many branches of physical science," relates Gerald Holton, "he also published widely on social and philosophical issues. He challenged current philosophies, both of science and of the state. He waged a constant fight for individual liberty and dignity against persecution and war." Einstein's ideas and views continue to play a role in contemporary science and in the popular imagination. Now two distinguished editors have compiled an enlightening collection of important and penetrating essays that shed light on many fascinating aspects of this great man. The esteemed contributors cover both important milestones and lesser known facts to present a thoughtful portrait. Historical black-and-white photographs and color illustrations complete this engaging anthology. Book jacket.

Download or read book The Roots of Things written by Alan A. Grometstein and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grometstein explains modern physics with enthusiasm, wit and insight. As he presents the usual milestones in the history of modern physics, his central focus is the historical debate regarding the nature of light: is it a particle or is it a wave? This book will be read by generations of students in physical science who seek a well written discussion of these important issues. Grometstein includes material which is quite recent, thus making the present volume particularly useful.