50 Physics Ideas You Really Need to Know

50 Ideas You Really Need to Know

by Joanne Baker

In this book, Joanne Baker unravels the complexities of 20th-century scientific theory for a general readership. She explains ideas at the cutting-edge of scientific enquiry, making them comprehensible and accessible to the layperson.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Reference, Stem, Popular Science, Mathematics

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Joanne Baker is a writer and editor based in London. She has edited and written comment, books, and arts and opinion articles at the international science journal Nature for the past decade and formerly was space and earth editor at Science magazine. She has also written three books on physics, astronomy, and quantum physics. She has a background in astronomy research, where she studied quasars, black holes, galaxy evolution, and cosmology.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The executive summary: great little book, especially if you are in the humanities and want to learn more about what the "other" side talks about all the time.

Elucidation: to me, this book presents itself as setting out to do one thing, and it does it very well - to inform the reader about the basic theories, ideas, and concepts that are some of the most important in physics today. Everything from parallax to black holes and so on.

What this book does well is not only give you simple, easy to understand examples, but it also gives you the basic, core concepts of the idea that is currently being discussed so that one can do what is most critical when talking/discussing such ideas - truly understand them so they can be discussed intelligently and coherently.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever want to know EXACTLY what the theory of relativity is, or how orbits function, or any of the other topics that are in this book. It doesn't get bogged down with a lot of formulas and equations (something I am not particularly fond of, though I understand the need and importance of them), and it often uses simple and easy-to-understand examples when explaining concepts.

Some people might say that this book is light on the actual math - that is a good thing in this case. There is a huge difference that some science people don't see. It's been my experience that sometimes people who live this stuff are too blinded by their own enthusiasm for the issue, which isn't bad but can be frustrating (for all involved). Alternately, the other instance is when people who live this stuff can become too "Sheldon-esque" (Big Bang Theory show reference there) in their attitude as to why they can get and everyone else who can't is a moron. Not everyone is gifted at thinking "science", but many of us want to understand it still, and this book is for them.

While knowing the math is critical to working with these concepts, being able to understand them is the first step. More importantly, if people are going to buy-in to such concepts and support them, especially in today's day and age, where science seems to be constantly under attack by religious fundamentalists and anyone else who feels that the science doesn't support their outlook on life, it is critical that the basic understanding of such concepts is supported and encouraged with such books as this one. I won't go into this debate any further other than to say that when people say "I wish I actually understood what XYZ theory is...", I can now point them to this book.

Bottom line - quick, easy read (language-wise, as the concepts themselves sometimes take some time to construct mentally). No arcane terms or technical language (not too much, anyways). Each idea is given about 3-4 pages of space, so they can be digested in "chunks" over time. Highly recommend if you are not a "science" person and yet want to know/learn more about the laws of reality that govern our daily life.

[Menglong Youk · Rating 4 out of 5]

50 Physics Ideas You Really Need to Know is a collection of, you guess it, ideas from classical physics to modern physics. It highlights important moments of the discoveries in summaries with short biography of the prominent figures that developed the ideas. I'd recommend this book to those who need to look up at what we have gone so far in physics in a short reading, but I wouldn't recommend it to those who don't have background in physics or those who want the details of the ideas presented in the book.

[Nərmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for students and for people who want to remember some physics stuff. Despite reading it in a snail-like pace, I really enjoyed it and learned many things that I have missed. Its short, summary-like concept makes it perfect for a simple coffee-time read.

[Hamid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful science book. A must-read for anyone. This book covers almost all important themes in physics. If you want to get a summary of what physics is all about, then this is the right book for you. It involves all ideas from classical Newtonian physics to cosmology, relativity and quantum mechanics. Even though I knew the gist of the main stories behind these ideas, some concepts were still new to me. It was educational and I learned so much. Even if you're not into science, I honestly think you should try it.

[WARDA AS' SAEEDI · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب مرجعي هام للقواعد الفيزيائية عبر مر العصور، يتميز الكتاب بخط زمني في كل صفحة من صفحاته لكي تعرف الوقت الذي ظهرت فيه تلك الأفكار بالإضافة إلى ملخص عن كل عالم فيزيائي. كتاب دسم جداً لغير الفيزيائيين، لاحظت وجود بعض الأخطاء الكتابية و التي يمكن ملاحظتها و لا تشكل عائق أمام فهم المقصد الرئيسي للكاتب. سأعاود قراءته مرة أخرى!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feynman was so taken with his diagrams that he painted them on the side
of his van. When someone asked why, he replied simply “because I’m
Richard Feynman.”

