E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation - Hardcover

Bodanis, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802714633 ISBN 13: 9780802714633

Publisher: Walker & Co, 2005

Synopsis

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's miracle year of discoveries, a new edition of the bestselling "biography" of his famous equation

Generations have grown up knowing that the equation E=mc2 changed the shape of our world, but never understanding what it actually means, why it was so significant, and how it informs our daily lives today--governing, as it does, everything from the atomic bomb to a television's cathode ray tube to the carbon dating of prehistoric paintings. In this book, David Bodanis writes the "biography" of one of the greatest scientific discoveries in history--that the realms of energy and matter are inescapably linked--and, through his skill as a writer and teacher, he turns a seemingly impenetrable theory into a dramatic human achievement and an uncommonly good story.

About this title

Review:

"This is not a physics book. It is a history of where the equation [E=mc2] came from and how it has changed the world. After a short chapter on the equation's birth, Bodanis presents its five symbolic ancestors in sequence, each with its own chapter and each with rich human stories of achievement and failure, encouragement and duplicity, love and rivalry, politics and revenge. Readers meet not only famous scientists at their best and worst but also such famous and infamous characters as Voltaire and Marat...Bodanis includes detailed, lively and fascinating back matter...His acknowledgements end, 'I loved writing this book.' It shows." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer"E=mc2, focusing on the 1905 theory of special relativity, is just what its subtitle says it is: a biography of the world's most famous equation, and it succeeds beautifully. For the first time, I really feel that I understand the meaning and implications of that equation, as Bodanis takes us through each symbol separately, including the = sign...there is a great 'aha!' awaiting the lay reader." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch"'The equation that changed everything' is familiar to even the most physics-challenged, but it remains a fuzzy abstraction to most. Science writer Bodanis makes it a lot more clear." --Discover"Excellent...With wit and style, he explains every factor in the world's most famous and least understood equation....Every page is rich with surprising anecdotes about everything from Einstein's youth to the behind-the-scenes workings of the Roosevelt administration. Here's a prediction: E=mc2 is one of those odd, original, and handsomely written books that will prove more popular than even its publisher suspects." --Nashville Scene"You'll learn more in these 300 pages about folks like Faraday, Lavoisier, Davy and Rutherford than you will in many a science course...a clearly written, astonishingly understandable book that celebrates human achievement and provides some idea of the underlying scientific orderliness and logic that guides the stars and rules the universe." --Parade"Bodanis truly has a gift for bringing his subject matter to life." --Library Journal [starred review]"Entertaining...With anecdotes and illustrations, Bodanis effectively opens up E=mc2 to the widest audience." --Booklist"Accessible...he seeks, and deserves, many readers who know no physics. They'll learn a handful-more important, they'll enjoy it, and pick up a load of biographical and cultural curios along the way." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

David Bodanis is the author of Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity, and the bestselling The Secret House. A native of Chicago, he lives in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0802714633
• ISBN 13: 9780802714633
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 337