Harmony and Unity: The Life of Niels Bohr

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Publisher : Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Harmony and Unity: The Life of Niels Bohr by : Niels Blaedel

Download or read book Harmony and Unity: The Life of Niels Bohr written by Niels Blaedel and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2019-08-09 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Blaedel has addressed himself to the task of writing a full-length biography that covers all facets of his subject and that emphasizes that they form part of one harmonious unity. I think that on the whole he has succeeded remarkably well. He gives an accurate picture of the man theorists of my generation both admired and loved. And not only of the physicist: Bohr’s relations with his family and in particular with his wife, an admirable woman, are drawn with sympathy and understanding. Blaedel’s sketch of the atmosphere at Bohr’s institute in Copenhagen... is true to life; it will raise nostalgic memories among those who, like myself, experienced it... [Blaedel] has produced a fitting tribute to a great scientist and a noble man.” — H.B.G. Casimir, Nature “The book is intended primarily for nonphysicists; nevertheless it offers extensive (albeit nontechnical) accounts of all aspects of Bohr’s scientific work. The consistent emphasis, however, is on Bohr as a person—his character, interests andWeltanschauung. Niels Blaedel was able to draw on matchless resources, both human and material: Bohr’s family (especially his widow, Margrethe Bohr, who shared both her memories and her correspondence), Bohr’s former friends and colleagues, and a rich supply of documentary and photographic material from Danish collections, as well as from the AIP Niels Bohr Library in New York. The result is a lavishly illustrated and affectionate account of Bohr from his earliest years until his death... as a general picture of Bohr and his work this book can be warmly recommended.” — Anthony P. French, Physics Today “Niels Bohr is generally regarded as a giant of twentieth-century physics... Bohr was securely entrenched in a Danish culture that is difficult for many historians to penetrate. It is important, then, that at last a biography has been written by a Dane with wide knowledge of the society in which Bohr lived and moved... The author had unprecedented access to Bohr’s family correspondence, primarily with his wife Margrethe, who, before she died at ninety-four in 1984, read Blaedel many letters from her husband... Blaedel’s book, written on commission for the Bohr centennial and published in Danish in 1985, contains valuable insights on Bohr, particularly as they relate to his previously unavailable family correspondence and his place in Danish culture.” — Finn Aaserud, Isis: A Journal of the History of Science “Though Niels Bohr is best known as a distinguished citizen of the international community of science, he was also a leading citizen of Denmark. This is the first biography of Bohr to deal with both of these dimensions to his life, without which it is hard to fully understand either the man or his work.” — Robert March, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of Physics for Poets “... the book can be read without any background knowledge in physics. But its overwhelming number of photographs and rich use of letters and recollections make Niels Blaedel’s book closely resemble the great standard biography — a literary monument to Niels Bohr.” — Flemming Christian Nielsen, Jyllands-Posten “Niels Blaedel has solved an almost insoluble problem... thereby clarifying the life of Niels Bohr... a well-constructed piece of documentation and a coherent piece of scientific history.” — Jens Kistrup, Berlingske Tidende

Redirecting Science: Niels Bohr, Philanthropy, and the Rise of Nuclear Physics

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Publisher : Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Redirecting Science: Niels Bohr, Philanthropy, and the Rise of Nuclear Physics by : Finn Aaserud

