Paul John Flory: A Life of Science and Friends is the first full-length treatment of the life and work of Paul John Flory, recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1974. It presents a chronological progression of his scientific, professional, and personal achievements as recounted and written by his former students and colleagues.This book cove

The epic, behind-the-scenes story of an astounding gap in our scientific knowledge of the cosmos.In the past few years, a handful of scientists have been in a race to explain a disturbing aspect of our universe: only 4 percent of it consists of the matter that makes up you, me, our books, and every planet, star, and galaxy. The rest—96 percent of the universe—is completely unknown.Richard Panek tells the dramatic story of how scientists reached this conclus...

This updated edition of the New York Times Notable Book recounts the long hunt for Einstein's predicted gravitational waves—and celebrates their discovery.In February 2016, astronomers announced that they had verified the last remaining prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity—vibrations in space-time, called gravitational waves. Humanity can now tune in to a cosmic orchestra. We have heard the chirp of two black holes dancing...

"Engrossing . . . Leave[s] us with a richer picture of physics as a lived activity." — Los Angeles Review of BooksIn Quantum Legacies, David Kaiser introduces readers to iconic episodes in physicists' still-unfolding quest to understand space, time, and matter at their most fundamental. In a series of vibrant essays, Kaiser takes us inside moments of discovery and debate among the great minds of the era—Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Stephen H...

The authoritative story of the headline-making discovery of gravitational waves—by an eminent theoretical astrophysicist and award-winning writer.From the author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, the epic story of the scientific campaign to record the soundtrack of our universe.Black holes are dark. That is their essence. When black holes collide, they will do so unilluminated. Yet the black hole col...

An insightful look into the brilliant mind of physicist Richard Feynman.One of the towering figures of twentieth-century science, Richard Feynman possessed a curiosity that was the stuff of legend. Even before he won the Nobel Prize in 1965, his unorthodox and spellbinding lectures on physics secured his reputation amongst students and seekers around the world. It was his outsized love for life, however, that earned him the status of an American cultural icon—here ...

Generations have grown up knowing that the equation E=mc2 changed the shape of our world, but never understanding what it actually means, why it was so significant, and how it informs our daily lives today--governing, as it does, everything from the atomic bomb to a television's cathode ray tube to the carbon dating of prehistoric paintings. In this book, David Bodanis writes the "biography" of one of the greatest scientific discoveries in history--that the realms of energy and matter are ...

“Meticulously researched and unapologetically romantic, How the Hippies Saved Physics makes the history of science fun again.”—ScienceIn the 1970s, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the “Fundamental Fysiks Group,” they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics, studying quantum entanglement in terms of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind reading. As David K...

**A surprising, fascinating journey through the experiments that not only unlocked the nature of matter and shaped our understanding of the cosmos but also forever changed the way we live within it"A book about the fundamental problems of physics written from a viewpoint I hadn’t come across before: that of the experimenter. A splendid idea, vividly carried out.” –Philip Pullman, best-selling author of His Dark Materials**Physics has always sought to deepen our und...

A Nobel Prize–winning biologist’s “engaging and witty” (Forbes) memoir tells the riveting story of his race to discover the inner workings of biology’s most important moleculeEveryone has heard of DNA. But by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome—an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms—that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into proteins and therefore into us. Gene Machine is an insider...

A treasure-trove of illuminating and entertaining quotations from beloved physicist Richard P. Feynman"Some people say, ‘How can you live without knowing?' I do not know what they mean. I always live without knowing. That is easy. How you get to know is what I want to know."—Richard P. FeynmanNobel Prize–winning physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918–88) was that rarest of creatures—a towering scientific genius who could make himself understood by anyone and wh...

Discover the inspiring stories of long-overlooked women in science in this “engaging . . . passionate” book for fans of Hidden Figures (Boston Globe)!Meet 20+ women physicists and astronomers who discovered the fundamental rules of the universe and reshaped the rules of society.Women physicists and astronomers from around the world have transformed science and society, but the critical roles they played in their fields are...