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 65
Page v
... 93 Rudolf Clausius 9. The Greatest Simplicity 106 Willard Gibbs 10. The Last Law 124 Walther Nernst III. Electromagnetism Historical Synopsis 135 11. A Force of Nature 137 Michael Faraday 12. IV. 13. 14. VI. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Contents.
... 93 Rudolf Clausius 9. The Greatest Simplicity 106 Willard Gibbs 10. The Last Law 124 Walther Nernst III. Electromagnetism Historical Synopsis 135 11. A Force of Nature 137 Michael Faraday 12. IV. 13. 14. VI. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Contents.
Page ix
... Gibbs, Meitner, Dirac, Chandrasekhar). All were, or are, extraordinary human beings, at least as fascinating as their subjects. The short biographies in the book tell the stories of both the people and their physics. The chapters are ...
... Gibbs, Meitner, Dirac, Chandrasekhar). All were, or are, extraordinary human beings, at least as fascinating as their subjects. The short biographies in the book tell the stories of both the people and their physics. The chapters are ...
Page 32
... Gibbs on thermodynamics, and Einstein on general relativity), was to be more admired than read. The fearsome challenge of the Principia lies in its detailed arguments. In outline, free of the complicated geometry and the maddening ...
... Gibbs on thermodynamics, and Einstein on general relativity), was to be more admired than read. The fearsome challenge of the Principia lies in its detailed arguments. In outline, free of the complicated geometry and the maddening ...
Page 39
... Gibbs, and Feynman) has matched Newton's combined achievements as theoretician, experimentalist, and mathematician. Newton was no exception to the rule that creative geniuses lead self-centered, eccentric lives. He was secretive ...
... Gibbs, and Feynman) has matched Newton's combined achievements as theoretician, experimentalist, and mathematician. Newton was no exception to the rule that creative geniuses lead self-centered, eccentric lives. He was secretive ...
Page 41
... a maximum value. But he hesitated to go further. The dubious status of the molecular hypothesis was again a concern. Thermodynamics had its Newton: Willard Gibbs. Where Clausius hesitated, Gibbs II. Thermodynamics: Historical Synopsis.
... a maximum value. But he hesitated to go further. The dubious status of the molecular hypothesis was again a concern. Thermodynamics had its Newton: Willard Gibbs. Where Clausius hesitated, Gibbs II. Thermodynamics: Historical Synopsis.
Contents
xi | |
3 | |
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 |
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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