Literature on the History of Physics in the 20th Century

Literature on the History of Physics in the 20th Century PDF Author: J. L. Heilbron
Publisher: University of California, Office for History of Science & Technology
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Literature on the History of Physics in the 20th Century

Literature on the History of Physics in the 20th Century PDF Author: J. L. Heilbron
Publisher: University of California, Office for History of Science & Technology
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description


Quantum Generations

Quantum Generations PDF Author: Helge Kragh
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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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

A Short History of Physics in the American Century PDF Author: David C. Cassidy
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674725824
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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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

Physics of the 20th Century PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Physics in the 20th Century

Physics in the 20th Century PDF Author: Curt Suplee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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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

A History of Physics over the Last Two Centuries PDF Author: Mario Gliozzi
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 152758125X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505

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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 Cultural History of Physics

A Cultural History of Physics PDF Author: Karoly Simonyi
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439865116
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 644

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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,

Nobel Laureates and Twentieth-Century Physics

Nobel Laureates and Twentieth-Century Physics PDF Author: Mauro Dardo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521540087
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
In this richly-illustrated 2004 book the author combines history with real science. Using an original approach he presents the major achievements of twentieth-century physics - for example, relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, the invention of the transistor and the laser, superconductivity, binary pulsars, and the Bose-Einstein condensate - each as they emerged as the product of the genius of those physicists whose labours, since 1901, have been crowned with a Nobel Prize. Here, in the form of a year-by-year chronicle, biographies and revealing personal anecdotes help bring to life the main events of the past hundred years. The work of the most famous physicists of the twentieth century - great names, like the Curies, Bohr, Heisenberg, Einstein, Fermi, Feynman, Gell-Mann, Rutherford, and Schrödinger - is presented, often in the words and imagery of the prize-winners themselves.

A History of Classical Physics

A History of Classical Physics PDF Author: John Desmond Bernal
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing
ISBN: 9780760706015
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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The History of Physics

The History of Physics PDF Author: Howard T. Milhorn
Publisher: Virtualbookworm Publishing
ISBN: 9781602642027
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The history of physics ranges from antiquity to modern string theory. Since early times, human beings have sought to understand the workings of nature--why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. The emergence of physics as a science, distinct from natural philosophy, began with the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries when the scientific method came into vogue. Speculation was no longer acceptable; research was required. The beginning of the 20th century marks the start of a more modern physics. Physicists began to study the atom, with its electrons and its nucleus. Then they began to look at the fundamental question of the forces that hold the nucleus together and the particles that account for the natural forces. This book approaches the history of physics from a biographical point of view, considering people to be more interesting than things, and the combination of the two more interesting than the sum of the individual parts. After a brief overview of classical and modern physics, 336 one-page biographies of individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of physics are presented.