Everything's Relative: And Other Fables from Science and Technology - Hardcover

Rothman, Tony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471202576 ISBN 13: 9780471202578

Publisher: Trade Paper Press, 2003

Synopsis

The surprising truth behind many of the most cherished ""facts"" in science history
Morse invented the telegraph, Bell the telephone, Edison the light bulb, and Marconi the radio . . . right? Well . . . the truth is slightly more complicated. The history of science and technology is riddled with apocrypha, inaccuracies, and falsehoods, and physicist Tony Rothman has taken it upon himself to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Combining a storyteller's gifts with a scientist's focus and hardheaded devotion to the facts-such as they may be-Rothman breaks down many of the most famous ""just-so"" stories of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and technology to give credit where credit is truly due. From Einstein's possible misunderstanding of his own theories to actress Hedy Lemarr's role in the invention of the radio-controlled torpedo, he dredges his way through the legends of science history in relating the fascinating stories behind some of the most important, and often unsung, breakthroughs in science.
Tony Rothman, PhD (Bryn Mawr, PA), is a Research Associate at Bryn Mawr College. He is the author of seven other critically acclaimed science books and a frequent contributor to leading science publications, including Scientific American and Discover.

About this title

From the Publisher

"If you were not a sceptic about the mythology of discovery, you will be one after reading Tony Rothman's fascinating book. It's an assemblage of compelling antistories, all eminently readable, to counter the stories scientists tell themselves, and then tell us. And that we...are all too eager to hear." —Roald Hoffman, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

From the Inside Flap

Morse invented the telegraph, Bell the telephone, and Edison the light bulb . . . or so we have been led to believe. In a discipline so firmly rooted in empirical data, it’s surprising to discover how the history of science can be so riddled by apocrypha, inaccuracies, and blatant falsehoods. In Everything’s Relative, writer and physicist Tony Rothman sets the record straight once and for all, giving credit where credit is due by debunking centuries of commonly held beliefs embedded throughout science and technology’s illustrious, albeit distorted, history.

Combining a storyteller’s gift with a scientist’s focus, Tony Rothman breaks down many of the most famous "just-so" stories of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and technology. Each engaging anecdote clearly reveals how unique discoveries are the exception, rather than the rule. Discoveries almost always take place simultaneously or build upon a predecessor’s breakthrough . . . usually without acknowledging the work of their fellow colleagues whose slighted names have since fallen into obscurity. Who really discovered Neptune? Was it the quiet, self-effacing Brit John Couch Adams or the arrogant, self-promoting French scientist Urbain Le Verrier? Or was Neptune’s discovery just a fantastic coincidence altogether? Everything’s Relative tells the fascinating "truth-is-stranger-than-fiction" story behind this and many other scientific discoveries and breakthroughs, including how:

• Henry Young, the greatest American scientist after Benjamin Franklin, severed his friendship with Samuel Morse after not receiving proper credit for his key role in inventing the telegraph
• Thomas Young’s celebrated "double slit" experiment is so laden with ambiguous language, it raises the question: Did Young really act alone in his experiment?
• Albert Einstein, one of the greatest twentieth-century physicists and a titan of science, misinterpreted his own highly celebrated theory of relativity
• Neither James Watt, nor Robert Fulton, nor John Fitch, nor Simon Newcomen invented the steam engine–Captain Thomas Savary first invented the prototype for the steam engine back in 1698
• More than 600 lawsuits were filed against Alexander Graham Bell after he took sole credit for inventing the telephone
• And much more

Edition details

• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0471202576
• ISBN 13: 9780471202578
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272