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Einstein - A Life In Science
by Michael White and John Gribbin 279 pages Level: popular A biography of the man and his work |
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It seems to me that anyone interested in the Theory of Relativity should have at least a
passing interest in the man who first thought it up. "Einstein - A Life In Science" does
an admirable job of discussing Einstein's career as a physicist while neglecting
his fascinating life both as public figure and a private man.
White and Gribbin, go against the tendency in recent biographies of Einstein that emphasize his failures as a husband and a parent. They make no attempt to hide Einstein's blemishes - his first child being put up for adoption, his divorce and his distant relationship with his other children. The authors treat Einstein neither as a saint or a villain, but a fallible human being whose accomplishments still can amaze us. White and Gribbin correctly emphasize that Einstein's genius was not in his mathematical ability (they detail the help that he received from others to make up for his own mathematical weakness), but his extraordinary insight and his ability to courageously drop conventional notions of space and time as independent entities to preserve the principle of relativity. They also describe the one time his courage failed him and he introduced to "cosmological constant" into his equations against his better judgement. Full, non-mathematical descriptions are given of Einstein's work in relativity and the many other areas of physics that he made significant contributions to. Unfortunately, the book has no illustrations. When a flexible rubber sheet is used to describe the bending of time-space, I had a clear picture of it in my mind from other sources; someone approaching relativity for the first time might not be as lucky. Einstein's creative work in physics was over by the time he reached his mid-forties, but he continued his activities as a teacher, pacifist, Zionist and attempting unsuccessfully to unify gravitation and electromagnetism into a unified theory for the remainder of his life. The authors place his famous letter to President Roosevelt about the possible military use of nuclear fission into proper perspective. I did find one possible error. While discussing German use of nuclear energy during World War II, the authors make the claim "Thanks to the efforts of Heisenberg, in particular, the Nazis fell behind the Allies in the development of atomic weapons." Some have made the counter-claim that Heisenberg's difficulties were based on his lack of ability to solve certain technical problems and not because of any moral compunctions. The final word is out on that one so far. |
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| Review by Ed Ehrlich | |
| Table Of Contents | |
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1: A Fascination with Science 2: Physics Before Einstein 3: College Drop-Out 4: Early Work 5: Albert Einstein - Patent Officer 6: The Annus Mirabilis 7: The Peripatetic Professor 8: The Masterwork 9: Fame but no Fortune 10: Quantum Pioneer 11: Exiled from Europe 12: Quantum Opponent 13: The Final Years 14: Physics After Einstein Appendix: My Credo Further Reading Notes Index |
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