A Brief Guide to the Great Equations: The Hunt for Cosmic Beauty in Numbers

Robert Crease

Robinson Publishing | 2009 | 2727 páginas | epub | Mb

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Here are the stories of the ten most popular equations of all time as voted for by readers of "Physics World", including - accessibly described here for the first time - the favourite equation of all, Euler's equation. Each is an equation that captures with beautiful simplicity what can only be described clumsily in words. Euler's equation [eip + 1 = 0] was described by respondents as 'the most profound mathematic statement ever written', 'uncanny and sublime', 'filled with cosmic beauty' and 'mind-blowing'. Collectively these equations also amount to the world's most concise and reliable body of knowledge. Many scientists and those with a mathematical bent have a soft spot for equations. This book explains both why these ten equations are so beautiful and significant, and the human stories behind them.

CONTENTS

Illustration Credits
Introduction
1   ‘The Basis of Civilization’: The Pythagorean Theorem
Interlude: Rules, Proofs, and the Magic of Mathematics
2   ‘The Soul of Classical Mechanics’: Newton’s Second Law of Motion
Interlude: The Book of Nature
3   ‘The High Point of the Scientific Revolution’: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
Interlude: That Apple
4   ‘The Gold Standard for Mathematical Beauty’: Euler’s Equation
Interlude: Equations as Icons
5   The Scientific Equivalent of Shakespeare: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Interlude: The Science of Impossibility
6   ‘The Most Significant Event of the Nineteenth Century’: Maxwell’s Equations
Interlude: Overcoming Anosognosia; or Restoring the Vitality of the Humanities
7   Celebrity Equation: E = mc2
Interlude: Crazy Ideas
8   The Golden Egg: Einstein’s Equation for General Relativity
Interlude: Science Critics
9   ‘The Basic Equation of Quantum Theory’: Schrödinger’s Equation
Interlude: The Double Consciousness of Scientists
10 Living with Uncertainty: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Interlude: The Yogi and the Quantum
Conclusion: Bringing the Strange Home
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index