Physics Books

Stephen Hawking, the most important theoretical physicist since Einstein, recaps for the lay reader the theories--such as supersymmetry, M-theory, superstring theory, and black holes--that scientists have been puzzling over since the publication of his bestseller A Brief History of Time.

First published in 1975, The Tao of Physics rode the wave of fascination in exotic East Asian philosophies. Decades later, it still stands up to scrutiny, explicating not only Eastern philosophies but also how modern physics forces us into conceptions that have remarkable parallels.

Unlike many books on physics which focus entirely on fact and theory with little or no historic detail, this work incorporates fascinating personal and biographical data about the great physicists past and present. Each chapter is centered around a single great figure or, at most, two, with other physicists of the era and their contributions forming a background.

For all of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of thermodynamics, or freeze up at the mention of quantum mechanics, like a bolt from the blue, INSTANT PHYSICS will zap you through the fascinating history of our most basic, yet baffling, science.

Here is the most practical, complete, and easy-to-use guide available for understanding physics and the physical world. Even if you don't consider yourself a "science" person, this book helps make learning key concepts a pleasure, not a chore.

Six Roads from Newton is a lively tour through six monumental developments in physics since Newton: wave theory, field theory, statistical physics, special relativity, quantum theory, and general relativity. Together these crucial discoveries formed the basis of the modern revolution in physics, shattering Newton's view of the universe, and leading the way to the mind-boggling and fascinating questions at the cutting edge of physics today.

Designed for non-scientists, Six Easy Pieces is an unparalleled introduction to the world of physics by one of the greatest teachers of all time.

Suplee's text gives an overview of 20th-century physics; he balances chapters on atomic structure, quantum theory, and cosmology with ones on chaos, materials, and light. His writing is clear and nontechnical, giving a well-balanced roller-skate tour of an immense growth in scientific knowledge: "The world as it is now understood differs more dramatically from the Victorian view than the science of Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton differed from that of Aristotle."