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 77
Page vi
The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking William H. Cropper. 12. IV. 13. 14. VI. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. The Scientist as Magician 154 James Clerk Maxwell Statistical Mechanics Historical Synopsis 177 ...
The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking William H. Cropper. 12. IV. 13. 14. VI. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. The Scientist as Magician 154 James Clerk Maxwell Statistical Mechanics Historical Synopsis 177 ...
Page xi
The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking William H. Cropper. Acknowledgments. It is a pleasure to ... Physicists, by William H. Cropper, copyright 1970 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford ...
The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking William H. Cropper. Acknowledgments. It is a pleasure to ... Physicists, by William H. Cropper, copyright 1970 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford ...
Page 16
... on observations and measurements. Stillman Drake leaves us with this trenchant synopsis of Galileo's scientific contributions: “When Galileo was born, two thousand years of physics had not resulted 16 Great Physicists.
... on observations and measurements. Stillman Drake leaves us with this trenchant synopsis of Galileo's scientific contributions: “When Galileo was born, two thousand years of physics had not resulted 16 Great Physicists.
Page 21
... physicists, Huygens was most nearly Newton's equal. He made important contributions in mathematics. He invented the pendulum clock and developed the use of springs as clock regulators. He studied telescopes and microscopes and ...
... physicists, Huygens was most nearly Newton's equal. He made important contributions in mathematics. He invented the pendulum clock and developed the use of springs as clock regulators. He studied telescopes and microscopes and ...
Page 22
... physicists see it, the methods of calculus solve two related problems. Given an equation that expresses a continuous change, what is the equation for the rate of the change? And, conversely, given the equation for the rate of change ...
... physicists see it, the methods of calculus solve two related problems. Given an equation that expresses a continuous change, what is the equation for the rate of the change? And, conversely, given the equation for the rate of change ...
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