Physik: Von der Schwerkraft bis zur Quantenmechanik

by Isaac McPhee, Kirsten Lehmann (Translator), Martin Rometsch (Translator)

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Physics, History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Isaac was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and, but for a brief four-year stint navigating the streets of Manhattan (adventures which will, almost certainly, warrant a book of their own), has lived in western Washington his entire life. After majoring in English Literature, Isaac actively pursued his passions for both learning and writing.

Isaac experimented with numerous novels and short stories before making his way into non-fiction. In early 2007 Isaac made the decision to learn and write about physics, to paraphrase George Mallory, "Because it was there." Always eager for a new challenge, Isaac followed through and devoted himself to the study of math and science, writing hundreds of online articles on this and other subjects. After five years, Isaac finally published his first book: "The Bedside Book of Physics" (2012, Quid Publishing), which was released in five countries and translated into three languages.

In recent years Isaac has focused much of his writing on theology and philosophy, actively updating a blog on Christian Apologetics and religious philosophy, while still pursuing his love for interesting fiction, still working regularly on novels, experimenting in detective fiction, historical fiction, religious fiction, and middle grade fiction.

Reviews

[Ruya Abdulaziz Al kharusi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat summaries and simple explanations of scientific theories and their history. I wish I read this in high school, however now that I am about to finish an engineering degree is served more as a reminder. Inspiring for young reader to pursue science for sure.

[HT]

Read maybe 40 pages in German. It wasn’t the most comfortable read in German but the content wasn’t very attractive too. Vielleicht meiner Meinung würde was anders sein, wenn ich das Buch auf Englisch lesen.

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent

[Sylvia Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did I read this? No one knows. But you know what I do know now? More about physics. This book pulled me through the waves and forces units.

[maarten peere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Echt interessant maar soms moeilijk te begrijpen dan maar 2 maal overlezen

[Aurora Lion Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Got it from the library and it was sticky :( might buy it one day and adjust my rating. Just leaving it here at 3 stars so I don't forget it. Library books are low key gross man lol

[Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides the reader with clear explanations of various topics in physics. I personally enjoyed this book a lot, because physics in general fascinates me. But I do have some comments.

The synopsis states that you don't need any prior knowledge of physics in order to understand this book, however, you do. If you really want to understand what the book is talking about, you have to be at least a little familiar with all the topics it discusses.

Also, sometimes the book makes claims without mentioning that scientists made those. What I mean by this is that it presents ideas as if they were the absolute and definitive truth, instead of saying that they are statements.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHILE READING:

If ONLY I had had a book like this at school!!!!!

This is a fairly easily digestible history of the development of physics
from the Ancient Greeks up to today's startling Quantam Mechanics.
From here I have several heavier more detailed tomes to tackle.

Although I'm only up to page 38 after two weeks reading,
I've actually read about half this book's 176 pages and
some of it twice.

WHY???????????????
Because whenever it refers you forward or back I follow the thread
and find out more about/or be reminded about Aristotle or Alhazen
or refraction or blackbody radiation or Saturn's orbit etc.,etc.

The biographies and drawings/photos of the scientists humanises
and dramatises these amazing discoveries through relatively simple
experiments which they or other explorers then somehow express mathematically.
I feel constantly amazed, stupid, humble and informed and moved.
To tears, when the dying Tycho Brahe confides to his young student Johannes Kepler:
"Let me not seem to have died in vain." And Kepler kept good faith.
To laughter, when the eccentric Paul Dirac, after being chided by a student
for not answering when he had complained that he had not understood a previous problem,
responded drily:"That was a statement, not a question."

Isaac McPhee is a wonderful dispenser of difficult knowledge.
But he fails to elaborate on his statements that in the West
"science fell off the list of priorities" and that there was
"more than 1,500 years of scientific stagnation."
I will not be so polite.
The Rise of Christianity led to the Decline of most things intelligent.

[Al Bità · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a series of four related texts published by Pier 9/Quid Publishing as 'refresher' books on their particular subjects, and together with the Chemistry edition, represents the best of the four.

I quite enjoyed this work on a couple of levels: first as a summary of the main concepts of Physics; secondly, through its use of potted histories of the main players throughout history, it helps place ideas within their historical context, thus providing a sense of the development of humanity's ideas on this subject. Most of us last dealt with this subject in our schooldays, and rarely if ever referred to them again (more's the pity) — so books of this type are a wonderful way to re-connect and re-familiarise oneself with these essential concepts.

For those interested in this discipline, this book not only helps us to reacquaint ourselves with the overarching sweep of a wonderful history of discovery and inventiveness on which so many of the achievements of humanity and out modern lifestyles depend, but can also assist in countering modern generic ignorance of the basics of the discipline. It also helps to bring us more or less up to date on the more mysterious realms of Quantum physics, which at ultra-microscopic levels, seem to contradict basic classic beliefs of the physical world, but which in their own way promise even more astonishing developments for the future.

[Goranm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poučen in dovolj nazoren sprehod skozi dolgo in vznemirljivo zgodovino kraljice znanosti. Dostopen vsakemu pozornemu in radovednemu bralcu, ki mu razkrije najpomembnejše mejne kamne pri odkrivanju skrivnosti narave, od antike do najnovejših odkritij v teoriji osnovnih delcev in iskanju teorije vsega. Marsikoga bo ta knjiga vzpodbudila, da bo iskal naprej.

[Peter A. van Tilburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers an reasonably understandable overview of the physics development over the historoy untill right before the discovery of the Higgs particle. For me the most interesting part was to find that uncertainty seems to be a major element in the physical reality. I wonder whether this influences the deterministic wordl view. Coincidence seems to be a major part in life.

[Ryan Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is one of the reasons why I enjoyed GCSE physics and why I am continuing it on to A-Level. I highly recommend this book to any one whom has any interest in Physics as it breaks down the key concepts brilliantly.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The format and the design of the book were interesting but the content was extremely superficial. I prefer to read a solid paperback exploring a subject in detail

[Gregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clear introduction to physics; for everyone.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable, understandable, brilliant as a tool to better understand physics in a broad sense for us laypeople.

[Maarten VG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction to various fysics theories. Although, if you have no foreknowledge, it can be a pretty tough book to get through and understand.