By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice. Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company Listening Length: 7 hours and 3 minutes Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks Audible.co.uk Release Date: 21 Mar. 2011 in Books > Science & Nature > Physics > Relativity in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Nonfiction > Science in Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science > Physics If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support? See all 339 customer reviews See all 339 customer reviews (newest first) on Amazon.co.uk Most Recent Customer Reviews This book is aimed at everyone but parts of it need to be read more than once. The writing is pretty clear but the concept is mind boggling. Great read if your interested in science etc Nice book, my daughter liked it Like many people I suspect, I dived into Stephen Hawking's 'A brief history of time' with gusto, only to find myself completely lost after the initial chapters had so compellingly...
Shame the diagrams are too small to make out I do not like the fact that Amazon requires a min number of words in a review An absolutely brilliant book. For those whom know much about physics and those who do not.Physics has become an easily graspable concept to me after reading this book,... Look for similar items by category Books > Science & Nature > Physics > Relativity Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > PhysicsiTunes is the world's easiest way to organize and add to your digital media collection.Click I Have iTunes to open it now. iTunes for Mac + PC E=mc2: a Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation (Unabridged)by David Bodanis View More by This Author Open iTunes to Buy Generations have grown up knowing that the equation E=mc2 changed the shape of our world, but never understanding what it actually means and why it was so significant. Here, Bodanis writes the "biography" of this great discovery and turns a seemingly impenetrable theory into a dramatic and accessible human achievement.
Bodanis begins by introducing the science and scientists forming the backdrop to Einstein's discovery. Having demystified the equation, he explains its science and brings it to life; making clear the astonishing array of discoveries and consequences it made possible and its impact on our daily lives. At last, the masses can understand that Einstein did nothing less than open the door to the inner structure of the universe. My wife and I have enjoyed the first 5 hours of this book, so far, in the car. We like the writing style of David Bodanis, and the voice of Dan Cashman. We have been mildly disappointed at the lack of scientific insight articulated in this book, but I suspect that was a deliberate omission for the intended audience. This book is about the people, not the concepts. It is a well written book. Sometimes he gets away from the equation and to side stories. Some are facinating and others, not so much. All an all it gives you an understanding of what E=mc2 really means.
Good listen in the car. This book is David's best. Especially if you have longed to understand this equation. And even more so if you have a child that is interested in science. Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity (Unabridged)David Bodanis The Joy of Pi (Unabridged)David Blatner The Future of SpacetimeRichard H. Price FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. 185 used & new from Explore featured applied science titles on sale. E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous EquationDetailsElectric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World FREE Shipping on orders over . DetailsPassionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment FREE Shipping on orders over . Just about everyone has at least heard of Albert Einstein's formulation of 1905, which came into the world as something of an afterthought. But far fewer can explain his insightful linkage of energy to mass.
David Bodanis offers an easily grasped gloss on the equation. Mass, he writes, "is simply the ultimate type of condensed or concentrated energy," whereas energy "is what billows out as an alternate form of mass under the right circumstances." Just what those circumstances are occupies much of Bodanis's book, which pays homage to Einstein and, just as important, to predecessors such as Maxwell, Faraday, and Lavoisier, who are not as well known as Einstein today. Balancing writerly energy and scholarly weight, Bodanis offers a primer in modern physics and cosmology, explaining that the universe today is an expression of mass that will, in some vastly distant future, one day slide back to the energy side of the equation, replacing the "dominion of matter" with "a great stillness"--a vision that is at once lovely and profoundly frightening. Without sliding into easy psychobiography, Bodanis explores other circumstances as well; namely, Einstein's background and character, which combined with a sterling intelligence to afford him an idiosyncratic view of the way things work--a view that would change the world.
Most people know this celebrated equation has something to do with Einstein's theory of relativity, but most nonscientists don't know what it means. This very approachable yet somewhat limited work of popular science explains, and adorns with anecdote and biography, the equation and its place in history. Oxford lecturer Bodanis (The Secret Family) shows what happened to Einstein on the way to the discovery, what other scientists did to bring it about and how the equation created the atom bomb. Part Two tackles separately the components of the equation (E, =, m, c and "squared"), which means that it covers 18th- and 19th-century physics. "'E' Is for Energy" opens with Michael Faraday, whose unusual religious beliefs helped him discover that electricity and magnetism were the same force. "'m' Is for Mass" brings in French chemist Lavoisier, who established the law of conservation of matter. Bodanis then turns to Einstein's life and work. The middle third of the book covers the exploration of the atom and the making of the atom bomb;
the cast of characters here includes Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Enrico Fermi. A concluding section considers how E=mc2 powers the sun, and how our sun and all others will eventually run out of gas. Capsule biographies here include one of the engaging English astronomer Cecilia Payne, who wouldn't let institutional sexism stop her from finding the hydrogen in the sun. Bodanis's writing is accessible to the point of chattiness: he seeks, and deserves, many readers who know no physics. They'll learn a handfulAmore important, they'll enjoy it, and pick up a load of biographical and cultural curios along the way. 20 photos and drawings not seen by PW. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group; 1st edition (October 1, 2001) 4.7 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) #139,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)