Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality - Softcover

Evans, Rhodri; Clegg, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147212037X ISBN 13: 9781472120373

Publisher: Robinson, 2015

Synopsis

Acclaimed popular-science writer Brian Clegg and popular TV and radio astronomer Rhodri Evans give us a Top Ten list of physicists as the central theme to build an exploration of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics, looking not just at the science, but also the fascinating lives of the scientists themselves.

The Top Ten are:

1.Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
2.Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
3.Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
4.Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
5.James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
6.Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
7.Marie Curie (1867-1934)
8.Richard Feynman (1918-1988)
9.Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
10.Paul Dirac (1902-1984)

Each of these figures has made a huge contribution to physics. Some are household names, others more of a mystery, but in each case there is an opportunity to combine a better understanding of the way that each of them has advanced our knowledge of the universe with an exploration of their often unusual, always interesting lives.

Whether we are with Curie, patiently sorting through tons of pitchblende to isolate radium or feeling Bohr's frustration as once again Einstein attempts to undermine quantum theory, the combination of science and biography humanizes these great figures of history and makes the Physics itself more accessible.

In exploring the way the list has been built the authors also put physics in its place amongst the sciences and show how it combines an exploration of the deepest and most profound questions about life and the universe with practical applications that have transformed our lives. The book is structured chronologically, allowing readers to follow the development of scientific knowledge over more than 400 years, showing clearly how this key group of individuals has fundamentally altered our understanding of the world around us.

About this title

About the Authors

Dr Rhodri Evans studied Physics at Imperial College London, graduating with First Class honours, before gaining his PhD in Astrophysics from Cardiff University. He has taught at the University of Toledo in the United States, at Swarthmore College and done post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago's Yerkes Observatory, 'the birthplace of modern astrophysics'. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of Namibia. Rhodri is the author of numerous academic papers as well as popular-science articles, he speaks regularly at conferences and is a regular contributor to the BBC on Physics and Astronomy. His popular blog can be found at thecuriousastronomer.wordpress.com.

BRIAN CLEGG is a prize-winning science writer with a physics degree from Cambridge and a masters in the mathematical discipline operational research. He has written over 20 science books and articles for newspapers and magazines from The Observer and Wall Street Journal to BBC Focus and Playboy. He lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and two children.

From the Back Cover

Standing on the shoulders of giants . . . 400 years of scientific breakthroughs, from Galileo to Feynman

Physics is not only an exploration of the most profound questions about the universe, its practical applications have also transformed our everyday lives. Leading popular science writers Rhodri Evans and Brian Clegg present a chronological list of those seen as the top ten most significant physicists - Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Clerk Maxwell, Marie Curie, Rutherford, Einstein, Bohr, Dirac and Feynman - to trace and explain the most significant advances in physics over more than 400 years.

Some of these physicists are household names, others less well known, but each has made an extraordinary contribution to human knowledge. Evans and Clegg examine not only the scientific breakthroughs made by these scientists, but also their often fascinating lives - Curie laboriously sorting through tons of pitchblende to isolate radium, Bohr's frustration at Einstein's attempts to undermine quantum theory - helping to make the science more accessible.

From the Inside Flap

Ten Physicists Who Transformed Our Understanding of Reality

Rhodri Evans and Brian Clegg

With a foreword by Steven Weinberg

Edition details

• Publisher: Robinson
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 147212037X
• ISBN 13: 9781472120373
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272