From Falling Bodies to Radio Waves: Classical Physicists and Their Discoveries

by Emilio Segrè

Book Overview

Hailed by the "Journal of the History of Astronomy" as "charming and witty," this chronicle by a renowned physicist traces the development of scientific thought from the works of the "founding fathers" -- Galileo, Huygens, and Newton -- to the more recent discoveries of Maxwell, Boltzmann, and Gibbs. 1984 edition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0716714825
• ISBN13: 9780716714828
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Reference

Covering the lives of all the great physicists, from Galileo and Newton to Helmholtz, this book is an excelent read for students and any just interested. It goes in detail to the personal experiences of the great minds and the events that formed them and brought about the great discoveries.

The First Epic about the History of Science

This book records the first modern scientist (well, physicists) and their discoveries. The translation from the Italian is brilliant and the photographs, illustration and drawings really augment the fine text. We read about the start of modern science, how the great minds created experiments, what they thought, what they did and how their discoveries affected both them and future generations. This work and its companion ("From X-Rays to Quarks") should be required reading for all high-school science students. They learn that science is not some theoretical exercise but involves working with the materials of the Earth. One of the fortunate accidental consequences of science is that we have discovered that by using matter and energy in unique ways, our lives can be more abundant and easier. ALl the great names are here - Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Watts, Helmholtz. More and more emphasis is given over to science and its meaning in society. The philosophy of science and its practices are debated even as research and experimentation continue unabated. The pace at which science advanced - from dropping balls from a tower to theorizing on the nature of matter and gravity itself - was contained within a relatively short period. And, as we now see, that pace only increases in time.