Galileo Galilei, His Life and His Works is a biographic of Galileo Galilei. The text accounts some of the most important moments of Galileo’s life, along with his contribution in physics. The first part of the text covers the major aspects of Galileo’s. Part I details Galileo’s life as a student, professor, courtier, and author. Part II covers the major works of Galileo, such as magnetism, weight of air, alloy analysis, materials strength, falling bodies, and natural oscillations. The book will be of great interest to readers who have a keen interest in the history of physics.

You think a real guy leaves everything up to chance? Don't count on it. It might seem like his every action is unplanned and unintentional, but that's not the case. Everything he does—from firing up the grill to avoiding taking out the trash—is thoroughly calculated before he does it. It's not rocket science. It's guy physics. This isn't the kind of physics they tried to teach you in school. While it does deal with velocity and force and all that good stuff, you can apply it in real life and really reap the rewards. Use it to beat your buddies on the court. Or you can use it to get out of your chores. It even comes in handy when you're working an angle at the bar. This guide proves a guy in motion will stay in motion—as long as that motion is toward a recliner and with a beer.

Adolphe Quetelet was an influential astronomer and statistician whose controversial work inspired heated debate in European and American intellectual circles. In creating a science designed to explain the "average man," he helped contribute to the idea of normal, most enduringly in his creation of the Quetelet Index, which came to be known as the Body Mass Index. Kevin Donnelly presents the first scholarly biography of Quetelet, exploring his contribution to quantitative reasoning, his place in nineteenth-century intellectual history, and his profound influence on the modern idea of average.

Men of Physics: Lord Rayleigh–The Man and His Work presents an appraisal of the significance of Rayleigh's scientific work, together with extracts from his published papers. The book starts by providing a biographical sketch of John William Strutt, Third Baron Rayleigh (1842-1919). The text then discusses Lord Rayleigh's contributions to science, including the physical phenomena, optical instruments, electrical standards, and the theory of relativity. Selections from Rayleigh’s scientific papers, which are included in the book, are also considered. These selections include papers about the theory of resonance; the intensity and polarization of the scattered light; the manufacture and theory of diffraction-gratings; and the binaural effect. Other selected papers include those about the application of the principle of reciprocity to acoustics; the stability of fluid flow; the Rayleigh disk; and acoustic streaming. The study of surface waves in elastic solids; the discovery and isolation of argon; sound propagation; and electromagnetic radiation are the other topics included in the selection of papers in the book. Physicists will find the book invaluable.

The story of two brilliant nineteenth-century scientists who discovered the electromagnetic field, laying the groundwork for the amazing technological and theoretical breakthroughs of the twentieth century Two of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these two men - separated in age by forty years - discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time. The authors, veteran science writers with special expertise in physics and engineering, have created a lively narrative that interweaves rich biographical detail from each man's life with clear explanations of their scientific accomplishments. Faraday was an autodidact, who overcame class prejudice and a lack of mathematical training to become renowned for his acute powers of experimental observation, technological skills, and prodigious scientific imagination. James Clerk Maxwell was highly regarded as one of the most brilliant mathematical physicists of the age. He made an enormous number of advances in his own right. But when he translated Faraday's ideas into mathematical language, thus creating field theory, this unified framework of electricity, magnetism and light became the basis for much of later, 20th-century physics. Faraday's and Maxwell's collaborative efforts gave rise to many of the technological innovations we take for granted today - from electric power generation to television, and much more. Told with panache, warmth, and clarity, this captivating story of their greatest work - in which each played an equal part - and their inspiring lives will bring new appreciation to these giants of science.

In the 1930s, physics was in a crisis. There appeared to be no way to reconcile the new theory of quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of relativity. Several approaches had been tried and had failed. In the post-World War II period, four eminent physicists rose to the challenge and developed a calculable version of quantum electrodynamics (QED), probably the most successful theory in physics. This formulation of QED was pioneered by Freeman Dyson, Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger, and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, three of whom won the Nobel Prize for their work. In this book, physicist and historian Silvan Schweber tells the story of these four physicists, blending discussions of their scientific work with fascinating biographical sketches. Setting the achievements of these four men in context, Schweber begins with an account of the early work done by physicists such as Dirac and Jordan, and describes the gathering of eminent theorists at Shelter Island in 1947, the meeting that heralded the new era of QED. The rest of his narrative comprises individual biographies of the four physicists, discussions of their major contributions, and the story of the scientific community in which they worked. Throughout, Schweber draws on his technical expertise to offer a lively and lucid explanation of how this theory was finally established as the appropriate way to describe the atomic and subatomic realms.