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my great regrets is that I never studied physics in high school. I've done a lot of reading since then, but it's hard to make up for that lack of fundamental understanding. I was hoping this book might give me some of that while speaking at a level I could understand, and while I suppose to some extent it did, there were still times when it went over my head (as well as, to my surprise, a couple of times I understood more than was described), and it wasn't as engaging as I hoped. Science generally gets me pretty excited, but my eyes did glaze over from time to time. Still, it was a good broad view of some fundamental principles, and if what it did was lead me to read some more on a few of the subjects, well, I guess I'd have to call that successful.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, simple refresher for those of us who haven't gone near physics since the last time it was required course credit. Don't expect to head straight to a career in rocket science after finishing it, but Baker has a good head for clearly explaining the fundamentals of many familiar and some not-so-familiar concepts. Makes for excellent "on the John" reading. Some excellent Newtonian physics on display in your own little home lab.

[Francesco Granitto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro scritto per gli amanti della fisica che vogliono approcciarsi alla materia con un linguaggio semplice ma non per questo povero: al netto della quasi totale mancanza di formule, vengono enunciati 50 tra i più importanti principi di fisica moderna, spaziando dal mondo dell'elettromagnetismo a quello della quantistica.
Un percorso diviso in aree specifiche che si richiamano numerose volte e che permettono non solo di conoscere le basi di questi principi, ma anche di deliziarsi con aneddoti sulle stesse ricerche e una brevissima biografia dei fisici responsabili di tali scoperte.
Un breviario che può essere utile come introduzione per letture poi più complesse e specifiche, piacevole e scorrevole.

[Julie Richert-Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is my elementary primer when I run into material about which I have no education. I found this one indispensable in working through Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity. In that context, it was refreshingly accessible, simple, clear, and comprehensive, as opposed to the labyrinth that the "intra-web" can be.
I love this handsome stack of reference guides: they comfort me with their bite-sized answers to all of the things I don't know.

[Jana Vonšák · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides a reader with information promised by the cover - 50 core physics ideas explained in a way that everyone can understand (almost) all of the core ideas without prior deeper knowledge. My curiosity is piqued - I want to know more!

[Harsh Thaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to physics models & concepts ranging from Big Bang to Black holes.

Added advantage is the concepts, laws and formulas explained in layman terms which will retain the interest even of a reader from non scientific background.

[Ricky Bosso · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a patzer like myself, this is a good, broad introduction to some of the most important concepts in the physical sciences. The book itself can get quite thought-provoking at points.

[Carlos Hurtado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduccion bastante descente a 50 temas fisicos que van desde las bases de la mecanica de Newton hasta temas de cosmologia. Recomendable si es tu el primer libro de divulgacion de ciencia y lo lees por diversion. Si has estudiado fisica o leido otros libros de divulgacion probablemente encontraras muy poco nuevo en este libro. Algunos temas estan conectados con otros, otros son completamente independientes. La autora los agrupa por secciones, pero bien podrian leerse en cualquier orden. La forma en que se explica cada tema es amena y facil de seguir. Casi no existen formulas ni razonamiento matematico, el libro se dedica a explicar conceptualmente las ideas y/o la historia detras de ellas. Algunos capitulos se encuentran amenizados por una super corta biografia del fisico que tuvo la idea brillante de la cual se habla en el capitulo en cuestion. El libro es todo lo que se puede esperar de un libro que escoge 50 temas de fisica y trata de explicarlos en 207 paginas. Obviamente se disculpa el hecho de que en el capitulo sobre "la particula divina" afirma que el boson de Higgs aun no se ha descubierto, al igual que el capitulo sobre "relatividad general" y las ondas gravitacionales, ya que el libro se escribio antes de que esos descubrimientos fueran confirmados.

[Krocht Ehlundovič · Rating 5 out of 5]

Áno, dal som tomu 5 hviezd, lebo som sa pri tom čo-to naučil, ale ako pri Šnídlovi - kto tému pozná, nebude výskať radosťou. Pre znalého je to mentálna apatia, pre amatéra ako ja - je to svetlo do neba.

Dal som si ju symbolicky u kamaráta, v Luxe, po opici ako horúcu kuraciu polievku. Moja myseľ bola v stave si všetko predstaviť, čo Joan popisovala zrozumiteľným a ľahkým jazykom (samozrejme, že ten, kto to číta musí mať isté základné - nie elementárne, znalosti). Ja som si k fyzike pričuchával kvôli práci už nejaký čas, takže som nebol úplne neandertálske ucho, no i tak isté časti som si musel i viac krát prečítať, zavrieť oči, dať dokopy znalosti fyziky a generovať v predstave - bolo to ohromné!

