Physics is one of the most fascinating subjects, and yet very few people have really considered it all. That’s a shame, because if we are beings who value knowledge, then we are mostly missing out. But it doesn’t have to be that way, as there are all kinds of wonderful books and documentaries available.
For example, there is a book that is really worth reading if you can spend a month absorbing it all. It is a book that I have and of which I have read many chapters. It’s a great reference book on the subject as well. The name of the book is;
“The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics” edited by Timothy Harris, published by Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, (1989), 859 pages, ISBN: 0-318-07136-6.
In this complete work you will learn everything about time and space. Information on thermodynamics, mass, gravity, relativity, black holes, and our basic understanding of it all, but remember this book was published in 1989, so quite a bit has happened since then. The first chapter is one of the best, discussing atoms and quarks, predicting the position of electrons, and basic quantum theory, which we seem to know a lot more about today. There are essays on unified theories, uncertainty principles, and Albert Einstein’s most famous equation; E=MC squared.
Well, that’s the first section, and in the second section there are chapters about our Sun, the structure of our universe, and how it all started, and how we hope it will end one day, long after we’re gone. There are chapters by Stephen Hawking, Richard Muller, Carl Sagan and so many other notables. All about comets, supernovae and our galaxy, and for all you religious types, they didn’t forget about you and in the spirit of inclusiveness, there is also a sub-chapter on “biblical creationism”.
The third and fourth sections have chapters on the Mathematics of the Cosmos and deal with extremely large numbers, artificial intelligence and the mathematics of the unknown, and the limitations of known mathematics in this realm, at least now. The fourth section deals with the men and scientists behind the theories we are now using, and how they came to be, along with a chapter titled; “Women in Science” – again in the spirit of inclusion and congratulations on your achievements.
The book is really great because there are many science poems listed along with the “Philosophy of Science”. This book will open your mind to a new dimension of learning and intrigue of our universe. Perhaps, that is its main focus, to get the reader interested in the sciences and physics of all that is, all that is known, and all that is yet to be discovered. In fact, I recommend this book to anyone who loves physics and science.