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Details
| Genre/Form: | Biographies History Popular works Biography |
|---|---|
| Named Person: | James Clerk Maxwell; Albert Einstein; Albert Einstein; James Clerk Maxwell |
| Material Type: | Biography, Internet resource |
| Document Type: | Internet Resource |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Robyn Arianrhod |
| ISBN: | 9780195308907 0195308905 |
| OCLC Number: | 1110153375 |
| Notes: | Originally published: St. Lucia, Qld. : UQP, 2003. |
| Description: | 323 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Contents: | A seamless intertwining -- A reluctant revolutionary -- Beetles, strings and sealing wax -- The nature of physics -- The language of physics -- Why Newton held the world in thrall -- Rites of passage -- A fledgling physicist -- Electromagnetic controversy -- Mathematics as language -- The magical synthesis of algebra an geometry -- Maxwell's mathematical language -- Maxwell's rainbow -- Imagining the world with the language of mathematics: a revolution in physics. |
| Responsibility: | Robyn Arianrhod. |
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
Open-minded students will come away from reading Einstein's Heroes with a newfound appreciation of the role of scientific inquiry and insight in the larger human enterprise-and hopefully, will acquire a hankering to 'take to the field' themselves. * The Mathematical Association of America * Arianrhod's achievement is to so masterfully combine history, biography, and mathematics as to absorb and enlighten even the mathematically maladroit. * Booklist * Arianrhod is an infectiously enthusiastic writer, keen for her audience both to admire Einstein's heroes and to understand their contributions to fundamental mathematical physics. * Nature Physics * An intriguing blend of science, history, and biography.... Arianrhod's well-written, fascinating discussion of intertwined topics not usually presented in one book aimed at general readers is highly recommended. * Library Journal (starred review) * Offers readers an engaging intellectual exercise combining physics, language, mathematics, and biography. * Science News * A thrilling story.... Arianrhod is an easy author to like, and not simply for the clarity of her narrative. She brings out the human side of the scientists. She also is a student of imaginative prose: Her explication of a novel by the Australian David Malouf helps introduce ideas about mathematics, and she quotes the poet William Blake to crystallize a thought about Maxwell.... Scientists' quest for knowledge is exhilarating to Arianrhod, and she conveys that to thereader. * bloombergnews.com * On one level, Robyn Arianrhod's Einstein's Heroes is about the crowning achievement of classical physics * James Clerk Maxwell's understanding of electricity, magnetism, and light. But on another level, Arianrhod adeptly examines a much deeper idea: why is mathematics the language of nature and how do physicists tap the hidden power of numbers to understand the physical world? Einstein's Heroes does an admirable job of explaining the strange allure that mathematics holds over the scientists who so dramatically altered the way we look at the universe. * With exceptional skill, Arianrhod makes her subject clearly understood through metaphor, example, and story. She has given us a treasure - a combination of history, biography, and essay that clearly shows how and why the language of mathematics is essential to imagination in modern physics. Her unique book deserves high praise and should be read by anyone who enjoys science writing at its best. * Science and Spirit * Read more...
