The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg - Hardcover

Crease, Robert P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039306204X ISBN 13: 9780393062045

Verlag: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 315 pages; Description: 315 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-298) and index. Subjects: Equations --History --Philosophy --Science --Mathematicians --Scientists --Biography. Summary: Philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease tells the stories behind ten of the greatest equations in human history. Was Nobel laureate Richard Feynman really joking when he called Maxwell's electromagnetic equations the most significant event of the nineteenth century? How did Newton's law of gravitation influence young revolutionaries? Why has Euler's formula been called "God's equation," and why did a mysterious ecoterrorist make it his calling card? What role do betrayal, insanity, and suicide play in the second law of thermodynamics? The Great Equations tells the stories of how these equations were discovered, revealing the personal struggles of their ingenious originators. From "1 + 1 = 2" to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Crease locates these equations in the panoramic sweep of Western history, showing how they are as integral to their time and place of creation as are great works of art.

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Críticas

"[...] Any reader who aspires to be scientifically literate will find this a good starting place."

Reseña del editor

Philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease tells the stories behind ten of the greatest equations in human history. Was Nobel laureate Richard Feynman really joking when he called Maxwell's electromagnetic equations the most significant event of the nineteenth century? How did Newton's law of gravitation influence young revolutionaries? Why has Euler's formula been called "God's equation," and why did a mysterious ecoterrorist make it his calling card? What role do betrayal, insanity, and suicide play in the second law of thermodynamics? The Great Equations tells the stories of how these equations were discovered, revealing the personal struggles of their ingenious originators. From "1 + 1 = 2" to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Crease locates these equations in the panoramic sweep of Western history, showing how they are as integral to their time and place of creation as are great works of art.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• ISBN 10: 039306204X
• ISBN 13: 9780393062045
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Sprache: Englisch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 315