Understanding Physics: Volume 2: Light, Magnetism, and Electricity

Understanding Physics, Asimov #2

by Isaac Asimov

The great transition from Newtonian physics to the physics of today forms
one of the most important chapters in the annals of scientific progress. Climaxing with Plank’s and Einstein’s landmark contributions, this immense expansion of knowledge is examined and explained by an author unsurpassed in writing for the non expert.

In Light, Magnetism and Electricity, Isaac Asimov succeeds in making superbly clear the essential foundation of understanding the science that plays so paramount a role in the shaping of our world.

Genres: Science, Physics, Nonfiction

249 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Austin Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great text for the difficult task of explaining electromagnetism (and to a lesser extent optics) in an intuitive manner. I found the first volume on mechanics was better illustrated, and certain sections of this volume (mostly those on magnetism) really would have benefitted from small illustrations. As with the first volume, this book explains the historical context of certain discoveries alongside the physics themselves, which helps ground some of the ideas. Interesting to see how much faith a 1960s Asimov had in superconductivity technology, he brings it up quite often.

[Timothy A Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding Physics: Light, Magnetism, and Electricity (LME) provides an excellent explanation of topic of light, magnetism, and electricity and the relationships among them. Asimov is a master oat taking complex subjects and making them understandable to the lay person or to students studying a topic for the first time. In typical fashion, Asimov, in LME, takes a historical perspective on the development of physics in the topical areas. He takes the reader on a voyage of discovery, providing needed context that makes the subject matter more accessible and more interesting. Understanding how one discovery led to another, the dead-ends encountered, etc., facilitates deeper and longer-term understanding of the subject matter. I have only 2 issues with the book. First, LME has not been updated since the 1960s, so there are some advancements in our understanding of LME that obviously are not covered. However, LME is a primer, so the basics are all covered. Second, unlike some of Asimov’s other guides to science, his Understanding Physics volumes include very few illustrations. Rather than describe the geometry of a Wheatstone Bridge, for example, it would be better to see an illustration. Some word descriptions of more complex subjects, without any illustrations, can be difficult for a lay person to comprehend. Also, some sample calculations would be better conveyed if separated from the text as in physics textbooks.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and concise description of our understanding of physics at the time. While there are a (very) few dated lines, this is still a solid introduction to the science.

[Tell Tale Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Gregory Kerkman

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I took a full year of physics in college, I learned most of my physics from the three books in the Understanding Physics series by Isaac Asimov. As proof, I offer the fact that I scored a respectable 8 on the physics section of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) that I took before starting the college physics class. My study of physics in preparation for the test began when I purchased and read the three books in the series. When I was in the physics class, I understood all of the ideas; the only part that presented any difficulty was applying calculus to the problems.
Asimov has a knack for writing about science in a way that allows for the rapid and complete learning of the concepts. This book covers the basics of light, magnetism and electricity and how they are intimately interrelated. . Unlike many other authors, Asimov does not hesitate to use equations in his explanations. I commend him for this, as you cannot learn physics without equations and the temptation to avoid them was no doubt strong. If you want to learn the fundamentals of physics, the three-volume Understanding Physics series by Asimov is the best place to start.

This review also appears on Amazon

[Steve Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! This is the volume that covers the transition from Newtonian models to relativistic ones. I thought it was like 90% well explained although I got a little lost in a few of the sections that really called out for illustration in the electromagnetism section so i'm docking this a star. I'm 2/3rds through volume 3 which is stronger so far. Overall completely loving this series because it adds back the context and historical flow that you miss when studying this in school.

[M. W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic overview of basic physics. I've read it multiple times and use it as a reference. It combines the three volumes of Asimov's original publication (1966) into one very big book.

Volume 1: Motion, Sound, and Heat
Volume 2: Light, Magnetism, and Electricity
Volume 3: The Electron, Proton, and Neutron

[Curtiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Good Doctor presents a comprehensive treatment of every aspect of physics in this three-volume edition, which covers the properties of Wave Phenomena in Volume 2 Light, Magnetism & Electricity.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series of books long ago and lost them when I moved out of my parents' house. They were, by far, the best science texts I have ever read.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series by Asimov helped me in the midst of my high school physics class, which I found difficult.