The

The Prism and the Pendulum

By - Crease, Robert P , Riera, Joan Lluis
Floor - Floor 2
Published - Random House, New York, ©2003
ISBN 10 - 0812970624
ISBN 13 - 9780812970623
Book Status - 1 Qnty Available with us.
Subject - Science
Shelf No - 1
Call Number - 509 CRE
Physical Description - xxiii, 244 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Notes - Includes indexes
Book Information
Is science beautiful? Yes, argues acclaimed philosopher and historian of science Robert P. Crease in this engaging exploration of history’s most beautiful experiments. The result is an engrossing journey through nearly 2,500 years of scientific innovation. Along the way, we encounter glimpses into the personalities and creative thinking of some of the field’s most interesting figures. We see the first measurement of the earth’s circumference, accomplished in the third century B.C. by Eratosthenes using sticks, shadows, and simple geometry. We visit Foucault’s mesmerizing pendulum, a cannonball suspended from the dome of the Panthéon in Paris that allows us to see the rotation of the earth on its axis. We meet Galileo—the only scientist with two experiments in the top ten—brilliantly drawing on his musical training to measure the speed of falling bodies. And we travel to the quantum world, in the most beautiful experiment of all. We also learn why these ten experiments exert such a powerful hold on our imaginations. From the ancient world to cutting-edge physics, these ten exhilarating moments reveal something fundamental about the world, pulling us out of confusion and revealing nature’s elegance. The Prism and the Pendulum brings us face-to-face with the wonder of science.

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