Download or read book Redirecting Science: Niels Bohr, Philanthropy, and the Rise of Nuclear Physics written by Finn Aaserud and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2019-08-17 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How and why do complex scientific disciplines such as physics change emphasis from one sub-discipline to another? Do such transitions stem entirely from developments within the discipline itself or also from external factors? This book addresses these questions by examining the transition from atomic to nuclear physics, theoretically and experimentally, at Niels Bohr’s Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen in the 1930s. On the basis of extensive archival research, Finn Aaserud shows that the “Copenhagen spirit,” the playful research atmosphere under Bohr’s fatherly guidance that permeated the Institute, thrived because of extra-scientific circumstances that Bohr exploited to the fullest, such as the need to help Jewish physicists out of Hitler’s Germany and the changing funding policies of private foundations, notably those of the Rockefeller Foundation which made it opportune to introduce research in experimental biology at the Institute. “A clear, carefully developed and substantially convincing argument... Aaserud gives a detailed and impressively documented account of the direction of Bohr’s scientific interests... Aaserud is... to be congratulated for his original, clear — indeed, didactic — work of scholarship and enlightenment.” — Paul Forman, Physics Today “A professional historian’s study of the happenings at the Niels Bohr Institute in the decisive years 1930 to 1940... In particular, the... support of the Institute by Danish and other foundations, mainly the Rockefeller Foundation, are treated in great detail, revealing many interesting aspects of these relationships... The detailed accounts... of Bohr’s negotiations are a testimony to Bohr’s uncanny ability to get what he wanted from the various foundations... Aaserud’s book is an invaluable source of information [showing] that Bohr was not only an inspiring physicist and philosopher but also a cunning negotiator who knew how to make use of his great reputation for the benefit of science.” — Victor F. Weisskopf, Science “Aaserud elucidates Bohr’s skills not only as mentor and guiding hand behind the ‘Copenhagen spirit,’ but also as financial negotiator.” — Neil Wasserman, Isis, A Journal of the History of Science Society “This book teaches us that running such [a truly elite] institution required entrepreneurial skills as well as scientific genius. Bohr had an abundance of both.” — Jeremy Bernstein, Nature “Redirecting Science is the history of Bohr’s institute during the 1930s when it experienced a drastic change in its research priorities, from a laissez-faire mode of work and lack of clearly defined research programme to a concerted research effort in nuclear physics and experimental biology... Aaserud gives a highly interesting account of the interaction between physics and biology... Aaserud’s carefully documented work is an excellent example of how institutional history may transcend social and institutional limitations and integrate also conceptual history of science.” — Helge Kragh, Centaurus “By showing that a new research programme at one of the most important scientific institutes in the world was triggered, and pushed forward, by social and financial considerations, this book delivers yet another blow to the tired old idea that scientific knowledge is driven by its own internal, inexorable logic. It also throws valuable light on Bohr’s activities and strategies as a fundraiser and institution builder.” — John Krige, The British Journal for the History of Science

Niels Bohr

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 0198819269
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Niels Bohr by : J. L. Heilbron

Download or read book Niels Bohr written by J. L. Heilbron and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the life and work of the pioneer of the quantum theory of the atom who ranks with Einstein in importance for the development of modern physics

Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom

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Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191630462
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom by : Helge Kragh

Download or read book Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom written by Helge Kragh and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-05-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom is the first book that focuses in detail on the birth and development of Bohr's atomic theory and gives a comprehensive picture of it. At the same time it offers new insight into Bohr's peculiar way of thinking, what Einstein once called his 'unique instinct and tact'. Contrary to most other accounts of the Bohr atom, the book presents it in a broader perspective which includes the reception among other scientists and the criticism launched against it by scientists of a more conservative inclination. Moreover, it discusses the theory as Bohr originally conceived it, namely, as an ambitious theory covering the structure of atoms as well as molecules. By discussing the theory in its entirety it becomes possible to understand why it developed as it did and thereby to use it as an example of the dynamics of scientific theories.

Reading Bohr: Physics and Philosophy

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402052545
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Reading Bohr: Physics and Philosophy by : Arkady Plotnitsky

Download or read book Reading Bohr: Physics and Philosophy written by Arkady Plotnitsky and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-11-15 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a new perspective on Niels Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics as complementarity, and on the relationships between physics and philosophy in Bohr's work. The importance of quantum field theory for Bohr's thinking has not been adequately addressed in the literature on Bohr. This book provides clarification of Bohr's writings (which usually pose problems of reading), and an analysis of the role of quantum field theory in Bohr's thinking.

