"A startling and illustrative distillation of centuries of science."--The Economist "Lean, lucid and enchanting."--New Scientist The international bestseller that reveals all the beauty of modern physics in seven short and enlightening lessons Seven Brief Lessons on Physics is a book about the joy of discovery. Carlo Rovelli brings a playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, offering surprising--and surprisingly easy to grasp--explanations of Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. "Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world," Rovelli writes. "And it's breathtaking."From the Hardcover edition.
This is not a "straight physics" book. It makes the concepts of physics more understandable and puts them into the context of living and not as a distant theory which a regular person would not understand. It was Alexander von Humboldt's wish to integrate ideas so that science, nature and the (romantic) appreciation of our world would come together. This is what Carlo Rovelli does in these lessons. They are lessons for us all.
This very brief book, well read by the author, imparts to the listener some key aspects of modern physics: light, heat, gravity, and electromagnetic fields. The last half hour or so is essentially an essay on science and civilization.
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Add a CommentThis is not a "straight physics" book. It makes the concepts of physics more understandable and puts them into the context of living and not as a distant theory which a regular person would not understand. It was Alexander von Humboldt's wish to integrate ideas so that science, nature and the (romantic) appreciation of our world would come together. This is what Carlo Rovelli does in these lessons. They are lessons for us all.
This very brief book, well read by the author, imparts to the listener some key aspects of modern physics: light, heat, gravity, and electromagnetic fields. The last half hour or so is essentially an essay on science and civilization.