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Overview
In his long-awaited new book, physicist and popular science writer Barry Parker speaks to the broadest possible audience in bringing Einstein's theories to life. Given the fervent renewed appreciation for the contributions Albert Einstein has bestowed on humanity, Parker thinks it only right to dedicate a book to explaining in the clearest possible terms the meaning and beauty of Einstein's theories.
While tracing the story of Einstein's life, Parker seizes on the crucial groundbreaking theories that Einstein envisioned. Not since Isaac Newton had anyone conceived the universe in such a revolutionary, startling new way. Through Parker's eloquence, eye for detail, and clever use of Einsteinian cartoons and vivid illustrations, he enables the reader to see and appreciate for perhaps the first time the full meaning and scope of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity.
Parker then guides the reader to the next step in Einstein's revelations: the possibility of time travel. In exploring the fascinating implications of Einstein's thought, Parker treats us to the experience of discovering a black hole, traversing curved spacetime, and greeting our much younger twin who has just returned from a long and arduous spaceflight.
Parker's incomparable gift for language captures Einstein's uniqueness, singular brilliance, and stunning theories. The clarity of the writing coupled with the many illustrations will drive home the point why so many consider Einstein to be the greatest scientist who ever lived and Time magazine named Albert Einstein "Person of the Century."
Synopsis
In 2000, Time magazine named Albert Einstein "Person of the Century." Given the ongoing interest in Einstein's enduring contributions to science, physicist and popular science writer Barry Parker has dedicated this accessible book to explaining in the clearest possible terms the meaning and beauty of Einstein's theories.
While tracing the story of Einstein's life, Parker seizes on the crucial groundbreaking theories that Einstein envisioned. Not since Isaac Newton had anyone conceived the universe in such a revolutionary, startling new way. Through Parker's eloquence, eye for detail, and clever use of Einsteinian cartoons and vivid illustrations, he enables the reader to see and appreciate for perhaps the first time the full meaning and scope of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity. Parker then guides the reader to the next step in Einstein's revelations: the possibility of time travel. In exploring the fascinating implications of Einstein's thought, Parker treats us to the experience of discovering a black hole, traversing curved spacetime, and greeting our much younger twin who has just returned from a long and arduous spaceflight.
Parker's incomparable gift for language captures Einstein's uniqueness, singular brilliance, and stunning theories, while helping lay readers to understand why so many consider Einstein to be the greatest scientist who ever lived.
Publishers Weekly
Space is curved. And time is part of space. And space and time contract as you speed up. Moreover, nothing can go faster than light. Nothing gets out of a black hole. "Acceleration and gravity [are] intimately related." These and other counterintuitive properties of our (expanding) universe all emerged from Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. Their consequences reshaped the world of physics--and their complexity has given generations of popularizers plenty of work. The latest book to tackle Einstein's insights and their consequences is also one of the clearest and shortest yet. Parker (Search for a Supertheory, etc.), a longtime professor of physics at Idaho State University, explains Einstein's theories in nonmathematical language, along with their famous predictions, tests and implications. A particularly strong chapter (with a full complement of clean diagrams) addresses the theory and practice of time travel. Parker looks with a friendly eye at the private lives of Einstein and his physicist contemporaries (his first chapter covers "Einstein as a Youth"). But he devotes more space to the life of the universe--to its initial big bang and to its probable, gradual end. Starting with the 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment (which proved the nonexistence of an invisible, omnipresent stuff called ether), Parker addresses the findings that moved Einstein to his discoveries. Later chapters outline relativity's successors in the march of theoretical physics, notably quantum theory and Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty, which Einstein himself refused to accept. Students and others looking for fascinating and painless introductions to this particular, well-traveled, but still-startling corner of the sciences will be happy with Parker as their guide. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Students and others looking for fascinating and painless introductions to this particular, well-traveled, but still-startling corner of the sciences will be happy with Parker as their guide. The latest book to tackle Einstein's insights and their consequences is also one of the clearest and shortest yet." - Publishers Weekly"In clever, easy-to-follow prose, with plenty of cartoon help, Parker fleshes out Einstein's major contribution to science and mankind, while adding a bit of biography and some fun speculation about the possibilities of time travel."
