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91st out of 148 books
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104 voters
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Why Does E=mc²? (And Why Should We Care?)
The most accessible, entertaining, and enlightening explanation of the best-known physics equation in the world, as rendered by two of today’s leading scientists.
Professor Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein’s most fa...more
Professor Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein’s most fa...more
Hardcover, 264 pages
Published
July 14th 2009
by Da Capo Press
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I loved this book, and it wasn't just that cheeky Brian Cox going on all the time about being covered in tweed and chalkdust (somebody please hand me a fan).
'Why does E=mc2' is my fifth book from the Royal Society science book shortlist. If Marcus Chown is magical cellulite cream, this is physics bootcamp - no corners cut, no let's-take-it-easy-today-shall-we. Cox and Forshaw don't just want to explain this equation - they want you to understand it, to understand its power (predictiv...more
'Why does E=mc2' is my fifth book from the Royal Society science book shortlist. If Marcus Chown is magical cellulite cream, this is physics bootcamp - no corners cut, no let's-take-it-easy-today-shall-we. Cox and Forshaw don't just want to explain this equation - they want you to understand it, to understand its power (predictiv...more
On a good day, high school physics class used to leave me feeling kind of (for lack of a better word) high. This book brought back that old, familiar feeling, but in an even better way. In the end, I walked away with a much clearer understanding of Einstein's theories of special and general relativity than I ever achieved slogging through high school physics. (I think our teacher must have been unable to articulate and synthesize the underlying questions that the equations sought to answer.) T...more
A good and thought-provoking book, and it certainly gave me some things to ponder. I am still mulling over the not entirely convincing explanation of the definition of distance in Minkowski spacetime and on the rather sleight-of-hand way that the famous equation emerges from conservation of momentum. I felt that deriving it this way was a bit of a con for a book whose title suggests the reader will acquire a better understanding of why it's true, not just how to prove it.
I wasn't so sure about...more
I wasn't so sure about...more
Although I have always had a love of science at school and college I concentrated on chemistry, biology and geology. Physics was literally a closed book to me until fairly recently after rediscovering Carl Sagan's excellent series ""Cosmos"" and the book that accompanied it. The real problem for me with physics has always been the maths and formulae that make it hard to follow unless you have a teacher willing to slow down and lead you through the numbers very slowly. Step fo...more
I was expecting, from the first few paragraphs of the book, that I was going to breeze right through this. It didn't really happen that way. I had to take college physics, which included the basics of relativity and quantum theories, so I probably have a bit more knowledge than the average non-physicist. All the same, there were areas of this book that just did not seem to click at all, even after reading paragraphs over and over again. Usually the parts that didn't click were the "easy...more
This is probably the best known equation in science but knowing how it is derived and what it actually means is a whole different story.
In this book Professors Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw start with Galileo's profound insight into the nature of relative motion which led him to the inescapable conclusion that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe. They then progress to the observations of Faraday and Maxwell on the curious link between electricity and magnetism describing simpl...more
In this book Professors Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw start with Galileo's profound insight into the nature of relative motion which led him to the inescapable conclusion that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe. They then progress to the observations of Faraday and Maxwell on the curious link between electricity and magnetism describing simpl...more
This review is specific to the audio edition
Whilst far from being an expert physicist I have read a fair bit about relativity and quantum mechanics etc so I was coming to this book looking to get a clearer understanding of the subject matter it deals with. The only problem is that I don't think I'm any clearer now than when I started.
I have no doubt that this is in large part due to the fact I was listening to it as an audiobook rather than reading it so don't want to pu...more
Whilst far from being an expert physicist I have read a fair bit about relativity and quantum mechanics etc so I was coming to this book looking to get a clearer understanding of the subject matter it deals with. The only problem is that I don't think I'm any clearer now than when I started.
I have no doubt that this is in large part due to the fact I was listening to it as an audiobook rather than reading it so don't want to pu...more
I found this book both frustrating and riveting. I'm abysmal at maths, so portions of the book that were heavy on the mechanics of the equations mentioned left me a little bored when I couldn't completely follow (not to mention depressed about not being good at adding). But then the non-math heavy parts were very engaging and it was hard to not get caught up in the enthusiasm of the authors. There were places I wished for more of an explantion and things I found would have been useful if they ha...more
From the man that bought us the 1997 New Labour election theme tune, comes a book about the origins and meaning of Einstien's E-Mc2.
The main problem with the book is there is far too much going on about 'deeper understanding' and time spent telling us how things are being explained to us poor intellectually subnormal non physicists in v e r y s i m p l e t e r m s so we can keep up.
If you can get over the condescending tone, and the jumbled narrative (too many...more
The main problem with the book is there is far too much going on about 'deeper understanding' and time spent telling us how things are being explained to us poor intellectually subnormal non physicists in v e r y s i m p l e t e r m s so we can keep up.
