Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos Is a Non-Fiction Book by Isaac Asimov and Published in 1992
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Science Department Manasquan High School Physics Honors Summer Reading List Each student enrolled in either the Fall or Spring Physics Honors program is required to read one (1) of the books listed below and write a book report of three to five pages that will be due on the first day of school in September. Please note, even if you are enrolled in the Spring Course your report is due on the first day of school in September. Your report must be typed. Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos is a non-fiction book by Isaac Asimov and published in 1992. In it, Asimov presents the atom and subatomic particles in a historical context, beginning with Democritus' original thought experiments and theory of atomism, and ending with then-current knowledge of the fundamental particles. Isaac Asimov , D. F. Bach, Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos, Plume; Reprint edition (August 1, 1992), ISBN 0-452-26834-6 A Brief History of Time is a popular science book written by Professor Stephen Hawking and first published in 1988. It rapidly became a best-seller, and had sold 9 million copies by 2002. It was also on the London Sunday Times best-seller list for 237 weeks.Hawking, Stephen (1988). A Brief History of Time. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553- 38016- ISBN-10: 0387260056 8. A Briefer History of Time 2005, is a popular-science book from the English physicist Stephen Hawking and the American physicist Leonard Mlodinow. It is an update and rewrite of Hawking's 1988 A Brief History of Time. In this book Hawking and Mlodinow try to present quantum mechanics, string theory, and other topics in an easy way. The book also informs the reader of new frontiers of science since Hawking's previous book. ISBN 0-553-80436-7) Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy (1994) is a popular science book by Kip Thorne. It provides a good illustrated overview of the history and development of black hole theory up until the early 1990s. The main part of the book is just over five hundred pages long. The remaining ninety pages provides several sets of reference indexes for people, papers and technical footnotes. It is available in paperback and has a foreword by Stephen Hawking. This book is unique in combining understandable scientific information with the colorful history of its discovery, and inspires by reminding us of the potential of humanity. Thorne, Kip (1994). Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy. W W Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393- 31276-3 Chaos: Making A New Science is the best-selling book by James Gleick that first introduced the principles and early development of chaos theory to the public. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1987. ISBN-10: 0140092501 The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav is a popular new age book from 1979 about quantum physics interpretations. The subject is described in non-mathematical terms to enable the widest possible readership to grasp the trends in physics research and theory current as of the mid-1970s. Because the book came out in 1979, before the rise of string theory, it does not deal with the latest physics, although it remains interesting with respect to the philosophical commonality it sees between western science and eastern mysticism. The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (1979). New York: William Morrow and Company, hardcover: ISBN 0-688-03402-0, paperback: ISBN 0-688-08402-8, 352 p. A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down is a 2005 physics book by Robert Laughlin, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. It argues against the overuse of reductionism in fields such as string theory, and emphasizes that the future of physics research is in the study of emergence. ISBN-10: 0465038298 The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory is a book by Brian Greene published in 2000 which introduces string theory and provides a comprehensive though non-technical assessment of the theory and some of its shortcomings. The Elegant Universe was adapted for a three hour program in two parts for television broadcast in late 2003 on the PBS series NOVA. ISBN 0-375- 70811-1 Fear of Physics: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback) by Lawrence M. Krauss 1994. Krauss ( Cosmic Strings ), who teaches physics at Yale University, delivers a three-part lecture for lay readers on today's dominant research questions in theoretical physics. In six broad-ranging chapters with such titles as "The Art of Numbers" and "The Search for Symmetry," he examines and explains "the tools that guide physicists in their work." The accomplishments and views of such giants of modern physics as Einstein, Feynman and Heisenberg are used to illustrate the inventiveness required of those in the field. While Krauss acknowledges that this is a limited selection of ideas--the "hidden realities" of physics, not its stuff--he nonetheless serves quantum mechanics well. ISBN-10: 0465023673 The Flying Circus of Physics by Jearl Walker (1975, published by John Wiley and Sons, second edition in 2006), is a book that poses (and answers) about a thousand questions concerned with everyday physics. The emphasis is strongly on phenomena that might be encountered in one's daily life. ISBN-10: 0471762733 From Clockwork to Crapshoot: A History of Physics (2007) by Roger G. Newton. Science is about 6000 years old while physics emerged as a distinct branch some 2500 years ago. As scientists discovered virtually countless facts about the world during this great span of time, the manner in which they explained the underlying structure of that world underwent a philosophical evolution. From Clockwork to Crapshoot provides the perspective needed to understand contemporary developments in physics in relation to philosophical traditions as far back as ancient Greece. Publisher:Belknap Press Publication Date:January 2007. ISBN:9780674023376 Great Ideas in Physics by Alan P Lightman (Paperback - Jun 26, 2000) What does it mean to say that time and space are relative? How can an electron be in two places at once? For anyone who wants a basic understanding of the physical processes that define addition to explaining physics, he brings in relevant passages from philosophy and literature to demonstrate how these great ideas have impacted the world of thought. ISBN-10: 0071357386 The Isaac Newton School of Driving: Physics and Your Car by Barry Parker 2003. "Parker grew up a mechanic's son and is as comfortable discussing gear sets and weight transfer as he is explaining the formula for determining the force of drag on a vehicle at any given speed. You don't need to be an engineer to read and enjoy Parker's often entertaining book that covers everything from the basics of engines and electronics to crashes and congestion. And after learning about Wd=Fh/R, you will likely be a better driver. ISBN-10: 0801874173 It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity (Hardcover) by N. David Mermin 1995. According to an old publishing saw, every equation included in a book decreases its sales. This one attempts to defy convention. The product of Mermin's career teaching the subject to nonscience majors, its audience will be readers who are aware that near the speed of light, dimensions shrink, time slows, and mass increases infinitely but who may not know why. Assuring them that only high school-level algebra and geometry are required, Mermin begins gently with verbal descriptions of a frame of reference. The equations debut with his discussion of moving frames of reference, which at the speeds of our everyday world are easy to digest. The difficult, counterintuitive part is grasping the implications for moving frames of the absolute constancy of the speed of light. Nobody did until Einstein's 1905 paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." Mermin's dozens of diagrams illustrate the chain of reasoning that arrives at Einstein's startling discovery that mass is equivalent to energy. There's a profound difference between knowing about something, and knowing it, and Mermin succeeds at instilling the latter. ISBN-10: 0691122016 Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes, and Curiosities by Christopher Jargodzki and Franklin Potter (Paperback - Nov 21, 2000). This entertaining book is sure to appeal to anyone with an interest in what makes the world work the way it does. The question-and-answer format makes for easy comprehension, and the authors' explanations of even the most complicated phenomena are always clear and precise. Readers for whom the term science book conjures up memories of school textbooks will be pleasantly surprised by this volume's readability. Although some of the 397 questions discuss complex subjects, others address such seemingly mundane issues as why the little plastic "drinking bird" toy keeps on drinking and why, if you pay close attention, you can see more meteors near morning than in the middle of the night. And many of the answers are downright stunning, at least for general readers: a pound of feathers, for instance, really does weigh more than a pound of iron. The book's balance between the simple and the complex means it should appeal to all readers, no matter what their degree of expertise. ISBN-10: 0471569615 Making Physics: A Biography of Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1946-1972 (Hardcover) 1999. A detailed, technical account of the first 25 years of Brookhaven National Laboratory, describing not only the evolution of several groundbreaking projects, but also the personalities and politics that helped shape this community of scientists. Brookhaven historian Crease (Philosophy/SUNY, Stony Brook) begins his narrative at Columbia University in the months following WWII.