Michael Frayn's Copenhagen in Debate

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Michael Frayn's Copenhagen in Debate by : Matthias Dörries

Download or read book Michael Frayn's Copenhagen in Debate written by Matthias Dörries and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Einstein in Berlin

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Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0525508953
Total Pages : 498 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (255 download)

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Book Synopsis Einstein in Berlin by : Thomas Levenson

Download or read book Einstein in Berlin written by Thomas Levenson and published by Random House. This book was released on 2017-05-23 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a book that is both biography and the most exciting form of history, here are eighteen years in the life of a man, Albert Einstein, and a city, Berlin, that were in many ways the defining years of the twentieth century. Einstein in Berlin In the spring of 1913 two of the giants of modern science traveled to Zurich. Their mission: to offer the most prestigious position in the very center of European scientific life to a man who had just six years before been a mere patent clerk. Albert Einstein accepted, arriving in Berlin in March 1914 to take up his new post. In December 1932 he left Berlin forever. “Take a good look,” he said to his wife as they walked away from their house. “You will never see it again.” In between, Einstein’s Berlin years capture in microcosm the odyssey of the twentieth century. It is a century that opens with extravagant hopes--and climaxes in unparalleled calamity. These are tumultuous times, seen through the life of one man who is at once witness to and architect of his day--and ours. He is present at the events that will shape the journey from the commencement of the Great War to the rumblings of the next one. We begin with the eminent scientist, already widely recognized for his special theory of relativity. His personal life is in turmoil, with his marriage collapsing, an affair under way. Within two years of his arrival in Berlin he makes one of the landmark discoveries of all time: a new theory of gravity--and before long is transformed into the first international pop star of science. He flourishes during a war he hates, and serves as an instrument of reconciliation in the early months of the peace; he becomes first a symbol of the hope of reason, then a focus for the rage and madness of the right. And throughout these years Berlin is an equal character, with its astonishing eruption of revolutionary pathways in art and architecture, in music, theater, and literature. Its wild street life and sexual excesses are notorious. But with the debacle of the depression and Hitler’s growing power, Berlin will be transformed, until by the end of 1932 it is no longer a safe home for Einstein. Once a hero, now vilified not only as the perpetrator of “Jewish physics” but as the preeminent symbol of all that the Nazis loathe, he knows it is time to leave.

The Private Lives of Albert Einstein

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Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312302276
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis The Private Lives of Albert Einstein by : Roger Highfield

Download or read book The Private Lives of Albert Einstein written by Roger Highfield and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1994-03-15 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This controversial account of Albert Einstein's scandalous personal life challenges the image of this genius, painting a shocking portrait that exposes him as "an adulterous, egomaniacal misogynist who may have even beaten his first wife"(The New York Times Sunday Magazine). Photos.

The Cambridge Companion to Einstein

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521828341
Total Pages : 579 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (218 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cambridge Companion to Einstein by : Michel Janssen

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Einstein written by Michel Janssen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-19 with total page 579 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These fourteen essays by leading historians and philosophers of science introduce the reader to the work of Albert Einstein. Following an introduction that places Einstein's work in the context of his life and times, the essays explain his main contributions to physics in terms that are accessible to a general audience, including special and general relativity, quantum physics, statistical physics, and unified field theory. The closing essays explore the relation between Einstein's work and twentieth-century philosophy, as well as his political writings.

True Genius

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Publisher : Joseph Henry Press
ISBN 13 : 0309084083
Total Pages : 489 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis True Genius by : Vicki Daitch

Download or read book True Genius written by Vicki Daitch and published by Joseph Henry Press. This book was released on 2002-10-28 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is genius? Define it. Now think of scientists who embody the concept of genius. Does the name John Bardeen spring to mind? Indeed, have you ever heard of him? Like so much in modern life, immediate name recognition often rests on a cult of personality. We know Einstein, for example, not just for his tremendous contributions to science, but also because he was a character, who loved to mug for the camera. And our continuing fascination with Richard Feynman is not exclusively based on his body of work; it is in large measure tied to his flamboyant nature and offbeat sense of humor. These men, and their outsize personalities, have come to erroneously symbolize the true nature of genius and creativity. We picture them born brilliant, instantly larger than life. But is that an accurate picture of genius? What of others who are equal in stature to these icons of science, but whom history has awarded only a nod because they did not readily engage the public? Could a person qualify as a bona fide genius if he was a regular Joe? The answer may rest in the story of John Bardeen. John Bardeen was the first person to have been awarded two Nobel Prizes in the same field. He shared one with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the transistor. But it was the charismatic Shockley who garnered all the attention, primarily for his Hollywood ways and notorious views on race and intelligence. Bardeen's second Nobel Prize was awarded for the development of a theory of superconductivity, a feat that had eluded the best efforts of leading theorists-including Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Richard Feynman. Arguably, Bardeen's work changed the world in more ways than that of any other scientific genius of his time. Yet while every school child knows of Einstein, few people have heard of John Bardeen. Why is this the case? Perhaps because Bardeen differs radically from the popular stereotype of genius. He was a modest, mumbling Midwesterner, an ordinary person who worked hard and had a knack for physics and mathematics. He liked to picnic with his family, collaborate quietly with colleagues, or play a round of golf. None of that was newsworthy, so the media, and consequently the public, ignored him. John Bardeen simply fits a new profile of genius. Through an exploration of his science as well as his life, a fresh and thoroughly engaging portrait of genius and the nature of creativity emerges. This perspective will have readers looking anew at what it truly means to be a genius.

The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein: The early years, 1879-1902

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein: The early years, 1879-1902 by : Albert Einstein

Download or read book The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein: The early years, 1879-1902 written by Albert Einstein and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Quantum Mechanics at the Crossroads

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540326650
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Quantum Mechanics at the Crossroads by : James Evans

Download or read book Quantum Mechanics at the Crossroads written by James Evans and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-11-02 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together leading quantum physicists to expound on the meaning and future directions of quantum mechanics. It offers new insights from different vantage points to tackle essential questions in quantum mechanics and its interpretation. All the authors have written for a broad readership, and the resulting volume will appeal to everyone wishing to keep abreast of new developments in quantum mechanics, as well as its history and philosophy.

Einstein's Nobel Prize

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780881352832
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (528 download)

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Book Synopsis Einstein's Nobel Prize by : Aant Elzinga

Download or read book Einstein's Nobel Prize written by Aant Elzinga and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In essence, Einstein did not win the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1921 for developing the theory of relativity. Instead the committee in charge considered his work on the photoelectric effect more worthy of attention. Here Elzinga (history of ideas and history of science emeritus, U. of Goteborg), working from his research in the Nobel archives of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, describes the complex story of how and why Einstein received the award, having been nominated 60 times from 1910 to 1922. He explores the possibilities of who and what were responsible for the sole successful nomination, the scientific community's skepticism about relativity, the role philosophy, politics and culture had in science in the cold war after the First World War, and what it was about Einstein himself that may have encouraged or discouraged the committee.

Electrodynamics from Ampère to Einstein

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780198505938
Total Pages : 566 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (59 download)

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Book Synopsis Electrodynamics from Ampère to Einstein by : Olivier Darrigol

Download or read book Electrodynamics from Ampère to Einstein written by Olivier Darrigol and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-06-26 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book recounts the developments of fundamental electrodynamics from Ampère's investigation of the forces between electric currents to Einstein's introduction of a new doctrine of space and time. The emphasis is on the diverse, evolving practices of electrodynamics and the interactions between the corresponding scientific traditions. A richly documented, clearly written, and abundantly illustrated history of the subject.

An Einstein Encyclopedia

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691141746
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis An Einstein Encyclopedia by : Alice Calaprice

Download or read book An Einstein Encyclopedia written by Alice Calaprice and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-27 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete guide to everything you ever wanted to know about Einstein This is the single most complete guide to Albert Einstein's life and work for students, researchers, and browsers alike. Written by three leading Einstein scholars who draw on their combined wealth of expertise gained during their work on the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, this authoritative and accessible reference features more than one hundred entries and is divided into three parts covering the personal, scientific, and public spheres of Einstein’s life. An Einstein Encyclopedia contains entries on Einstein’s birth and death, family and romantic relationships, honors and awards, educational institutions where he studied and worked, citizenships and immigration to America, hobbies and travels, plus the people he befriended and the history of his archives and the Einstein Papers Project. Entries on Einstein’s scientific theories provide useful background and context, along with details about his assistants, collaborators, and rivals, as well as physics concepts related to his work. Coverage of Einstein’s role in public life includes entries on his Jewish identity, humanitarian and civil rights involvements, political and educational philosophies, religion, and more. Commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the theory of general relativity, An Einstein Encyclopedia also includes a chronology of Einstein’s life and appendixes that provide information for further reading and research, including an annotated list of a selection of Einstein’s publications and a review of selected books about Einstein. More than 100 entries cover the rich details of Einstein’s personal, professional, and public life Authoritative entries explain Einstein’s family relationships, scientific achievements, political activities, religious views, and more More than 40 illustrations include photos of Einstein and his circle plus archival materials A chronology of Einstein’s life, appendixes, and suggestions for further reading provide essential details for further research

