Seeing Physics: 2,600 Years from Thales to Higgs

by Don Lemons

Seeing Physics uses drawings to help explain 51 key ideas of physics in an accessible and engaging way. Arranged chronologically, it begins with Thales' discovery of triangulation, taking in Kepler's laws of planetary motion and Newton's cradle before explaining the hydrogen atom, general relativity, Higgs Boson and other important discoveries of the 20th and 21st centuries. Each discovery is placed in its historical context, revealing the controversies that once threatened the advance of modern science.

Genres: Science

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 8, 2018

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the simple line drawings of physics discoveries through history. I particularly like learning the potted bios of the scientists doing the work. The descriptions are generally straightforward and condensed, so that only at the quantum particles does it get hard to follow.

I would have preferred if more women had been named; a lady computer was named and a female scientist, one of each. Did no other women contribute to the field? Also, I was eagerly awaiting Schrodinger's cat, but this thought experiment was not provided. (The answer of course is that when the box is opened, the cat has sensibly disappeared.)

The author is a professor and has taken to heart Einstein's principle that to understand something fully, you should explain it to your grandmother. Teens to adults could get a lot from this book, whether or not they like maths and physics. For instance, how the moons of Jupiter were discovered.

This is an unbiased review.