Cover image for
Title:
All of physics (almost) in 15 equations / Bruno Mansoulié ; illustrations by Lison Bernet.
Author:
Mansoulié, Bruno, author.
Publication Information:
Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific

©2017
Call Number:
QC24.5 .M3613 2017
Abstract:
Comprises 15 short chapters, each presenting an important equation of physics, from the simplest and oldest, to more complex and recent ones. The target audience is the interested general public, hence no mathematics is involved (beyond the simple expression of each equation). What can a professional "read" in an equation? Does one see a rainbow differently when one knows the law of refraction of light? Do some equations tell more than what they were invented for? The book presents an opportunity to think about the nature of the physical laws (without writing a philosophy treatise): are they written in advance, or only the result of our imagination? Memories and personal quotes in the book underline the intimate relation between a scientist and his research, and the interplay with his personal life. Each chapter is illustrated by a full page artistic drawing by Lison Bernet, sometimes kind, sometimes funny, and always poetic.
ISBN:
9789813273405
Physical Description:
xv, 138 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm
General Note:
Publication date from publisher website, viewed June 14, 2019.

Includes index.
Contents:
The law of light reflection. But what is a reflection anyway? ; By the way, what does "to see" mean? ; Physics of enlightenment -- Snell-Descartes law... and the principle of least action. Experimenting ; Whose law is it anyway? ; When light loses no time ; A principle of "least action" ; A formula to sum everything up? -- The fundamental principle of dynamics (Newton's second law). Perfect because motionless (?) ; From fountains to planets ; A touch of nostalgia for the lost "[gamma]" ; A rather dynamic physics -- The law of gravitation (Newton's first law). The unloved equation ; Too simple a law? ; ...to conceal ignorance? ; E pur, si muove! ; Cosmic chaos ; A planetary pool game -- The ideal gas law. An ideal air ; Good fortune ; The air of the law? ; An amazing hypothesis ; Measuring the size of atoms by blowing air ; A revolution in progress -- Hooke's law. The physics of the industrial revolution ; Elastic like a metal ; The "mechanic power of fire" ; Heat, movement, energy -- Navier-Stokes equation. Physicists in the fields... ; An equation difficult to conquer... ; From small-scale models to supercomputers -- Maxwell's equations. Creative equations ; The Bible of electromagnetism ; A mischievous "Z0" -- The matter-energy equivalence. Between respect and awe ; Strange relations between space and time ; To believe, truly... ; The energy of the sun... ; ...and of the atomic bomb -- Schrödinger's equation. "Psy" or "psi"? ; The first quantum vertigo ; Such a counter-intuitive world ; A wealth of applications -- Heisenberg's uncertainty relations. At the heart of the quantum fuzziness ; An imperfect world... ; But our everyday world remains sharp! ; A perfectly pure randomness ; An operational "mechanics" but a mysterious one ; Progress, an obsolete concept? -- Einstein's equations, general relativity. Dominating effects for cosmology ; Describing the whole universe ; Expansion and big bang ; The evolution of the universe ; Black holes: a laboratory... in thinking ; Here and now -- Dirac's equation. And Dirac create antimatter ; The equation first just fulfills its role ; Quite physical solutions ; Antimatter exists! ; Believing in an equation -- Feynman diagrams. Tedious calculations.... ; A little diagram for a long calculation ; A powerful language ; Dreaming of Feynman diagrams -- The standard model. In the CERN cafeteria ; The Lagrangian returns ; Hunting the Higgs ; A bright confirmation. Epilogue. The limits of the standard model... and future physics. Standard, really? ; But where is gravitation? ; The ultimate equation?
Uniform Title:
Toute la physique en 15 équations. English
Personal Author:
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