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The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th-Century Science, including the Original Papersby Alan Lightman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In this captivating and lucid book, novelist and science writer Alan Lightman chronicles twenty-four great discoveries of twentieth-century science--everything from the theory of relativity to mapping the structure of DNA.
These discoveries radically changed our notions of the world and our place in it. Here are Einstein, Fleming, Bohr, McClintock, Paul ing, Watson and Crick, Heisenberg and many others. With remarkable insight, Lightman charts the intellectual and emotional landscape of the time, portrays the human drama of discovery, and explains the significance and impact of the work. Finally he includes a fascinating and unique guided tour through the original papers in which the discoveries were revealed. Here is science writing at its best–beautiful, lyrical and completely accessible. It brings the process of discovery to life before our very eyes. Synopsis:A critical overview of some of the great scientific discoveries of the twentieth century examines the impact of each breakthrough, the personalities and human drama involved, and its meaning in terms of the pattern of scientific discovery, drawing on the original papers of Einstein, Bohr, McClintock, Pauling, and other notable scientists. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.
About the AuthorAlan Lightman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. An active research scientist in astronomy and physics for two decades, he has also taught both subjects on the faculties of Harvard and MIT. Lightman’s novels include Einstein’s Dreams, which was an international best seller; Good Benito; The Diagnosis, which was a finalist for the National Book Award; and Reunion. His essays have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Nature, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New Yorker, among other publications. He lives in Massachusetts, where he is adjunct professor of humanities at MIT.
Table of ContentsThe quantum — Hormones — The particle nature of light — Special relativity — The nucleas of the atom — The size of the cosmos — The arrangement of atoms in solid matter — The quantum atom — The means of communication between nerves — The uncertainty principle — The chemical bond — The expansion of the universe — Antibiotics — The means of production of energy in living organisms — Nuclear fission — The movability of genes — The structure of DNA — The structure of proteins — Radio waves from the big bang — A unified theory of forces — Quarks: a tiniest essence of matter — The creation of altered forms of life — Epilogue.
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