Kniha sú dvere pre toho, kto chce potom vedieť viac o jednotlivých oblastiach. Verím, že ich poobjavujem ešte pár... No opäť pripomínam, je to len plytký náčrt fyziky, teda obyvatelia - fyzici, nehnevajte sa môjmu nadšeniu knihou.

Mľak!
Ďakujem Hektorko, že ju máš v knižnici.

[Christine]

Like chocolates for the logic side of my brain

This is a lovely, lightly humorous, entirely enjoyable book that's chock full of brain-bending information. I love it because it seems geared toward intermediate-level readers--much more meat & potatoes than an "intro to.." book, without scaring anybody off by cutting straight to the math.

I do want to delve more deeply into the mathematical side of physics; but I want to understand its beautiful abstract concepts first.

This is a great book for that. :)

[David Schuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute summary of notable physics concepts with pleasant background info on the scientists. VERY disappointing that one of the books and arts editors of _Nature_ would get things like escape velocity wrong: "A rocket leaving Earth's pull must have this speed." A frictionless golfball, maybe, Dr. Baker. Once properly annotated to correct the five or so glaring errors, you're left with a nice intro to physics concepts, chock full of British spellings. At least she knows what a billion is.

[Krista]

This is a good coffee-table book. There are vignettes about the scientists, a visual timeline, and accessible descriptions. Not in-depth, of course, but I keep forgetting the second law thermodynamics, so now I can just look it up. =)

[Laila Tarek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will always use it for future reference to understand the basics of what my boyfriend is saying when he's fangirling about physics.

yes, this gets 3 stars because I don't like physics. simple as that.

[Boris Filipovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

After almost two years, I was reading a book where Einstein was mentioned that he recognized Shakespeare as the most influential and inspiring author who influenced to numerous of the history greatest minds from Tesla, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs and many more in totally opposed fields, suddenly remembered how much this book influenced me when I was reading it and afterwards.
The sheer thought of the known facts about new discoveries in quantum physics astonished me again after several years when I was reading "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Carpa, I saw this book on a friends book shelf and borrowed it, and I did read it in just a few days writing down almost all of the 50 physics laws, axioms and some still unproven theories and it starts temporally from Newton, and early discoveries to Einstein theories of relativity and special relativity to anthropy, black matter, black holes, but all main 50 are for beginners and really expressed in written in a understandable language.
I was so exhilarated when reading it because of the absolute and infinite complexity of our at first glance simple reality.
Everything is intertwined and we are still farther from many truths and discoveries about our cosmos.
i recommend it totally to everyone.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

JOANNE BAKER a studiat ştiinţele naturii la Cambridge şi şi-a luat doctoratul la Universitatea din Sydney în 1995. Este editor specializat pe fizică la revista Science, scriind mai ales despre spaţiu şi ştiinţa pământului.

"Fizica nu este, insa, doar o colectie de idei abstracte. Este ancorata in realitate si in experiment. Metoda stiintifica perfectioneaza continuu legile fizicii, la fel cum se intampla cu programele informatice, pe masura ce defectele sunt remediate si sunt adaugate noi module. Daca rezultatele experimentelor cer acest lucru, pot fi generate schimbari importante in modul de a gandi, dar acceptarea acestor schimbari cere timp. A trebuit sa treaca mai mult de o generatie pentru ca ideea lui Copernic ca Pamantul se invarte in jurul Soarelui sa fie acceptata, dar ritmul s-a accelerat, iar fizica cuantica si teoria relativitatii au fost asimilate intr-un deceniu. Prin urmare, chiar si legile fizicii aplicate cu cel mai mare succes sunt puse in mod constant la incercare."

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is hurt significantly by its framing. These are not 50 ideas that the average person needs to know about Physics.

I can't think of a reason that the average person on the street will ever care about Bragg's Law, Schrodinger's Wave Equation, Feynman Diagrams, or M-theory.

It covers no real-world applications, even though things like sports, music, and medicine have proven effective tools to help students see the practicality of the discipline.

Nor is it a good introduction to the subject.

It mentions nothing about vectors, units/dimensions, scientific notation, or significant figures. It doesn't cover waves or sound. It leaves out the concept of fields.

The book is missing several famous physics experiments like Cavendish's experiment, Rutherford's gold foil experiment, Young's double-slit experiment, etc.

