Great Physicists (the Life And Times Of Leading Physicists From Galileo To Hawking)

By (author) Cropper, William H.
Short description/annotation:
Presents a history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics such as Galileo, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking. This title also offers portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations with family and friends, their religious beliefs, and education.
Description:
Here 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, since scientists in a particular field often inspire those who follow, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and so on--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. By sequencing the biographies in this way, Cropper gives us an overall portrait of each field. Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries, starting with Galileo and his telescope and stretching to Stephen Hawking''s work on black holes and cosmology. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who led the way.
Review quote:
... fun to read ... I have learned a lot about the influence of great physicists on each other and on the flow of physics ... Read it!
Review quote:
... of interest to sixth-formers ... and to all students and professionals wishing for a rounder picture of science. Great physicists, great book, great buy-an ideal Christmas present.
Review quote:
... a book that has such excellent biographical information, mixed in with fully accurate science, that it can serve both as a good guide for top secondary-school students, and as a wise collation of advice and experience for working physicists at all levels beyond.
Biographical note:
William H. Cropper is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University. He lives in Saugerties, New York.
Review quote: previous edition:
"This book provides encapsulated histories of 30 physicists who have made major contributions to the development of physics over the last five centuries, from Galileo to Hawking.... This has the wonderful effect of laying out the development of physics in an exciting continuous stream, interweaving the social and scientific lives of all the scientists very effectively. The individual chapters are scholarly yet brief, concise and to the point, focusing on the crucial life events and the major scientific breakthroughs.... We need something like this for mathematics now!"--Mathematical Reviews
Publisher''s notice:
William H. Cropper is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University. He lives in Saugerties, New York.
Version history:
Fascinating portraits of thirty of the greatest scientists who ever lived
Feature:
Fascinating portraits of thirty of the greatest scientists who ever lived