Physics: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #606

by Sidney Perkowitz

Physics, the fundamental science of matter and energy, encompasses all levels of nature from the subatomic to the cosmic, and underlies much of the technology around us. Understanding the physics of our universe is an essential aspect of humanity's quest to understand our environment and our place within it. Doing physics enables us to explore the interaction between environment and human society, and can help us to work towards the future sustainability of the planet.

This Very Short Introduction provides an overview of how this pervasive science came to be and how it who funds it, how physicists are trained and how they think, and how physics supports the technology we all use. Sidney Perkowitz presents the theories and outcomes of pure and applied physics from ideas of the Greek natural philosophers to modern quantum mechanics, cosmology, digital electronics and energy production. Considering its most consequential experiments, including recent results in elementary particles, gravitational waves and materials science, he also discusses outside the lab, the effects of physics on society, culture, and humanity's vision of its place in the universe.


ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, Physics, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Sidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. Sidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. Sidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. "

Reviews

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not only does it suffer a bit from excessive breadth of subject, it's only loosely organized, which leads to Perkowitz repeating himself occasionally. For example, in chapter 3, he goes straight from talking about the male/female ratio in physics PhDs to explaining how Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth circa 240 BCE, and he does this even though the origin of physics in ancient Greece was covered in chapter 1 and he has another section on women in physics in chapter 6. There's a decent book in here, but it needs an editor. Still, you might benefit from reading it, but be advised that it puts more emphasis on history of physics and the contributions of physics to technological development than it does on theory.

[Alok Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

someone not having prior knowledge of physics should try this to develop an appeal to the subject.
interesting engaging informative

[Dani Pongratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would've been Sheldon's answer to Penny's "could you teach me a little physics?".

[Orlando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speaking not only as a non-physicist, but as someone who never studied physics even at the high school level, I found this book to serve its purpose admirably.

It is structured well, beginning with the historical and theoretical development of physics from its primitive Hellenic days into the Standard Model and quantum mechanics. The discussion then goes into the significant practical applications of physics in just about every aspect of daily life. The book concludes with a chapter discussing the important unanswered questions within physics research as well as key areas where advances in physics will prove immensely valuable (such as clean energy and nanotechnology).

The tone is sober and very matter-of-fact, which is fine, but a young person reading this book considering a career within physics might find the book a bit dry. It might not be THE book that inspires the bright minds to dedicate their lives to discovering the missing particle that makes up dark matter, but it should serve as a good complement to that book.

[Nicolas Name · Rating 4 out of 5]

It covers a lot of ground - from the history of physics as a field, to classical physics, classical field theory, modern physics, and physics since the modern period. It goes into the difference between theoretical vs. experimental physics in terms of professional physicists, what professional physicists currently work on, what the main un-answered questions are in physics today (dark matter, dark energy, uniting gravity with the standard matter and finding a way to test the hypothesis in some way). I consistently encountered new physicists I hadn’t heard of, and in many 1-3 sentences, the author tried to summarize up their work (and I was left feeling, and rightfully so, how little I know in the field, and how much their is to know, as many of these short descriptions all can be given chapter treatment, if not an entire book in and of itself).

Essentially, the main thing I took away is that you can dedicate your entire life toward getting a deeper understanding of physics. It’s a never ending well. How many of us truly understand what quarks are, for example - the theoretical and experimental underpinnings behind their existence? I would assume that’s limited to physicists, perhaps chemists (so much of physics in the modern era seems focused on elementary particles, so I assume that chemistry and physics are incredibly interlinked subjects), and precocious, interested individuals who have taken multiple physics university courses and decided to pursue the subject rigorously themselves.

This also makes the field seem daunting. Even understanding classical physics takes perhaps years of college level study - with the physics classes, pre-requisite math classes, and so on. Seeing how much more there is left to learn in the field (a fact I’ve been aware of, but less viscerally than what I felt after looking through this book) can be intimidating.

And to be fair, to give a full treatment of the elements in the book, all those sentences would be expanded out, with demonstrations, readings, practice problems (along with the math and equations) in a typical physics course. This was a rushed treatment of the field (and the author, it felt, had a lot he wanted to introduce to us, which I’m glad he did - that’s the purpose of this series).

Some bits from the book that stood out that I read up on in the middle of it: 1. Cavenish’s experiment to experimentally figure out the constant “g” of Newton using lead masses attached to stick hanging from a string next to another large mass, and how he was able to derive the constant g to within 1% the actual value in the 1700’s. That to me is brilliant, I tried to learn more about it, but I’m left with more questions than answers on why it works. Another was that lasers (which is actually an acronym of light something something something radiation - cool!) was invented by physicists just in the last 80 or something years, and it’s already has over 2,500 applications. I know essentially nothing about how lasers, semiconductors, transistors, etc. work, but apparently if you keep studying hard in physics, there’s an opportunity to learn a little bit more. Plasma being a 4th state of matter where electrons and protons separate from each other, which is most common in the center of stars (I’d heard of this before, but I’m still shaky on plasma and haven’t seen a solid treatment of it). The CERN particle collider being 27 km long underground, and the basis of it being an elementary particle collider (which I’m still shaky in my understanding on).

I feel the work of perhaps 50-100 major physicists were described here. The author definitely did good work in covering so much. That said, it makes for a slower, but more rewarding read in the “a very short introduction” series.

Interesting stuff overall. Worth the read.

[Christopher Byram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered the Very Short Introductions book series from a video on YouTube, uploaded by the channel Tibees, entitled "Books for Learning Physics". In the video, the narrator, Toby Hendy, a mathematics and physics graduate, is present with a guest, David Gozzard, who also has a background in physics. David mentions the Very Short Introductions book series which gives a (very short) introduction on a wide range of topics, such as business management or Islam, and that for physics, you can get the books in the series that are on physics itself, nuclear physics, particle physics, quantum mechanics and cosmology. He claims that there are over 400 of these books, and they are very small, you can read them in a few hours and pick them up for about $13. The books on physics do not go into the maths behind the physics, but they give you a very brief overview of the concepts and where the science is today. This book series is good to get you started on a subject that you do not have a background in.

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the unabridged 5-hour audio version of this title (read by Jason Martin, Tantor Audio, 2023).

Physics is one of broadest areas of science, so an overview provided in a 140-page pocket-size book is by necessity quite limited. Perkowitz organizes his material into 6 chapters of 20 or so pages each, followed by references and further reading/viewing.

- It all began with the Greeks

- What physics covers and what it doesn't

- How physics works

- Physics applied and extended

- A force in society

- Future Physics: Unanswered questions

It is very helpful to look at a discipline from a big-picture perspective. Questions such as what physicists do, is experimental confirmation really necessary or optional (as today's string-theorists assert), how are small & big physics projects funded, why is physics so popular with government and research-funding agencies, why there aren't more women physicists, why the shift from single-author papers of decades ago to today's norm of dozens or even hundreds of authors, and international collaboration & competition.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Introduction to Physics

This is well-written and has enough information to keep the reader interested throughout the work. There's no repetitive discussion and it's diversity keeps the reader's attention. I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who's interested in physics but is unaware of how large the study is, not as just a subject but also as a key player in how our world and universe works.

[Annika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half of this book and (I think) understood most of what was being talked about. But when it started getting into modern physics and quantum physics, I started getting a bit lost and towards the end it felt like the book was describing strange magical concepts (which honestly I think advanced physics is basically magic anyway). I wished it had a glossary at the end with some basic definitions to refer back to, but overall it was a good introduction.

[shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book in an effort to get excited about my physics class so I’d have the motivation to study. And it worked. This book filled me with wonder and curiosity about the physical world. It made me ask questions I’ve never asked yet and has left me desperate to read more about physics, especially regarding dark matter and dark energy and quantum entanglement. All topics I had very little (if any) knowledge of prior. I really recommend this book — it’s a super quick read!

[Soni ni Msomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this, though I believe reading the other books previously also made the book more rich and compelling. He not only talked the technical aspects of the subject, but also the implications of discoveries and the militant and profit-driven ideals for research. This book wasn't just about physics. But what physicists do, and the culture surrounding its pursuit. Also a G for mentioning the difficulties women and minorities face.

4/52

[Ryan Hoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best in this series. The author has really nailed the format. The language is understandable by the lay reader but at the same time the ideas are complex and interesting.

[Kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say more 3 and a half star but here is the basic gist of the book. There is so much to understand, so little time. But with the help of our ancestors, we have hope.
I liked it!

[Beth G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be a good intro to the topic for any beginner.

[JW · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lives up to its title.

[Artie]

A good primer text that discusses physics' history, current axioms, progress, and its future in both the pure and applied settings.

[Kyle Russo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cool, high-level overview of the absolute basics of physics. Not a bad book, just not much of substance, but that's probably the point given it's part of the Very Short Introductions series.

[Speranta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short summary of some of the most important elements of history and curiosities of physics. It did make me want to read more on the subject, which i assume it was its main purpose.

[Shriviyas R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does what it sets out to do.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful intro

[Liam Huntley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inspiration for reading this book: Reading Jeff Bezos’ Invent and Wander.

Review: The author tells you about the wow of physics instead of bringing the reader in and showing them.

[Mykyta Kuzmenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Занимательный, хоть и очень поверхностный, обзор физики. Большое достоинство книги это её очень современный характер. Множество примеров из достижений и загадок физики за последние годы. Даже указаны события запланированные на 2021 год, а книга-то 2019 года.

[Napalmlolita · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's definitely not an introduction, but more like a summary of what physicists know today. Thanks to the fantastic PBS Space Time channel on Youtube, I nowadays know plenty of physics, so I could digest this book. That would have been otherwise had I read this years ago when I started plowing through the VSI series.