Science Book Reviews
Revised April 5, 2003
Would you like to know ...
- What good is science, anyway?
- How small can things get?
- Why did the "Challenger" disaster really happen?
Then you should be reading:
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
Author: Richard P. Feynman
Publisher: Perseus Books
ISBN: 0-7382-0108-1
Feynman won a Nobel Prize in Physics (for Quantum Electrodynamics), but relax ... this books contains no equations! Instead, it's full of essays by "The World's Greatest Physics Teacher".
Looking for ...
- Cosmology
- Religion
- The meaning of life?
You might find it in:
Masks of the Universe
Author: Edward Harrison
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0-02-948780-3
Interesting stuff, with a great bibliography.
For more easy-reading cosmology, take a look at:
Our Cosmic Habitat
Author: Martin Rees
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0-691-08926-4
Written by the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain.
For more easy-reading cosmology, including:
- Exploding stars
- Dark energy
- The accelerating cosmos
The Extravagant Universe
Author: Robert P. Kirshner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0-691-0586208
Written from the perspective of an astronomer, it contains some interesting anecdotes from that field.
For more advanced cosmology, look at:
Cosmology - The Science of the Universe
Author: Edward Harrison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0-521-66148-X
This is a college-level textbook, and it includes equations, problems and exercises. You can skip over the math, though, and enjoy the various discussions without really missing anything. Although the book only measures 7" x 10" by 1", it weighs in at a relatively hefty three pounds. Could that be a result of the chapter on supermassive black holes?
Did you ever wonder:
- Why does "E" equal "mc-squared"?
- What is the "speed-limit" for computer networks?
- Is there anybody out there? Or are we alone in the Universe?
Interesting essays by famous scientists:
It Must be Beautiful (Great Equations of Modern Science)
Editor: Graham Farmelo
Publisher: Granta
ISBN: 1-86207-479-8
This one has "equations" in the title, but they actually form very little of the content. If you don't like equations (or if they don't like you!), just ignore them!
And speaking of math, don't miss:
- Universal standards
- Varying "constants"
- And counting to 15,747,724,136,275,002,577,605,653,961,181,555,468,044,717,914,527,116,709,366,231,425,076,185,631,031,296!
From Alpha to Omega, the Numbers that Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe:
The Constants of the Universe
Author: John D. Barrow
Publisher: Pantheon Books
ISBN: 0-375-42221-8
Easy math, cool physics, fascinating philosophy, and fun!
Another by the same author, discussing:
Vacuums, voids, and the latest ideas about the origins of the universe:
The Book of Nothing
Author: John D. Barrow
Publisher: Vintage Books
ISBN: 0-375-72609-8
Barrow is a mathematician at Cambridge, but in this book (as in "Constants" above), he shows off his writing skills. Great stuff for "wordy" people!
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