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Einstein For Dummies
Genius demystified, the Dummies way! In 1905, Albert Einstein revolutionized modern physics with his theory of relativity. He went on to become a twentieth-century icon-a man whose name and face are synonymous with "genius." Now, at last, ordinary readers can explore Einstein's life and work in this new For Dummies guide. Physicist Carlos Calle chronicles Einstein's career and explains his work-including the theories of special and general relativity-in language that anyone can understand. He shows how Einstein's discoveries affected everything from the development of the atom bomb to the theory of quantum mechanics. He sheds light on Einstein's personal life and beliefs, including his views on religion and politics. And he shows how Einstein's work continues to affect our world today, from nuclear power to space travel to artificial intelligence.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 21, 2021
One of the very few books I read for a second time immediately after reading it for the first time. The fact is that I will not remember most of it but hey it is still so amazing. Kind of nice to read about how most of the universe is dark energy and dark matter as I heard on BBC podcast.
The author really made it easy to understand hard concepts
The author really made it easy to understand hard concepts
October 16, 2012
It was an astounding, simple, yet amazing read. One of the most complex theories ever posed by physicists, have been explained in an exhilarating manner, in their true beauty. Sans equations, sans calculus, sans statistics, but even then, it explains Einstein's work in exceptionally vivid detail. It's hard to find such a book which explains simple things which seem complex in an even simpler way!
March 30, 2019
روزیو میبینم که بعد از کنکور نشستم این کتابو میخونم و حتی خیلی بیشتر از الان ازش لذت میبرم.
اما به هدف اصلیم که اشنایی بیشتر با دو نظریه نسبیت خاص و عام بود رسیدم :)
اما به هدف اصلیم که اشنایی بیشتر با دو نظریه نسبیت خاص و عام بود رسیدم :)
March 14, 2020
Yes, brilliant!
This book is very easy to digest. It is not just a book about the theory of relativity, but also about Albert Einstein’s life and the background of the myriad of other scientists and discoveries, such as Galileo, that led to the theory of relativity. Also the effects and ramifications of relativity are presented, such as the nuclear bomb etc. Highly recommend if you are a beginner!
This book is very easy to digest. It is not just a book about the theory of relativity, but also about Albert Einstein’s life and the background of the myriad of other scientists and discoveries, such as Galileo, that led to the theory of relativity. Also the effects and ramifications of relativity are presented, such as the nuclear bomb etc. Highly recommend if you are a beginner!
August 10, 2023
This book provides a good overview of the work of Einstein and general physics of the early 20th century (which truly was a golden age).
The explanation of physical phenomenons sometimes suffers from the 'curse of knowledge' (overestimating what the readers already know) by making fast deductions. But if you are interested in the subject, it is certainly not a hurdle that can't be overcome.
The explanation of physical phenomenons sometimes suffers from the 'curse of knowledge' (overestimating what the readers already know) by making fast deductions. But if you are interested in the subject, it is certainly not a hurdle that can't be overcome.
January 1, 2019
This was very helpful. I understand a bit more about Einstein's contribution to physics. However, it is still tough to figure out how Einstein made these intellectual leaps. Likely I'll never understand that.
February 4, 2019
Great Introduction to Einstein
The author is really good at explaining complicated concepts. The diagrams are very clear and helpful. The book is written in a nicely flowing manner. For me it was a page turner.
The author is really good at explaining complicated concepts. The diagrams are very clear and helpful. The book is written in a nicely flowing manner. For me it was a page turner.
March 30, 2021
کتاب بسیار زیبایی در رابطه با شناخت این شخصیت تأثیرگذار قرن بیستم است. به زبانی ساده کشفیات علمی را توضیح می دهد.
به نظر بنده، این کتاب هم برای متخصصان علاقه مند و هم برای علاقه مندان غیر متخصص مفید و قابل استفاده است.
من خودم مطالب بسیاری از آن یاد گرفتم.
به نظر بنده، این کتاب هم برای متخصصان علاقه مند و هم برای علاقه مندان غیر متخصص مفید و قابل استفاده است.
من خودم مطالب بسیاری از آن یاد گرفتم.
March 31, 2021
Fantastic book! It gives a biography of Einstein and an elementary physics background in prerequisites for understanding Einsteins work, as well as an elementary explanation of his work in Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and the Universe. This book answered many of my questions that I had about Einstein and physics, but never fully understood. I am now a big fan of Einstein, his work, and the author of this book, Carlos I. Calle. I will definitely read more books from him. This is a book I would love to have on my shelf, with many bookmarks in it.
May 14, 2022
I'm a little frustrated by this book. To the author's credit, it's called Einstein for Dummies, not E=mc sqd for Dummies. So, I put aside my annoyance that there was a lot of text to get through before you get to the explanations of the special and general theories of relativity, or anything to do with quantum mechanics.
At first, I got frustrated because Calle kept making statements (about mechanics, light, relativity, etc. ...) but nothing was explained. All it did was make me think over and over, "But how, ... why? After a frustrating slog through too many pages, I realized I ought to skip ahead because there were chapters later on that did a deeper dive into the two relativity theories and then the quantum theory.
So, I skipped to Page 111. I recommend this to anyone who picked up this book for the same reason I did - to understand those three things. Actually, I recommend skipping further - go to Page 124. Maybe.
Even in Part III: The Special Theory of Relativity, I'm frustrated by the non-for-dummies way this book is written.
E.g.:
"If light traveled through the ether, the Earth did as well. And if the Earth were moving through the ether, the speed of light would change. When the Earth moved in the same direction as the ether, it would gain some ground on the light beam, and you would measure a smaller value. When the Earth moved in the opposite direction in its orbit around the sun, you'd measure a larger value for the speed of light, because you'd be losing ground."
That's just not very effective at teaching "Dummies" anything.
The author had explained that scientists named the substance that light travels through "ether". We're told that they thought light traveled at 300,000 km per second. How would the Earth "gain some ground" on the light beam in that hypothetical? I think what he means is simply that the backwards velocity or whatever its called - the rate of expansion of the gap between the two would decelerate. Or something. But to write that it would "gain some ground" is confusing and not helpful. It made me feel like a dummy. Like I must be missing something. So I drew diagrams.
I'm going to keep working at this book. If it gets better, I'll update my review. Regardless, there are too many sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this book that are not helpful at all in trying to understand Einstein's theories.
At first, I got frustrated because Calle kept making statements (about mechanics, light, relativity, etc. ...) but nothing was explained. All it did was make me think over and over, "But how, ... why? After a frustrating slog through too many pages, I realized I ought to skip ahead because there were chapters later on that did a deeper dive into the two relativity theories and then the quantum theory.
So, I skipped to Page 111. I recommend this to anyone who picked up this book for the same reason I did - to understand those three things. Actually, I recommend skipping further - go to Page 124. Maybe.
Even in Part III: The Special Theory of Relativity, I'm frustrated by the non-for-dummies way this book is written.
E.g.:
"If light traveled through the ether, the Earth did as well. And if the Earth were moving through the ether, the speed of light would change. When the Earth moved in the same direction as the ether, it would gain some ground on the light beam, and you would measure a smaller value. When the Earth moved in the opposite direction in its orbit around the sun, you'd measure a larger value for the speed of light, because you'd be losing ground."
That's just not very effective at teaching "Dummies" anything.
The author had explained that scientists named the substance that light travels through "ether". We're told that they thought light traveled at 300,000 km per second. How would the Earth "gain some ground" on the light beam in that hypothetical? I think what he means is simply that the backwards velocity or whatever its called - the rate of expansion of the gap between the two would decelerate. Or something. But to write that it would "gain some ground" is confusing and not helpful. It made me feel like a dummy. Like I must be missing something. So I drew diagrams.
I'm going to keep working at this book. If it gets better, I'll update my review. Regardless, there are too many sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this book that are not helpful at all in trying to understand Einstein's theories.
May 23, 2021
This book is filled to the brim with information on Einstein and his works. It is a guide to Einstein and his works and a great starting point for anyone interested in physics. The author explains physics without the scientific jargon associated with the field. I really enjoyed his writing style. The reason this does not get 5 is: it was rather long. I mean I can't blame the author, as it really is quite a hard topic to write for Dummies, but it took an eternity to get through.
April 5, 2015
As I have read many books of this genre found it very elementary. However it's a good read for someone with no background knowledge. Only advice is that this book is not about relativity but Einstein as the name suggests.
October 24, 2008
I finally finished it. I did learn quite a bit about the universe... just don't ask me to explain it to you.
October 1, 2008
How black holes work, intro to quantum physics and thermodynamics, time travel theory ,how the atomic bomb works, and of course relativity are all to be found in this book.
July 27, 2010
Toda la materia conocida (soles, planetas, estrellas, galaxias) es solo el 5% de lo que existe!!!
May 9, 2014
Not an easy read at all and I will definitely need to read it again soon, but it fits give quite a some insight to Einstein's work and it did help me start to get my head around some if his ideas.
November 13, 2015
Simple and pleasant read. Explained Einstein's theories in a clear and concise manner.
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January 10, 2016Not bad.
June 3, 2016
Leuk, wetenschappelijk en informatief. Op sommige momenten nogal lastig om volledig te begrijpen, al ligt dat wss meer aan de (moeilijk makkelijk uit te leggen) inhoud dan aan de schrijfstijl.
August 22, 2018
It was definitely not an easy read for me. The initial section on Einstein's relationships was a bit boring but the sections where the author talks about various discoveries, is a little difficult to understand. Will surely have to re read the book for a better understanding of the genius.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews