Instant Physics: Key thinkers, theories, discoveries and concepts

by Giles Sparrow

Instant Physics pulls together all the pivotal physics knowledge and thought into one concise volume. Each page contains a discrete "cheat sheet", which tells you the most important facts in bite-sized chunks, meaning you can become an expert in an instant. From black holes and black body radiation to telescopes, microscopes, quantum mechanics and general relativity, every key figure, discovery or idea is explained with succinct and lively text and graphics. Perfect for the knowledge hungry and time poor, this collection of graphic-led lessons makes psychology interesting and accessible. Everything you need to know is here.

Genres: Science, Physics

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 2021

Reviews

[Peter Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's nothing instant about this book and that's a shame. It covers the whole gamut of physics, but given the size of the book, it doesn't really say a lot about each area. You get a few lines describing the topic, a lot of wasted free space, some great drawings and then lots of complicated equations. Anyone looking to learn about physics won't need to know those equations just yet. Anyone who needs to know about those equations won't need a book this general.


This book is a total missed opportunity, as more on the basics of each topic could have made this book a real winner. Instead, there is a lot of empty space and stuff that is too advanced to make any sense if you've only read what is on the page. If you're a physics student in their third year, this book might be beneficial, but for everyone else, much of it will be too badly explained to be of much use.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It should be possible to explain the laws of physics to a barmaid."

[G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very well organized, and clearly the author is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject matter. The pages on time travel and dark matter were really interesting.

However, everything about this book, the title, the one page structure, and the pictures, all seem to be geared towards attracting the average reader who doesn’t know anything about physics but wants to learn. And if you’re a layman looking for a book to learn basic physics concepts, this is not the right choice.

I would only recommend this book to a student who studied physics for four years in college years ago and wants a quick and easy refresher on concepts. But a reader who doesn’t already know about physics will definitely struggle with most of this book.

[Varun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice overview of different notions physically speaking. Covers all the main areas and doesn’t dumb down concepts - explains eloquently and still with a level of complexity to draw more advanced readers in

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, but doesn’t mention field theory. 😊

[S M FULLYLOVE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but unless you already have a really good time understanding of physics lots of it just goes over your head!!!!