Author: J. L. HeilbronPublisher: University of California, Office for History of Science & Technology
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 516
Book Description
Literature on the History of Physics in the 20th Century
Author: J. L. HeilbronPublisher: University of California, Office for History of Science & Technology
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 516
Book Description
Quantum Generations
Author: Helge KraghPublisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514
Book Description
At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.
A Short History of Physics in the American Century
Author: David C. CassidyPublisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674725824
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
As the twentieth century ended, computers, the Internet, and nanotechnology were central to modern American life. Yet the physical advances underlying these applications are poorly understood and underappreciated by U.S. citizens. In this overview, Cassidy views physics through America's engagement with the political events of a tumultuous century.
Physics of the 20th Century
Author: Physics in the 20th Century
Author: Curt SupleePublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
Documenting one of the most remarkable flowerings of knowledge in human history, Suplee explains experiments and achievements of scientific innovators. 225 illustrations, 125 in full color. Explains and illustrates the flowering of physics in the 20th century, with spectacular color photos. Shows how theories about properties of matter were confirmed by ingenious experiments, which in turn spawned practical devices that transformed technology. Achievements of many of this century's greatest thinkers are described. Extraordinary illustrative material focuses on remarkable images, from the atomic to the cosmic scale, that are made possible by the instruments of advanced physics. Also included are photographs of experimental equipment and pioneering inventors. For general readers.
A History of Physics over the Last Two Centuries
Author: Mario GliozziPublisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 152758125X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505
Book Description
The book tells the fascinating story of physics starting from the 19th century, from the wave theory of light, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism, up to the discoveries of the 20th century. It investigates the frequently contrasting ideas and the raging arguments that led to our current understanding of the physical world, from the theory of relativity to quantum mechanics.
A History of Classical Physics
Author: John Desmond BernalPublisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing
ISBN: 9780760706015
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
A Cultural History of Physics
Author: Karoly SimonyiPublisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439865116
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 644
Book Description
While the physical sciences are a continuously evolving source of technology and of understanding about our world, they have become so specialized and rely on so much prerequisite knowledge that for many people today the divide between the sciences and the humanities seems even greater than it was when C. P. Snow delivered his famous 1959 lecture,
Twentieth Century Physics
Author: Laurie M. BrownPublisher: Institute of Physics Publishing (GB)
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 828
Book Description
This is a major historical study of the scientific and cultural development of physics in the 20th century. Its list of contributors includes four Nobel Laureates, 12 Fellows or Foreign Members of the Royal Society, and many other physicists of world renown.
Imagery in Scientific Thought Creating 20th-Century Physics
Author: MILLERPublisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 1468405454
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description