Rather this book is a kind of Physics mishmash of topics with varying depth and quality of coverage. For pretty much any purpose I can think of there are better books out there.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the main ideas of modern physics are extremely counterintuitive. Regarding quantum mechanics, the Nobel Laurette physicist Richard Feynman famously said, “You don’t really understand it, you just get used to it.” The primary reason that Albert Einstein did not receive a Nobel Prize for the theory of relativity is that not enough people understood it at the time.
The physics topics covered in this book are generally the more advanced ones that have wide applicability. All of the truly revolutionary ideas such as Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, Pauli’s exclusion principle, Olbers’ paradox, Fermi paradox, Rutherford’s atom, string theory and Schrodinger’s cat are all given a four-page description.
Even though the topics are often extremely difficult to understand, the author does an excellent job of explaining each of them in the four pages allotted to them. This book is one of the best primers on the topics of modern physics that you can find.

[Nadia Haaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great double-decker bus tour of the endless city of physics. The 50 Ideas you really need to know range from classical physics to quantum confusion and astronomy with a philosophical spin. The author manages to effectively condense big ideas into a mere 4 pages, however some topics, the Heisenberg Uncertainty and Bernoulli Principle for example, are not lucidly explained for readers whose previous knowledge is limited to basic schooling. In these many scenarios, you will definitely have to Google things up. But overall, MOST topics are well-explained, you might just need to follow up on some confusing things with your own research. The writing is easy to read and not too dense or dry - The author keeps you interested with funny or thought-sparking quotes, timelines, and fun facts.

In conclusion, this book is a great introduction to key physics concepts. Brief explanations guide your curiosity for further Physics exploration. The science adventure doesn't end when the pages do.

[Tom Calvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent overview of physics for a nonexpert reader. The 50 ideas are organised into parts on matter/motion, waves, quantum, atoms, and space-time.

The maths is almost entirely absent except for the occasional famous equation or law. Everything feels like it strikes a good balance between careful explanation and clear accessibility.

Admittedly, there were times it failed to hold my attention, but it was also mind-blowing and awe-inspiring to be reminded and informed about the remarkable physical limits and properties of the universe.

The series also incorporates engaging features like timelines of key dates and 3-5 word catchphrase summaries of each idea that linger in the mind.

Probably since this 2007 edition many other physics discoveries have been made, but that does not change the timeless scientific genius of the 50 covered in this book.

[BeesReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've owned this book for years but never read it. Prompted to read because a friend saw it on my shelves and bought herself a copy and read it.

The book was published in 2007 so in some cases the science has moved on (eg Higgs Boson).

Not as good as I thought it would be. I found the first half a bit tedious. I have a physics degree so it wasn't the concepts, I can't really put my finger on it. You'd think with 4 sides per topic written in reasonably simple terms it would be light.

I enjoyed the second half more possibly because I just set to to cover 3 topics a day.

[Marrei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Docela zklamání. Na jednu stranu jsem ráda, že tomu rozumím a z té maturity si ještě něco pamatuji, ale... Matematika z téhle edice mi přišla mnohem lepší. Tady jsem měla problém trochu s obsahem (občas lehce zmatené, opakování jednoho faktu na několika po sobě jdoucích stránkách), ale i českým vydáním - překladatel i redakce. Jako jo, kniha o fyzice, ale ani tam pravopisné chyby nepatří.

[غادَة . · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب جالب للشغف والإلهام لمحبين العلم وواحد من أمتع الكتب التي قرأتها على الإطلاق ..
أفكار عميقة بشرح مبسط وممتع
أعجبني إضافة نبذة عن الشخصية وأيضًا الربط مع الحاضر والسلسلة الزمنية للأحداث الخاصة بكل موضوع في الأسفل..
أعتقد بأن هذا النوع من الكُتب يجب أن يقرأها الجميع وبالأخص الفئة التي تكره الفيزياء وتجد صعوبة في ربطه مع الحياة
أفكر باقتناء السلسلة كام��ة ( :

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting little book packed with wonderfully written, easy to understand explanations of some very difficult physics concepts! Great survey of important physics ideas and physics history. Enjoyed it a lot and learned some things too. Wish there was one of these written for chemistry and biology! 😎

[George Kasnic · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tour through the world of physics. I was able to easily digest the first third of the book. The second third had some ideas which I certainly did not master but gained exposure to. The final third was more philosophical where physics wrestles with the reality it tries to master and where that effort may actually define the reality.