The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg

by RobertP.Crease (Author), RobertCrease (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2010

  $21.23

  While we may be familiar with some of science's greatest equations, we may not know that each and every equation emerged not in Eureka! moments but in years of cultural developments and scientific knowledge. With vignettes full of humor, drama, and eccentricity, philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease shares the stories behind ten of history's greatest equations, from the first equation, 1 + 1 = 2, which promises a rational, well-ordered world, to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which reveals the limitations of human knowledge. For every equation, Crease provides a brief account of who discovered it, what dissatisfactions lay behind its discovery, and what the equation says about the nature of our world.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2009

  $3.44

  Philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease tells the stories behind ten of the greatest equations in human history. Was Nobel laureate Richard Feynman really joking when he called Maxwell's electromagnetic equations the most significant event of the nineteenth century? How did Newton's law of gravitation influence young revolutionaries? Why has Euler's formula been called God's equation, and why did a mysterious ecoterrorist make it his calling card? What role do betrayal, insanity, and suicide play in the second law of thermodynamics?

  The Great Equations tells the stories of how these equations were discovered, revealing the personal struggles of their ingenious originators. From 1 + 1 = 2 to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Crease locates these equations in the panoramic sweep of Western history, showing how they are as integral to their time and place of creation as are great works of art.