THIRTY YEARS THAT SHOOK PHYSICS: The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 1966

George Gamow is one of our wittiest science writers. In this chatty account of the development of quantum theory he demonstrates once again his ability to entertain the layman. Gamow was originally a student of paleontology in Russia (he learned ""to tell a dinosaur from a cat by the shape of the little toes""). He went on to become a mathematical physicist celebrated for numerous esoteric theories including his development of the Big Bang idea of cosmic creation. His background is a cosmopolitan one and he worked closely with most of the big European names in quantum theory: Planck, Bohr, Pauli, De Broglie, Heisenberg, Dirac, Fermi, etc. Consequently he can expatiate on working habits and idiosyncrasies as well as theories. There's a hilarious version of Faust at the ends closely imitating the meters of the original but geared to the interests of the theoretical physicist: ""My Mass is zero,/ My Charge is the same./ You are my hero,/ Neutrino's my name,"" etc. Gallery goers will be amused by the drawings, which are supposedly a mixture of Botticelli and Pop. This is for those who do not know what our younger educated elite is studying today.

Pub Date: March 4, 1966

ISBN: 048624895X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION