The Equations: Icons of Knowledge

by Sander Bais

The mysteries of the physical world speak to us through equations--compact statements about the way nature works, expressed in nature's language, mathematics. In this book by the renowned Dutch physicist Sander Bais, the equations that govern our world unfold in all their formal grace--and their deeper meaning as core symbols of our civilization. Trying to explain science without equations is like trying to explain art without illustrations. Consequently Bais has produced a book that, unlike any other aimed at nonscientists, delves into the details--historical, biographical, practical, philosophical, and mathematical--of seventeen equations that form the very basis of what we know of the universe today. A mathematical objet d'art in its own right, the book conveys the transcendent excitement and beauty of these icons of knowledge as they reveal and embody the fundamental truths of physical reality. These are the seventeen equations that represent radical turning points in our understanding--from mechanics to electrodynamics, hydrodynamics to relativity, quantum mechanics to string theory--their meanings revealed through the careful and critical observation of patterns and motions in nature. Mercifully short on dry theoretical elaborations, the book presents these equations as they are--with the information about their variables, history, and applications that allows us to chart their critical function, and their crucial place, in the complex web of modern science. Reading The Equations , we can hear nature speaking to us in its native language.

Genres: Physics, Science

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Sander Bais is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam and External Faculty Member of the Santa Fe Institute. He is the author of The Equations: Icons of Knowledge and Very Special Relativity: An Illustrated Guide.

Reviews

[Ísabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally a popular science book that dares to use formulas ! A very well done approach to explain the state of today"s physics by the formulas it uses. And it"s still quite up to date too.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het is een mooi boek om te zien en leuk om passages uit te lezen, maar van A tot Z blijft het niet genoeg boeien. (Wellicht zou een serie 3blue1brown videos met precies deze tekst wel werken voor mij.)
Het voelt ook erg als een pensionado-boek, een boek wat mannen met tijd lezen om zich slim te voelen. Er komt geen vrouw in voor, er is niks wat de huidige status qua uitdaagd.