If you can get over the condescending tone, and the jumbled narrative (too many...more
After reading several books that centre around the complex, at at times, mind-boggling world of Quantum Mechanics I was looking forward to tackling this offering co-authored by the ever popular Prof. Brian Cox.
From the start I realised this wasn't like any of the other books I'd read and Cox makes no apology for the fact that to get the the solution, the reader has to wade through some pretty heavy-duty maths. In previous books one has been asked to perform thought experiments in regar...more
From the start I realised this wasn't like any of the other books I'd read and Cox makes no apology for the fact that to get the the solution, the reader has to wade through some pretty heavy-duty maths. In previous books one has been asked to perform thought experiments in regar...more
Shinynickel
marked it as to-read
Off this review: Why Does E=MC2? (And Why Should We Care?)
By Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw (Da Capo Press)
To move beyond a cursory understanding of Einstein’s iconic equation, put yourself in the adept hands of physicists and science educators Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw. Using clear language and a few clearly explained equations, they demystify physics’ most counterintuitive claims, connecting the dots between space-time, electromagnetic fields, invariance, and Galileo’s earlier theory ...more
By Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw (Da Capo Press)
To move beyond a cursory understanding of Einstein’s iconic equation, put yourself in the adept hands of physicists and science educators Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw. Using clear language and a few clearly explained equations, they demystify physics’ most counterintuitive claims, connecting the dots between space-time, electromagnetic fields, invariance, and Galileo’s earlier theory ...more
I felt like this book went back and forth between being written in real simple terms to being hard to follow mathematics written in narrative form. It went back and forth between being exciting to being boring in its presentation of equations, and that's coming from a math major who enjoyed every math class I had in school. Some of the concepts in the book, which are considered by some to be basic and foundational to modern physics, are truly fascinating to ponder. I love stretching my brain ...more
Excellent and intuitive explanation of relativity. The first several chapters provide an amazingly clear explanation of how to derive special relativity from a small set of intuitive premises (using very few equations, which you can skip). I highly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding Einstein's theory. My only objection would be that his caveat about Einstein's brilliance in the final pages does not emphasize the extent to which Einstein's ideas were in the air of the time amon...more
I had never been able to grasp fully the 'basic' explanations of relativity before I read this excellent book. Ok,I was fine with the concept of space not being absolute, but that was about it. I certainly had no real idea why time should pass at different speeds according to one's frame of reference or why spacetime makes sense of things. And as for why energy should be equivalent to mass x the speed of light and why this matters for causality, well forget it.
But thanks to 'Why Does...more
But thanks to 'Why Does...more
An outstanding book and must read.
They managed to explain such complex concepts as the distortion of space and time with just the Pythagorean theorem (you know, the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle). And then reaches the famous equation by adding momentum into the discussion. The concepts may be mind bending, but the maths is very basic and explanations clear and concise.
The enthusiasm of the authors is infectious, and I came out of this book desperate to know more ab...more
They managed to explain such complex concepts as the distortion of space and time with just the Pythagorean theorem (you know, the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle). And then reaches the famous equation by adding momentum into the discussion. The concepts may be mind bending, but the maths is very basic and explanations clear and concise.
The enthusiasm of the authors is infectious, and I came out of this book desperate to know more ab...more
I have a slightly better grasp of relativity, and if I were to read the book again I think I would get even more. However, there seemed to be a lot of basic stuff.
My main problem is that it doesn't answer the question in the subtitle. I was hoping for more everyday application stuff. One of the more interesting parts was about the global positioning satellites and it didn't come until the end.
Part of my problem is that I would read before I went to bed and there were a lo...more
My main problem is that it doesn't answer the question in the subtitle. I was hoping for more everyday application stuff. One of the more interesting parts was about the global positioning satellites and it didn't come until the end.
Part of my problem is that I would read before I went to bed and there were a lo...more
This book isn't concise in any way. Cox Rambles on, goes off on pointless tangents and generally makes something really simple into something really complicated. Seeing as the whole book is just about deriving E=mc^2 and that takes the average physicist about 8 minutes to do you would think it would be simple. You would expect that for a wider readership Cox would expand, slow down and generally make easier the intermediate stages of the derivation. However, Cox doesn't make it easier. He mainta...more
I am no mathematician but it seems one should care about an equation that explains energy, mass and light, so I braced myself for a difficult read – but found instead an entertaining journey through examples of “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics on the physical sciences.”
Hats off to two authors one wishes had been your university tutors. Anyone who can explain infinity divided by zero - and make it chatty - deserves a good rating. The lack of the extra star is a reflectio...more
Hats off to two authors one wishes had been your university tutors. Anyone who can explain infinity divided by zero - and make it chatty - deserves a good rating. The lack of the extra star is a reflectio...more
Many books on modern physics try to popularise what can be a pretty thorny subject, but this one goes about it in a different way. It clearly explains some of the groundbreaking achievements of Einstein and others by deriving some astounding theories from first principles. Many aspects are successfully covered by this approach though later segments relating to the so called Standard Model are less coherent. All in all this is book makes accessible some of the most fundamental elements of physics...more
Great treatment - of course they use the equation as an excuse to give a primer of just about all of modern physics. I really enjoyed their treatment of Noether's theorem and giving her due credit (rarely done). I couldn't believe they pulled off a non mathematical treatment of 4-vectors (although it may not have been worth it for the layperson). Some of the later chapters were a bid hurried, but their generalization of the speed of light to the speed of massless particles and their treatment...more
This book is short, yet takes a little time to read. Its supposed to be written for someone who did not take physics but, i found it hard to keep up a lot and re-read pages a few times to make sure i understood it.
That being said, I learned a lot! It gave me an even greater understanding of physics and an even larger appreciation for those who have mastered it.
The authors tend to get off topic a lot, but they tend to make it worth it. There is a large section that just seems ...more
That being said, I learned a lot! It gave me an even greater understanding of physics and an even larger appreciation for those who have mastered it.
The authors tend to get off topic a lot, but they tend to make it worth it. There is a large section that just seems ...more
We all know Brian Cox by now through his captivating TV shows, with his infectious enthusiasm and the ability to explain science in simple ways, like demonstrating Mars orbital path using just a stick and a few rocks! Writing here with Jeff Forshaw, they set out to explain Einstein's famous equation so we can all finally understand it. I was a student of biology and chemistry so I have a science background coming into this, but physics is a subject I could never quite grasp.
Whilst ...more
Whilst ...more
This review is of an audio edition, although I did get the paperback out of the library as well so I could re-look at some of the equations and diagrams if need be. I'm really pleased I did this, as it became apparent that in adapting the book for audio some stuff had to be omitted; most notably the 'master equation' in the chapter on the origin of mass. It seemed very odd the way they kept banging on about the master equation on the audiobook without ever giving even a hint of what it looked li...more
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I’ve got rather mixed feelings about this one. I think writing a simple account of very difficult material is hard to achieve and so every such effort should be praised wherever it is found – but there is a fine line between simple and patronising and I’m not sure this one respects that line all of the time.
It is clear these guys know their stuff, but I found it hard to concentrate on parts of this book as they would go into a longish chat about how hard the maths is and so how th...more
It is clear these guys know their stuff, but I found it hard to concentrate on parts of this book as they would go into a longish chat about how hard the maths is and so how th...more
The authors explain Einstein's theory of special relativity, leading to the famous equation, E = mc^2. Then they explain the applications of this equation in modern physics, including a nice overview of particle physics. There are many other books that cover this territory. But the authors of this book aim to explain all of this in lay terms, for readers who don't have much of a background in math or science, "using mathematics no more complicated than Pythagoras' theorem," as they say...more
Not a bad book, a nice intro to relativity especially for people with poor Mathematical skills. However for anyone actually interested in the Mathematics behind the Physics then there are probably better books out there.
Unfortunately it also seemed to repeat its self a lot, a feature also prominent in the Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe TV series. I don't want to sound arrogant or elitist but science in the mainstream media is getting dumbed down a lot and that makes me sad.
Unfortunately it also seemed to repeat its self a lot, a feature also prominent in the Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe TV series. I don't want to sound arrogant or elitist but science in the mainstream media is getting dumbed down a lot and that makes me sad.
This was really well written for the lay person, covering the early history of physics and how we came to these equations and what we use them for...but I had to renew the book at the library for another month because one isn't enough to fully absorb all the information this book covers. I'm sure it's a breeze for an MIT student, but since it was written for my level of science (meaning zero) I need more time to wrap my brain around these concepts that are completely new to me (because my high s...more
Take one part physics, one part curiosity, one part humor and mix. The book is easy to read, the authors make the hard concepts possible to understand and grasp, and they tie it all together around the central theme of Einstein's famous equation. Heck, any book that can make the Standard Model of particle physics understandable in layman's terms is worth the ticket price, and they do more than that. I'm a geek, this book hit all the right buttons for me. Highly recommended.
If you're looking for a really simple, basic introduction to relativity, I'm not sure that this book is it. That's not to say it's badly written, or overly complicated, but it goes into enough detail that it's inevitably a bit hard going in places, especially for those for whom maths and science are pretty distant memories in their eduction.
However, Brian Cox's infectious enthusiasm in the subject shines through on every page, and this makes even the more maths-heavy parts a lot easi...more
However, Brian Cox's infectious enthusiasm in the subject shines through on every page, and this makes even the more maths-heavy parts a lot easi...more
Nice read. I did not know that its not exactly "energy" that is equal to mass times the speed of light squared. However, Brian Cox tends to be very scatter brained while discussing the issues of relativity and space-time curvature. He will sometimes wander from topic to topic while discussing something in-depth and it took a bit for me to keep track of where he was. I would have also liked to have seen more math. Cox spends several paragraphs each chapter apologizing to the layman abou...more
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