From the Atomic Bomb to the Landau Institute

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642275613
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis From the Atomic Bomb to the Landau Institute by : Isaak M. Khalatnikov

Download or read book From the Atomic Bomb to the Landau Institute written by Isaak M. Khalatnikov and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-05-31 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is an expanded autobiography of the famous theoretical physicist Isaak Khalatnikov. He worked together with L.D. Landau at the Institute for Physical Problems lead by P.L. Kapitza. He is the co-author of L.D. Landau in a number of important works. They worked together in the frame of the so-called Nuclear Bomb Project. After the death of L.D. Landau, I.M. Khalatnikov initiated the establishment of the Institute for Theoretical Physics, named in honour of L.D. Landau, within the USSR Academy of Sciences. He headed this institute from the beginning as its Director. The institute inherited almost all traditions of the Landau scientific school and played a prominent role in the development of theoretical physics. So, this is a story about how the institute was created, how it worked, and about the life of the physicists in the "golden age" of the Soviet science. A separate chapter is devoted to today ́s life of the institute and the young generation of physicists working now in science. It is an historically interesting book on the development of Soviet and Russian science and presents the background of the Soviet nuclear bomb program in the cold war age. In war times, Khalatnikov was a chief of the military staff of nuclear research. He writes about the internal conditions of Soviet society, the way of operating of the Soviet authorities and ways for scientists to interact with them. It gives many interesting insights into the development of superconductivity and superfluidity. The book is written by the most experienced and best informed person among the few living Russian scientists in the environment of Landau. Many stories of the book were never published before and considered as "top secret".

Einstein's German World

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691214069
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Einstein's German World by : Fritz Stern

Download or read book Einstein's German World written by Fritz Stern and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The French political philosopher Raymond Aron once observed that the twentieth century "could have been Germany's century." In 1900, the country was Europe's preeminent power, its material strength and strident militaristic ethos apparently balanced by a vital culture and extraordinary scientific achievement. It was poised to achieve greatness. In Einstein's German World, the eminent historian Fritz Stern explores the ambiguous promise of Germany before Hitler, as well as its horrifying decline into moral nihilism under Nazi rule, and aspects of its remarkable recovery since World War II. He does so by gracefully blending history and biography in a sequence of finely drawn studies of Germany's great scientists and of German-Jewish relations before and during Hitler's regime. Stern's central chapter traces the complex friendship of Albert Einstein and the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Fritz Haber, contrasting their responses to German life and to their Jewish heritage. Haber, a convert to Christianity and a firm German patriot until the rise of the Nazis; Einstein, a committed internationalist and pacifist, and a proud though secular Jew. Other chapters, also based on new archival sources, consider the turbulent and interrelated careers of the physicist Max Planck, an austere and powerful figure who helped to make Berlin a happy, productive place for Einstein and other legendary scientists; of Paul Ehrlich, the founder of chemotherapy; of Walther Rathenau, the German-Jewish industrialist and statesman tragically assassinated in 1922; and of Chaim Weizmann, chemist, Zionist, and first president of Israel, whose close relations with his German colleagues is here for the first time recounted. Stern examines the still controversial way that historians have dealt with World War I and Germans have dealt with their nation's defeat, and he analyzes the conflicts over the interpretations of Germany's past that persist to this day. He also writes movingly about the psychic cost of Germany's reunification in 1990, the reconciliation between Germany and Poland, and the challenges and prospects facing Germany today. At once historical and personal, provocative and accessible, Einstein's German World illuminates the issues that made Germany's and Europe's past and present so important in a tumultuous century of creativity and violence.