Research Catalog

The great equations : breakthroughs in science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg / Robert P. Crease.

Title
The great equations : breakthroughs in science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg / Robert P. Crease.
Author
Crease, Robert P.
Publication
New York : W.W. Norton & Co., c2008.

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Details

Description
315 p. : ill.; 22 cm.
Summary
From "1 + 1 = 2" to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Crease locates 10 of the greatest equations in the panoramic sweep of Western history, showing how they are as integral to their time and place of creation as are great works of art. 43 illustrations.
Subject
  • Equations > History
  • Laboratory Personnel
  • Mathematicians > Biography
  • Mathematicians > History
  • Mathematics > History
  • Mathematics > history
  • Medical Laboratory Personnel
  • Quantum Theory > history
  • Science > History
  • Science > Philosophy
  • Science > history
  • Scientists > Biography
Genre/Form
  • Biography
  • Biography.
  • History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-298) and index.
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
Ch. 1. "The Basis of Civilization": The Pythagorean Theorem -- Interlude. Rules, Proofi, and the Magic of Mathematics -- Ch. 2. "The Soul of Classical Mechanics": Newton's Second Law of Motion -- Interlude. Book of Nature -- Ch. 3. "The High Point of the Scientific Revolution": Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation -- Interlude. That Apple -- Ch. 4. "The Gold Standard for Mathematical Beauty": Euler's Equation -- Interlude. Equations as Icons -- Ch. 5. Scientific Equivalent of Shakespeare: The Second Law of Thermodynamies -- Interlude. Science of Impossibility -- Ch. 6. "The Most Significant Event of the 19th Century": Maxwell's Equations -- Interlude. Overcoming Anosognosia; or Restoring the Vitality of the Humanities -- Ch. 7. Celebrity Equation: E = mc[superscript 2] -- Interlude. Crazy Ideas -- Ch. 8. Golden Egg: Einstein's Equation for General Relativity -- Interlude. Science Critics -- Ch. 9. "The Basic Equation of Quantum Theory": Schrodinger's Equation -- Interlude. Double Consciousness of Scientists -- Ch. 10. Living with Uncertainty: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle -- Interlude. Yogi and the Quantum -- Conclusion: Bringing the Strange Home.
ISBN
  • 9780393062045 (hardcover)
  • 039306204X (hardcover)
LCCN
^^2008042494
OCLC
227016304
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library