Niels Bohr's Times: In Physics, Philosophy and Polity - Hardcover

Pais, Abraham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198520492 ISBN 13: 9780198520498

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1991

Synopsis

Niels Bohr's life spans times of revolutionary change, in science and in its impact on society. He can be considered, along with Einstein, as the major driving force behind the new mathematical and philosophical descriptions of the atom, the nucleus, and their subsequent repercussions. Abraham Pais, the biographer of Einstein, traces Bohr's progress from his well-to-do origins in late 19th-century Denmark to his central position on the world political scene, particularly because of the development of nuclear weapons during World War II. Bohr was one of the great enabling figures in modern science, not only because of his direct involvement in the application of quantum theory to our understanding of the structure of the atom, but also because he gathered around him in Copenhagen most of the brightest young minds of the period. Figures like Pauli, Dirac, and Heisenberg, all required Bohr's imprimatur, to varying degrees, before they considered their work ready for widespread consumption. He had a complex relationship with Einstein, both in terms of their fundamental disagreements and their profound though distant mutual respect. He owed an important debt to his mentor, Rutherford - a man who came to serve, in many ways, as his role model. Pais describes the state of physics before Bohr and considers his legacy, both theoretical and practical. But more than this, he captures the essence of Bohr, the intensely private family man who, despite appalling personal tragedy, became one of the best-loved cultural figures of recent times.

About this title

Review:

"Pais has written an excellent account ... which will be a standard reference for many years to come" -- THES

'... a book that grips by its clarity and the importance of its subject matter ... remarkably timely.' -- New Scientist

`Pais tells the full story in his usual deeply informative and yet comfortably informal manner...I find it beautifully lucid and convincingly authoritative...This book is a worthy twin to Pais's splendid biography of Einstein.' -- Nature

About the Author:

About the Author: Abraham Pais is Detlev W. Bronk Professor of Physics Emeritus at Rockefeller University in New York. He is also the author of 'Subtle is the Lord...' (for which he won an American Book Award) and Inward Bound.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0198520492
• ISBN 13: 9780198520498
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 582