Showing results for "Histories" in Physics

Medieval knights were like armoured tanks in combat. They often made quick work of their enemies. They may not have realized it, but they owed their success to science. Learn how science helped medieval knights win victory!

Samurai warriors were experts in hand-to-hand combat and fighting from horseback. They may not have realized it, but they owed their success to science. Learn how science helped the samurai to become some of the greatest warriors in history.

What was Isaac Newton like? Secretive, vindictive, withdrawn, obsessive, and oh, yes, brilliant. His imagination was so large that, just “by thinking on it”, he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity. Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. This compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.

Listeners have come to expect chatty, direct narratives that develop distinct characters and place those individuals squarely in the context of both their times and their disciplines, and this account of the noted physicist’s life delivers the goods. From her childhood in an oppressed Poland, the daughter of two highly educated individuals, Curie emerges as a driven woman, determined to excel for both her parents’ and her country’s sake - this drive informing everything that followed.

Albert Einstein: His name has become a synonym for genius. His wild case of bedhead and playful sense of humor made him a media superstar - the first, maybe only, scientist-celebrity. He wasn’t much for lab work - in fact, he had a tendency to blow up experiments. What he liked to do was think - not in words, but in "thought experiments". What was the result of all his thinking? Nothing less than the overturning of Newtonian physics. Once again, Kathleen Krull delivers a witty and astute look at one of the true giants of science and the turbulent times in which he lived.

Featuring kid-friendly explanations of the scientific principles, this compelling biography follows Einstein from his childhood through his early career struggles, and on to the theoretical breakthroughs and groundbreaking writings that won him the Nobel Prize. Equally important, we get a complete portrait of the man, who - deeply affected by the Holocaust - dedicated his life to pacifism and equal rights for all.