From Clockwork to Crapshoot: A History of Physics

Science News,  Feb 10, 2007  

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FROM CLOCKWORK TO CRAPSHOOT: A History of Physics ROGER G. NEWTON

Newton, professor emeritus of physics at Indiana University, recounts the transformation of science from recorded observations to discoveries about how the world operates. He begins by documenting the earliest endeavors by ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians to explain the natural world. Then, Greek scientists made significant contributions. For instance, Archimedes' insights about volume and surface area made him the first mathematical physicist. Galileo's astronomical observations sparked a scientific revolution that Isaac Newton perpetuated with his laws of motion. In the 20th century, Albert Einstein's theories of relativity and then others' advances in quantum theory forever changed physics. From the properties of matter to the constituents of the universe, this book illustrates how discoveries old and new have created modern physics. Belknap Harvard, 2007, 340 p., b&w images, hardcover, $29.95.

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