Mr Tompkins in Paperback (Canto Classics) - Softcover

Gamow, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107604680 ISBN 13: 9781107604681

Verlag: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

This classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in physics, from atomic structure to relativity.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

George Gamow (1904-1968), was a Russian-born American nuclear physicist and cosmologist who was one of the foremost advocates of the big-bang theory, according to which the universe was formed in a colossal explosion that took place billions of years ago. Gamow attended Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) University, where he studied briefly with A.A. Friedmann, a mathematician and cosmologist who suggested that the universe should be expanding. At that time Gamow did not pursue Friedmann's suggestion, preferring instead to delve into quantum theory. After graduating in 1928, he traveled to Göttingen, where he developed his quantum theory of radioactivity, the first successful explanation of the behaviour of radioactive elements. In 1934, after emigrating from the Soviet Union, Gamow was appointed professor of physics at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There he collaborated with Edward Teller in developing a theory of beta decay (1936), a nuclear decay process in which an electron is emitted. In 1954 Gamow's scientific interests grew to encompass biochemistry. He proposed the concept of a genetic code and maintained that the code was determined by the order of recurring triplets of nucleotides, the basic components of DNA. His proposal was vindicated during the rapid development of genetic theory that followed. Gamow held the position of professor of physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1956 until his death. He is perhaps best known for his popular writings, designed to introduce to the non-specialist such difficult subjects as relativity and cosmology. His first such work, Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland (1939), gave rise to the multivolume Mr. Tompkins series (1939-67). Among his other writings are One, Two, Three...Infinity (1947), The Creation of the Universe (1952), A Planet Called Earth (1963), and A Star Called the Sun (1964).

Von der hinteren Coverseite

Mr Tompkins has become known and loved by many thousands of readers (since his first appearance over fifty years ago) as the bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. George Gamow's classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, from atomic structure to relativity, and quantum theory to fusion and fission. Roger Penrose's foreword introduces Mr Tompkins to a new generation of readers, and reviews his adventures in the light of current developments in physics today.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1107604680
• ISBN 13: 9781107604681
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 210
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland