E = mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation - Hardcover

Bodanis, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802713521 ISBN 13: 9780802713520

Publisher: Walker Books, 2000

Synopsis

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 inescapably linked―and, through his skill as a writer and teacher, he turns a seemingly impenetrable theory into a dramatic human achievement and an uncommonly good story.

About this title

About the Author

David Bodanis designed and gave the "Intellectual Tool-kit" course lectures for many years at Oxford University in England. He is the author of several books, including The Secret Family and the best-seller The Secret House. A native of Chicago, he lives in London, England.

Reviews

Most people know this celebrated equation has something to do with Einstein's theory of relativity, but most nonscientists don't know what it means. This very approachable yet somewhat limited work of popular science explains, and adorns with anecdote and biography, the equation and its place in history. Oxford lecturer Bodanis (The Secret Family) shows what happened to Einstein on the way to the discovery, what other scientists did to bring it about and how the equation created the atom bomb. Part Two tackles separately the components of the equation (E, =, m, c and "squared"), which means that it covers 18th- and 19th-century physics. "'E' Is for Energy" opens with Michael Faraday, whose unusual religious beliefs helped him discover that electricity and magnetism were the same force. "'m' Is for Mass" brings in French chemist Lavoisier, who established the law of conservation of matter. Bodanis then turns to Einstein's life and work. The middle third of the book covers the exploration of the atom and the making of the atom bomb; the cast of characters here includes Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Enrico Fermi. A concluding section considers how E=mc2 powers the sun, and how our sun and all others will eventually run out of gas. Capsule biographies here include one of the engaging English astronomer Cecilia Payne, who wouldn't let institutional sexism stop her from finding the hydrogen in the sun. Bodanis's writing is accessible to the point of chattiness: he seeks, and deserves, many readers who know no physics. They'll learn a handfulAmore important, they'll enjoy it, and pick up a load of biographical and cultural curios along the way. 20 photos and drawings not seen by PW. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It's a well-known equation, yet who but physicists really understand E = 2? Bodanis rescues the masses from ignorance in an entertaining story about Einstein's formulation of the equation in 1905 and its association ever after with relativity and nuclear energy. Parallel with the science, Bodanis populates his tale with dramatic lives: Lavoisier mounts the scaffold; Faraday hauls himself up by his bootstraps; Einstein ponders light in his patent office; Lise Meitner gets no credit for discovering atomic fission; and Heisenberg works on a German atom bomb. Alhough Bodanis' elisions of their biographies adequately fill his popularization goal, they inevitably simplify historical complexities, as of Heisenberg's attitude toward Nazidom. On the brighter side, the science the author retells is wholly satisfying, from explaining the origin of each symbol in E = 2 to describing Faraday's unification of electricity and magnetism to Einstein's similar feat with matter, energy, and the weird war pages of time and space at light speeds. With anecdotes and illustrations, Bodanis effectively opens up E = 2 to the widest audience. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802713521
• ISBN 13: 9780802713520
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352