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Summary: A Must For Those Wanting to Understand "Why?"
Review: This book is excellent; the best I have read on this subject. It brings Einstein, science, and physics to life. It presents science and history in such a clear fashion that it reads like a historical novel, yet when you are finished with the book, you find yourself enriched with a better understanding of our universe, and a greater appreciation for science and the scientists (like Einstein) that brought us our understanding. If you have a desire to understand the basics for how matter and energy connect in our universe, and want a simple history lesson for how Einstein (and the scientific community) developed and explored nuclear energy, this is the book for you. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Light on Science But a Great Read
Review: This book reads like a novel at times; esspecially the middle chapters which are historical events illustrating the consequences of Einstein's famous equation. It does spend the beginning chapters dissecting each part of the equation, and the history of discovery for each attributes meaning. This is very interesting from a Social/Cultural and Scientific perspective. From this foundation, the book delves into the repercussions of the equation, mostly in WW2, and then ponders it's possibilties. The writing hovers on the surface mostly, but the author was smart enough to leave several pages of notes at the end that provide detailed information about most technical aspects he brushed over in the narrative. I highly reccommend the book to anyone who is not of high Science savvy but who is interested in tapping into the meaning of this momumental equation. By doing this, you'll come to understand why we're born knowing the name Albert Einstein and understand why he gave our understanding of reality a more wholesome, organic view.
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Summary: Overall, an effective introduction to the subject
Review: Although we have all been exposed to this famous equation, this is the first book I've come across which actually makes a meaningful attempt to explain not only what the symbols themselves mean, but also what the underlying implications of the equation are. Additionally, the author's method of interspersing personal information about the scientists involved with the equation after Einstein conceived of it, was an effective way of breaking up what can sometimes be a rather dry subject.
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Summary: E=mc2 - a family portrait
Review: What are bits of German battleship doing on the moon? How are Rutherford, Faraday, Cassini and Lavoisier connected with Einstein and the world's most famous equation?David Bodanis takes a picture of the equation and the people who form it's ancestors, brilliantly takes us through the lives and discoveries of the people and ideas that eventually joined together on the page in front of Einstein and beyond. The simplicity of E=mc2 itself belies the depth human emotion and fundamental impact five little characters have had on world we think we know today. David shows us how the equation is not an abstract scientific concept, but has unleased far reaching changes within society. David's writing is relaxed and highly re-readable; he is also an articulate interviewee with a refreshing, amused outlook. (I found out about this book hearing a radio interview with him.) As the first of his books I've read, I'll be keeping an eye out for his others.
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Summary: A literary approach to a complex topic
Review: This book approaches the explanation of e=mc2 by examining each of the equation's components and the historical developments surrounding the understanding of each seperately. It then goes on to provide a lucid and highly readable account of how they are linked through Einstein's work and the historical significance of that linkage in our own century. I found this approach extremely entertaining and at the same time highly enlightening. Overall this is a wonderful book. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Enlightening and Enjoyable
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It offers a unique view of Einstein, but more importantly, as the title infers, discusses the equation and the role of general and special relativity in today's society. The text is not by any means laden with mathematics so it should be generally available to all. Avoiding the complications of thick mathematics, Bodanis does an excellent job of clarifying the significance of Einstein's perception of energy and mass and, importantly, denotes the role of Newtonian thought and clearly presents other significant post-Newton, pre-Einstein age thinkers and their role. I, personally, found the discussion of special relativity and the lack of elaboration on space-time as it relates to E=mc2 a bit lacking, but still very good reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in better understanding concepts such as atoms, nuclear power, nuclear weaponary, Star Trek and speed of light travel, etc.
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Summary: E=mc2
Review: This was a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down. A very easy read.
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Summary: Tabloid science
Review: I think that what readers' reactions to this book will depend very much on their level of knowledge and understanding prior to reading it. Readers with no knowledge of physics will get some general idea of the concepts of energy, mass and the speed of light and the significance of the fact that a small amount of mass converts to a large amount of energy. The many positive reviews this has received are proof that the book serves some purpose. However, I suspect that anyone with a bit of background in physics will find this book very frustrating (if you already know about mass-energy equivalence you will learn nothing of value by reading this book). Bodanis' explanations of energy (E), mass (m), the speed of light (c) are thin and at times of questionable relevance. His choice of background material seems to be driven by an interest in unjustly neglected contributions to science by women rather than the significance of the material to the equation. I was already aware from high school physics that E=mc2 related to the concept of mass-energy equivalence and was hoping for an explanation of how Einstein came up with the equation in a paper on why the speed of light appears the same regardless of the direction of motion of the observer. This is never explained - Bodanis simply notes that the equation appears toward the end of Einstein's paper on special relativity. Having now done some further reading on the topic, I now realise that this is a very difficult topic, but I believe that Bodanis should have at least attempted it.
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Summary: Well, I still don't get it.
Review: As an explanation of the equation, I give this book high marks for almost getting through to me. As a biography, its nearly perfect, mixing people, science, and history together in a fascinating blend of fact, speculation, and relationships. This is a great book for gifts, and someday, I may just get the equation right.
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Summary: PHYSICS LITE ---- IN VACUO
Review: . When you read the Preface of this book, the author tells us he was inspired to write it, following a comment made by a Hollywood starlet in a movie magazine. This sets the tone for the rest of the book. Pure flim flam. The Bodanis approach includes giving us salacious details on the love life of Voltaire's mistress. His dumbing down of basic chemistry includes a description of Lavoisier's oxidation experiments as "some of the gases must have flown down and stuck to the metal". With the speed of light as the critical element to his story he persists throughout the book in giving its speed in miles per hour (670 million). To impress us he squares it and gives us all the zeroes. Wouldn't he be doing everybody a favour if he introduced scientific notation and even occasionally referred to the International System for units of measurement? After all, those French guys 220 years ago did come up with metres and kilograms, without which modern science would be impossible. Those relationships between mass, time and energy (which is what this book is meant to be all about) are unlikely to have been realized without the introduction of the metric system. His description of radioactivity is almost comic when we have radiation "squirting out" of Marie Curie's uranium ores. We are told poor Marie's fate was sealed when "radioactive dust slams into the DNA of her bones". We are given no mention of her inhaling all the radon gas emanating from that radium she so famously discovered. It is the effects of this radon that is now generally acknowledged as the most probable cause of her death. In many places in the book he confuses nuclear fission and fusion, at one point drawing similarities between the processes at work in a star and what makes a uranium bomb work. For example, he writes "our sun explodes the equivalent of many millions of such bombs every second" The most fundamental fallacy in the book is the way Bodanis links directly Einstein's equation of 1905 and the unleashing of man-made nuclear energy in the early 1940's. The Special Theory of Relativity of which the famous equation is central had nothing to do with the development of the A-Bomb. The essence of Einstein's argument (and equation) is that energy has inertia, and inertia has energy. There was no reference in his work as to how the energy may be released; yet Bodanis persists in referring to "the full power of Einstein's equation" when he talks about the events of 1905. Glaring contradictions are found throughout the book. On page 169 Bodanis writes " when that great mushroom cloud appeared E=mc^2's first work on planet Earth was done". A chapter or so later when talking about natural process at work within the earth he gives us " Volcanoes exploded upward - powered by the constant E=mc^2 derived heat beneath". The sad irony of this book is seeing a significant topic dealt with in such a lightweight manner. Worthwhile (and readable) science books for general audiences do exist. The superficial, error-ridden and vacuous crassitude of this book is most disappointing.
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