The discoveries
An unprecedented explosion of creativity, insight, and breakthrough occurred in every field of science in the last century. These discoveries profoundly changed the way we understand the world and our place in it. Now physicist and novelist Lightman tells the stories of two dozen of the most seminal...
| Main Author: | Lightman, Alan P., 1948- |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Pantheon Books,
c2005.
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| Edition: | 1st ed. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
An unprecedented explosion of creativity, insight, and breakthrough occurred in every field of science in the last century. These discoveries profoundly changed the way we understand the world and our place in it. Now physicist and novelist Lightman tells the stories of two dozen of the most seminal discoveries. He paints the intellectual and emotional landscape of each discovery, portrays the personalities and human drama of the scientists involved, and explains the significance and impact of the work. He explores such questions as whether there were common patterns of research, whether the discoveries were accidental or intentional, and whether the scientists were aware of or oblivious to the significance of what they had found. Finally, Lightman gives a guided tour through each of the original papers, which are included in the book.--From publisher description. |
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| Physical Description: |
xviii, 553 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: |
0375421688 (hc) |
| Author Notes: |
In the 1980s, he found a way to combine his literary and scientific interests when he began to write essays about science. He explored astronomy, cosmology, particle physics, space exploration, and the life of a scientist, writing about these topics in a way that makes them understandable to the average reader. Many of his essays can be found in the collections Time Travel and Papa Joe's Pipe and A Modern-Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court and Other Essays on Science. He is the author of Ancient Light: Our Changing View of the Universe, which won the Boston Globe's 1991 Critics' Choice award for non-fiction; and is co-author of Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists, which received an award from the Association of American Publishers in 1990. In the 1990's, he branched out into fiction, although still with a focus on science. His novels include Einstein's Dreams, Good Benito, and The Diagnosis. (Bowker Author Biography) |