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Overview
At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years.The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.Author Biography: Helge Kragh is Professor of History of Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. His previous books include An Introduction to the Historiography of Science, Dirac: A Scientific Biography, and Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe (Princeton).
Editorials
Jeremy Bernstein
Mr. Kragh's stated objective is to write a history that will be accessible to other than professional physicists who, by the way, do not seem to have much of an interest in either the history or philosophy of their subject these days - with some notable exceptions. To this end, he has kept the equations to a bare minimum. Nonetheless, since this is a history of physics, there is inevitably a good deal of physics. I expect that a non-physicist reader will have some difficulty with some of this, but there is plenty in this book for such a reader as well.— Washington Times
Sidney Perkowitz
Living in a century that has seen more than its share of warfare and genocide, the notion that we live in a golden age seems strikingly at odds with reality. Yet it's true: within a century we've seen the rise of the new physics, which has, however haltingly, at last begun to answer the big questions. Modern physics has laid bare the nitty-gritty of the physical world, creating what is in essence a scientific renaissance. It resembles those other great intellectual ages: classical Greece, the Renaissance itself and the Enlightenment. It's amazing how neatly this revolution fits into the hundred-year frame: modern physics began in 1895 when Wilhelm Roeentgen discovered X-rays. This finding is just one of the high points that Helge Kragh, historian of science at Aarhus University in Denmark, showcases in"Quantum Generations."— New Scientist
Publishers Weekly -
How did modern physics get from Rutherford and radioactivity to Heisenberg, Hiroshima and Stephen Hawking? Whose discoveries led to what theories, and why? How were physics and physicists affected by the micro- and macro-politics--from institutional rivalries to totalitarian movements--so visible throughout our century? Kragh (Dirac; Cosmology and Controversy), a historian of science at Aarhus University in Denmark, offers a hefty account of experiments and theories, experimental scientists and theoreticians, from the 1890s (marked by the rise of "electrodynamic models" as against mechanical ones) to the 1990s, when Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) promised to explain a forest of charmingly named elementary particles. In between, he covers debates about atomic structure; "the slow rise of quantum theory"; cryogenics; Einsteinian relativity (and its misinterpretations); the political, military and economic roles of physicists in and between the world wars; the Bomb; the meson, the boson, et al.; the Big Bang; superconductivity; and the perpetually frustrating dances between scientists and the organizations that fund them. Unable to cover all the physics there is, Kragh focuses on the best-known and most influential parts: on nuclear and subatomic physics, on relativity and cosmology and on European and American scientists. He concludes that, despite the surprises of quantum mechanics, 20th-century "physics... [has] resulted in new and much-improved theories, but that these have been produced largely cumulatively and without a complete break with the past." Neither a specialized academic work nor a mere popularization, Kragh's tome exhibits the kind of synthetic, deeply detailed and carefully explained survey more common in military or art history than in the history of science. It's an impressive reference work, and a serious, rewarding read. 22 b&w illus., 34 tables. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
Kragh, a Danish historian of science, has written many important works on this subject, among them Cosmology and Controversy: the Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe. His new book is a brief, condensed, and selective description of physics in the 20th century. Hragh does an exceptional job of trying to cover in a single one volume one of the most prolific sciences of this century, concentrating on its major developments while sketching out some important applications such as materials science and medical physics. A complementary reading is Robert D. Purrington's Physics in the Nineteenth Century (Rutgers Univ., 1997). Recommended for public and academic libraries and would be a nice addition to history of physics, history of science, and Western civilization history collections.--Nestor Osorio, Northern Illinois Univ. Libs., Dekalb Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Nature
A readable and enormously valuable book. . . .— Graham Farmelo
Physics World
An ambitious one-volume history: the first comprehensive textbook to address most of the significant aspects in the intellectual history of 20th-century physics. Kragh's achievement . . . is quite remarkable. . . . For physicists who want to 'humanize' their courses, or brush up on their professional past, for those who teach the history of modern science, and for anyone fascinated with physics, I can recommend this book as an indispensable resource.— Diana Barkan
New Scientist
Within a century we've seen the rise of new physics, which has, however haltingly, at last begun to answer the big questions. . . . Taken together, they're an embarrassment of riches, and Kragh has had to pare the story down severely. But he's equal to the task, and manages to cover the pantheon of 20th-century physics. . . .Financial Times
