I've wanted to read this for a long time now but i can't help thinking that the big bang and history of the universe theories have advanced a fair bit since this was written. Maybe someone can recommend a similar but more recent title?
Physicists, recommend me a book
- Thread starter Grrrrr
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I've wanted to read this for a long time now but i can't help thinking that the big bang and history of the universe theories have advanced a fair bit since this was written. Maybe someone can recommend a similar but more recent title?
Soldato
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Atkins physical chemistry, mind numbingly difficult to read, but a very good section on thermodynamics
Chemistry? Yuck!
It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to remember that while it made a few references to the earlier book and events therein, there was no need to have read it.
Having said that, they both get into some pretty heavy stuff - albeit in a very readable way; no equationfests that I can recall - but reading ...Schrodinger's Cat first will obviously help. I suppose it all depends upon how familiar you are with the, erm, basics
Incidentally, Simon Singh's Big Bang! is an entertaining and educational read, too, with its astrophysicsy slant. E=mc^2 by David Bodanis might be worth a punt too, though it leans more toward 'popular' than 'science'. Still, entertaining writing.
In fact, I've just realised that all the books I've mentioned I no longer have, due to them being lent to colleagues and never seen again. Bah.
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Man of Honour
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Have just ordered this, partly because it's cheap (£6.74) and partly because i've never read anything by the great Richard Feynman
I know it isn't directly about physics but I'd recommend Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman? as being worth a read anyway, he was a very engaging character. Incidentally the publishing date of those books is about 20 years after his death so I can't help on the order.
How could I forget this?
Sorry, Grrrrr, you have to put that on the list too!
*looks at bookshelf... I still have it!*
Soldato
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How could I forget this?
Sorry, Grrrrr, you have to put that on the list too!
*looks at bookshelf... I still have it!*
Yeah, it's on mine too. I remember the stories about ants and building radios, and how he had a sudden overwhelming urge to have a drink once and decided he would never drink again. Also the best way to get sex off a woman is to negotiate with them before buying them a drink. Sigh,...I tried it, didn't work.
I traded Fermat's Last Theorem for that book too.
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Bang! by Brian May, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott is actually quite a good book for the masses.
Soldato
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I'd seriously recommend In Search for Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin. It took me two reads to get to grips to understand whats happening. Very riveting, if you could call a Physics book that!
Wasn't there some kind of recent car headlight development that did this-not sure whether optical loss was either a problem or an issue though?
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Someone mentioned Simon Singh's Fermats Last Theroem. I thought it was a very good read esp the Monty Hall problem. The Feynman ones are a good as well
Years ago I read a book called "The first 3 minutes" or something like that - very good
If any of you with a scientific leaning ever have the the opportunity ie. you don't have to work for a month or so, try my graduation present - Godel, Escher & Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R Hofstatder - fascinating and very readable...although you'll have to wear earplugs to stop you brain from dribbling out
Years ago I read a book called "The first 3 minutes" or something like that - very good
If any of you with a scientific leaning ever have the the opportunity ie. you don't have to work for a month or so, try my graduation present - Godel, Escher & Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R Hofstatder - fascinating and very readable...although you'll have to wear earplugs to stop you brain from dribbling out
Parallel Worlds: The Science of Alternative Universes and Our Future in the Cosmos
- by Michio Kaku
It's about how we may be one universe in a multiverse. The first half of the book is fascinating and goes into the history of cosmology and into modern quantum physics.
- by Michio Kaku
It's about how we may be one universe in a multiverse. The first half of the book is fascinating and goes into the history of cosmology and into modern quantum physics.
Soldato
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Last popular science book I read was Bill Brysons A Short History Of Everything. I thought it was pretty good although he tries too hard to make physics sound fantastical at the beginning - if you're already into that stuff it's a tad tedious. The planet earth stuff was interesting (volcanos, ocean, atmosphere etc) but towards the end there's about three or so chapters on moss. Moss. That was a bit of a slog to get through, let me tell you. Overall not bad though, not bad at all.