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The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics
The World Treasury of Physics Astronomy and Mathematics Author:Timothy Ferris (Editor) In recognition of our universal fascination with the cosmos and worlds beyond our own, Timothy Ferris has assembled a provocative collection of some of the most eloquent and inspired science writing of our time. The over sixty scientists and science commentators represented here explore the minute, the small, the huge, and the grand-in short, al... more »l the facts and mysteries that make up our universe, from quanta and black holes to galaxies and the theory of chaos.
The works of such luminaries as Richard P. Feynman, George Gamow, Albert Einstein, Paul Dirac, Max Planck, Isaac Asimov, Bertrand Russel, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Jacob Bronowski, Edwin Hubble, and Alan Turing are included, with many pieces artfully juxtaposed to explore the several sides of such labyrinthine issues as the nature of time and space, the origin and structure of the universe, and the enigma and grandeur of pure mathematics, Also looked at are the lives of scientists themselves: as Wheeler praises Einstein, Einstein pens a tribute to Planck, and Mehra ponders Dirac, we become at once aware of science as a craft as well as an empirical ordering of facts and events. The breadth of these thoughtful musings is a potent affirmation of the power of the scientific way in our own lives. As Ferris proclaims in his preface, "The delights of science and mathematics-their revelations of natural beauty and harmony, their visions of things to come...belong to the cultural heritage of the entire world, and to know something about them is to be acquainted with the finest new achievements of the human mind."« less