It is a thrilling story, full of excitement, danger, surprise and beauty, and it is told with lucidity and scholarship by Helge Kragh. What he gives us in this absorbing account is the story of what could be mankind's greatest intellectual adventure to date.Booklist
Compared with the popular interest books on physics . . . Kragh presents appreciably more technical detail, and his estimable overview will appeal better to the active physics student.Washington Times
A fine new study. . . . Mr. Kragh manages to cover this vast canvas in less than 500 pages, leaving very little of importance out. It is amazing how concise one can be if once knows what one is talking about.— Jeremy Bernstein
Physics Today
An excellent guide to the historical literature on almost any subject in the history of twentieth-century physics.— Laurie M. Brown
American Journal of Physics
Missing until now has been a relatively short, readable book that synthesizes the extensive research by historians of modern physics, to give an accurate guide to the new physics and the complex plaths by which it was developed. Quantum Generations does all this, and more . . . It is hard to think of anyone better qualified to write this book.— Stephen G. Brush
Centaurus
A superb account of the last hundred years of physics. . . . I very much doubt we will see a comparable history of twentieth century physics for years to come. This is a magnificent work of synthesis that cannot be too highly commended for its balance, coverage, and clarity.— Xavier Roque
Contemporary Physics
This is very good scientific history and in some measure philosophy written by someone who has an understanding of the process of scientific work. The writing is clear and largely non-technical. Although the focus is cosmology, the book will appeal to anyone with an interest in how science actually works, whether it is through the history of the philosophy.— D.R. Matravers
ISIS
This book is a very ambitious and largely successful attempt to provide a one-volume history of twentieth-century physics. It is a Herculean task, and Helge Kragh is well aware of the problems and pitfalls. . . . Incredibly enough, Kragh . . . [gives] both a fair assessment of most of the major themes in this most busy and creative of centuries, and yet at the same time giving summaries of the major research developments within each of the major fields. This is no mean feat, and in fact it is a rather amazing one, so that we have here, in one volume, a wide-ranging view of many of the outstanding accomplishments of this century in physics.— Daniel M. Greenberger
The Economist
A sweeping survey of the development of modern physics . . . wide-ranging, studiously researched, and comprehensive.Nature -
A readable and enormously valuable book. . . .Physics World -
An ambitious one-volume history: the first comprehensive textbook to address most of the significant aspects in the intellectual history of 20th-century physics. Kragh's achievement . . . is quite remarkable. . . . For physicists who want to 'humanize' their courses, or brush up on their professional past, for those who teach the history of modern science, and for anyone fascinated with physics, I can recommend this book as an indispensable resource.Washington Times -
A fine new study. . . . Mr. Kragh manages to cover this vast canvas in less than 500 pages, leaving very little of importance out. It is amazing how concise one can be if once knows what one is talking about.Physics Today -
An excellent guide to the historical literature on almost any subject in the history of twentieth-century physics.American Journal of Physics -
Missing until now has been a relatively short, readable book that synthesizes the extensive research by historians of modern physics, to give an accurate guide to the new physics and the complex plaths by which it was developed. Quantum Generations does all this, and more . . . It is hard to think of anyone better qualified to write this book.Centaurus -
A superb account of the last hundred years of physics. . . . I very much doubt we will see a comparable history of twentieth century physics for years to come. This is a magnificent work of synthesis that cannot be too highly commended for its balance, coverage, and clarity.Contemporary Physics -
This is very good scientific history and in some measure philosophy written by someone who has an understanding of the process of scientific work. The writing is clear and largely non-technical. Although the focus is cosmology, the book will appeal to anyone with an interest in how science actually works, whether it is through the history of the philosophy.ISIS -
This book is a very ambitious and largely successful attempt to provide a one-volume history of twentieth-century physics. It is a Herculean task, and Helge Kragh is well aware of the problems and pitfalls. . . . Incredibly enough, Kragh . . . [gives] both a fair assessment of most of the major themes in this most busy and creative of centuries, and yet at the same time giving summaries of the major research developments within each of the major fields. This is no mean feat, and in fact it is a rather amazing one, so that we have here, in one volume, a wide-ranging view of many of the outstanding accomplishments of this century in physics.Book Details
Published
November 5, 1999
Publisher
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1999.
Pages
512
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780691012063