Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to HawkingHere is a lively history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics. William H. Cropper vividly portrays the life and accomplishments of such giants as Galileo and Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, right up to contemporary figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Stephen Hawking. We meet scientists--all geniuses--who could be gregarious, aloof, unpretentious, friendly, dogged, imperious, generous to colleagues or contentious rivals. As Cropper captures their personalities, he also offers vivid portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations with family and friends, their religious beliefs and education. In addition, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and others--each section beginning with a historical overview. Thus in the section on quantum mechanics, readers can see how the work of Max Planck influenced Niels Bohr, and how Bohr in turn influenced Werner Heisenberg. Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who led the way. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 78
Page 8
... became the self-appointed leader of Galileo's critics. Colombe means “dove” in Italian. Galileo expressed his contempt by calling Colombe and company the “Pigeon League.” Late in 1611, Colombe, whose credentials were unimpressive, went ...
... became the self-appointed leader of Galileo's critics. Colombe means “dove” in Italian. Galileo expressed his contempt by calling Colombe and company the “Pigeon League.” Late in 1611, Colombe, whose credentials were unimpressive, went ...
Page 16
... became important in the mechanics of his successors. He had no way to measure these quantities, so he included them only in a qualitative way. Galileo's science of motion contains most of the ingredients of what we now call “kinematics ...
... became important in the mechanics of his successors. He had no way to measure these quantities, so he included them only in a qualitative way. Galileo's science of motion contains most of the ingredients of what we now call “kinematics ...
Page 19
... became familiar territory. The wonder of the bottles of chemicals on the shelves and the accompanying medicinal formulations would help direct him to later interests in chemistry, and beyond that to alchemy. With the completion of the ...
... became familiar territory. The wonder of the bottles of chemicals on the shelves and the accompanying medicinal formulations would help direct him to later interests in chemistry, and beyond that to alchemy. With the completion of the ...
Page 28
... became convinced that the early Scriptures expressed the Unitarian belief that although Christ was to be worshipped, he was subordinate to God. Newton cited historical evidence that this text was corrupted in the fourth century by the ...
... became convinced that the early Scriptures expressed the Unitarian belief that although Christ was to be worshipped, he was subordinate to God. Newton cited historical evidence that this text was corrupted in the fourth century by the ...
Page 37
... became Montague's mistress, no doubt with Newton's approval. The affair endured; when he died, Montague left her a generous income. She was also a friend of Jonathan Swift's, and he mentioned her frequently in his collection of letters ...
... became Montague's mistress, no doubt with Newton's approval. The affair endured; when he died, Montague left her a generous income. She was also a friend of Jonathan Swift's, and he mentioned her frequently in his collection of letters ...
Contents
41 | |
Historical Synopsis | 135 |
Historical Synopsis | 177 |
Historical Synopsis | 201 |
Historical Synopsis | 229 |
Historical Synopsis | 293 |
Historical Synopsis | 363 |
Historical Synopsis | 421 |
Chronology of the Main Events | 464 |
Glossary | 469 |
Invitation to More Reading | 478 |
Index | 485 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acceleration astronomer atomic became Berlin Bohr Bohr’s Boltzmann calculation called Cambridge Carnot’s Chandra charge chemical chemistry Clausius Clausius’s colleagues concept constant Curie Dirac discovery effect Einstein electric electromagnetic electron elements energy entropy experimental experiments Faraday Faraday’s Fermi Feynman field fission force function galaxy Galileo Gell-Mann Gibbs Gibbs energy Gibbs’s Glenlair Go¨ttingen gravitational Hahn Hawking heat engine Heisenberg Helmholtz Hubble Hubble’s hydrogen isospin Joule Joule’s laboratory later Laura Fermi lecture light Lise Meitner magnetic Marie mass mathematical mathematician matrix mechanics Maxwell Maxwell’s Mayer measured Meitner molecular molecules motion Nernst neutron Newton nuclear nucleus observed paper particles Pauli photons physicists Planck principle problem professor published quantum mechanics quantum number quantum theory quark radiation radioactive radium rays reaction Richard Feynman Rutherford Schro¨dinger scientific scientists speed statistical statistical mechanics temperature theoretical physics theorists thermodynamics Thomson tion University uranium wave writes wrote