The breakthroughs that have had the most transformative practical impacts, from thermodynamics to the Internet.
Physics informs our understanding of how the world works – but more than that, key breakthroughs in physics have transformed everyday life. We journey back to ten separate days in history to understand how particular breakthroughs were achieved, meet the individuals responsible and see how each breakthrough has influenced our lives.
It is a unique selection. Focusing on practical impact means there is no room for Stephen Hawking’s work on black holes, or the discovery of the Higgs boson. Instead we have the relatively little-known Rudolf Clausius (thermodynamics) and Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (superconductivity), while Albert Einstein is included not for his theories of relativity but for the short paper that gave us E=mc2 (nuclear fission). Later chapters feature transistors, LEDs and the Internet.
Finally we ask: what could the eleventh day be? – i.e. the greatest development yet to come.
About the Author
Brian Clegg’s many books include Dice World and A Brief History of Infinity, both longlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize, and, most recently, What Do You Think You Are?, described by BBC Science Focus as ‘a must-read’.
Brian’s latest science books, The Reality Frame and Are Numbers Real? are now available, joining his new murder mystery novels. Brian has written many other science titles, including the bestselling Inflight Science, The God Effect, Before the Big Bang, Ecologic, A Brief History of Infinity, Build Your Own Time Machine, The Universe Inside You, Gravity, Extra Sensory and Dice World, which was on the longlist for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books.
Product details
- Full Audiobook MP3 Included
- Full PDF E-Book Included
- Full ePub E-Book Included
- ASIN : B097JD9M8H
- Publisher : Icon Books (August 5, 2021)
- Publication date : August 5, 2021
- Language : English
- Total pages : 160 pages
- File size : 170MB
- Secure Download with Google Drive