-San Diego Tribune
Publishers Weekly -
Space is curved. And time is part of space. And space and time contract as you speed up. Moreover, nothing can go faster than light. Nothing gets out of a black hole. "Acceleration and gravity [are] intimately related." These and other counterintuitive properties of our (expanding) universe all emerged from Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. Their consequences reshaped the world of physics--and their complexity has given generations of popularizers plenty of work. The latest book to tackle Einstein's insights and their consequences is also one of the clearest and shortest yet. Parker (Search for a Supertheory, etc.), a longtime professor of physics at Idaho State University, explains Einstein's theories in nonmathematical language, along with their famous predictions, tests and implications. A particularly strong chapter (with a full complement of clean diagrams) addresses the theory and practice of time travel. Parker looks with a friendly eye at the private lives of Einstein and his physicist contemporaries (his first chapter covers "Einstein as a Youth"). But he devotes more space to the life of the universe--to its initial big bang and to its probable, gradual end. Starting with the 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment (which proved the nonexistence of an invisible, omnipresent stuff called ether), Parker addresses the findings that moved Einstein to his discoveries. Later chapters outline relativity's successors in the march of theoretical physics, notably quantum theory and Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty, which Einstein himself refused to accept. Students and others looking for fascinating and painless introductions to this particular, well-traveled, but still-startling corner of the sciences will be happy with Parker as their guide. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|Library Journal
For an easy introduction to Albert Einstein, the standard is Joseph Schwartz and Michael McGuinness's Einstein for Beginners (1990), a cartoon classic with a Socialist slant. Parker, a former physics professor and prolific science writer (Alien Life: The Search for Extraterrestrials and Beyond), tries his hand at making Einstein's theories accessible to a general audience but falls short of the best efforts in this area. Perhaps the main flaw is that he studiously avoids mention of politics or the atomic bomb yet still tries to take his reader beyond just the science of relativity. The result seems watered down. Parker describes how "hundreds of reporters were soon besieging" Einstein after the confirmation of his theory of relativity, but the reader is left unsure why an unknown physics professor with a theory nobody understood became an overnight celebrity. Parker's scientific writing is nicely done, but the oversimplified diagrams don't help clarify a complex subject. Readers looking for a good introduction should stick to the cartoon or try Denis Brian's fine biography, Einstein: A Life (LJ 4/15/96).--Amy Brunvand, Univ. of Utah, Marriott Lib., Salt Lake City Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\Booknews
Retired physics professor Parker makes a valiant attempt at explaining what all the hoopla is about. He certainly succeeds in keeping the discussion non-technical, using almost no mathematics, and explaining terms so that even high schools students and readers who barely passed algebra 20 years ago can understand. The flaw is inconsistency<-- >referring back to topics he has not in fact discussed, misplaced figures, misinterpretations (the existence of the cat was never in question), and the like. To my mind, the fault lies not with Parker but with the publisher, who clearly did not provide enough editorial support to help iron out the wrinkles. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)From The Critics
In 1919, the results of two expeditions observing an eclipse were presented at a joint meeting of the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society. These results verified Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and the chairman of the Royal Society announced that it was "the most important result obtained in connection with the theory of gravity since Newton's day." Ironically, the new theory was so mathematically complex that it was rumored only three people in the entire world truly understood it.In this book, Parker, physicist and award-winning science writer, attempts to explain to the layperson Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity. These theories are extremely counter-intuitive, and Parker does a good job of presenting them in as straightforward a manner as possible. Parker uses Einsteinian cartoons to explain concepts like the space-time continuum and the curvature of space due to mass. He uses simple analogies to show that at the speed of light, clocks stop and objects disappear; he explains that the speed of light is unattainable, but that beyond the speed of light, the General Theory of Relativity may not apply. Einstein knew his theory was incomplete—it did not include atoms and elementary particles. Toward the end of his life, Einstein worked at expanding his theories to include quantum mechanics, but he was never able to achieve his goal.
Included throughout this book are short quotes and anecdotes, which give the reader a glimpse into Einstein's personal life. Einstein hated publicity, and "had a dislike for fame and fortune." A streetcar conductor once accused him of not knowing "how to figure." Also included at the end is a brief glossary of related terms. This is an immense amount of complex material, and Parker does an admirable job of condensing and summarizing the information.