Quantum Generations – A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century - Hardcover

Kragh, Helge

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691012067 ISBN 13: 9780691012063

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1999

Synopsis

At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In "Quantum Generations", Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, "Quantum Generations" combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

About this title

About the Author

Helge Kragh is Professor of History of Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. His previous books include An introduction to the Historiography of Science, Dirac A Scientific Biography, and Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe (Princeton).

From the Back Cover

"Helge Kragh's book is a magnificent achievement. It is a rich, erudite history of physics from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth that is also informative and insightful about social, cultural, political, and institutional contexts. Kragh has included developments at the physics-applied physics-technology interface and has thus given an unusually comprehensive and balanced account of twentieth-century physics. What is equally impressive is that the book is readily accessible to the general reader and will also be valued by scientists and historians."--S.S. Schweber, author ofQED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga

"This book will come to be seen as an indispensable reference for those who seek a full understanding of its topic--which, of course, is one of the most important topics in modern history."--Spencer R. Weart, American Institute of Physics

"Kragh has succeeded in presenting an engaging and comprehensive history of the development of physics in this century, one that will be accessible to a wide audience. This book will surely become a standard reference for students of twentieth-century science."--Ronald Anderson, Boston College

From the Inside Flap

"Helge Kragh's book is a magnificent achievement. It is a rich, erudite history of physics from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth that is also informative and insightful about social, cultural, political, and institutional contexts. Kragh has included developments at the physics-applied physics-technology interface and has thus given an unusually comprehensive and balanced account of twentieth-century physics. What is equally impressive is that the book is readily accessible to the general reader and will also be valued by scientists and historians."--S.S. Schweber, author of QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga

"This book will come to be seen as an indispensable reference for those who seek a full understanding of its topic--which, of course, is one of the most important topics in modern history."--Spencer R. Weart, American Institute of Physics

"Kragh has succeeded in presenting an engaging and comprehensive history of the development of physics in this century, one that will be accessible to a wide audience. This book will surely become a standard reference for students of twentieth-century science."--Ronald Anderson, Boston College

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691012067
• ISBN 13: 9780691012063
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 504