A history of MIT, doubling as a glimpse at the gonzo world of the modern engineer. The infinite corridor of the title refers to the 762-foot-long hallway that runs through five contiguous buildings behind the entrance hall of MIT, arguably the best science school in the world. But it also suggests the endless vistas of discovery that welcome those who join MIT's madcap, almost all-male, engineering fraternity. Hapgood (Why Males Exist, 1979) begins with a typical instance of this gang's by-the-bootstraps ingenuity, showing how an Armani-suited MIT inventor devises a gadget to turn sheets on a music stand while the musician keeps his hands on his instrument. The essence of the method is trial-and-error, plus a massive dollop of intuition—but it wasn't always like this. MIT was founded in 1865 for ``tweakers,'' engineers who made incremental improvements in existing systems. Pure research and breakthrough invention were kept in the closet until WW II, when radar was developed by MIT physicists. Since then, the school has cultivated a ``nerd'' ethos much celebrated by its students, who hold an annual ``Ugliest Man'' contest. Tensions with the arts-and-letters crowd, especially at neighboring Harvard, remain strong. Both faculty and students suffer from burnout and find relief in frivolities like square dancing and model railroading (both hobbies becoming unimaginably complicated in their MIT versions). As Hapgood demonstrates most entertainingly, MIT's essentially juvenile values—``communal bonhomie, irreverence, high tolerance for goofiness, belief in the power of fantasy, and an insistence on having total control of their own world''—have led to several major scientific revolutions, not least the age of computers. A informative look at current MIT research into holography, artificial limbs, computer driving, nanotechnology (hyper-miniaturization), and, inevitably, game-playing round out this bouncy report. Geeks and gadgets, from an admirer.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-201-08293-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1992
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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