Newton

Author: Rob Iliffe
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199298033
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
Newton's contributions to an understanding of the heavens and the earth are considered to be unparalleled. This very short introduction explains his scientific theories, and uses Newton's unpublished writings to paint a picture of an extremely complex man whose beliefs had a huge impact on Europe's political, intellectual, and religious landscape.

Nothing: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Frank Close
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199225869
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
What is 'the void'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space - 'nothing' - exist? This text explores the science & history of the elusive void - from Aristotle's theories to black holes & quantum particles, & why our very latest discoveries about the vacuum can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos.

Galileo: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Stillman Drake
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191606669
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
In a startling reinterpretation of the evidence, Stillman Drake advances the hypothesis that Galileo's trial and condemnation by the Inquisition was caused not by his defiance of the Church, but by the hostility of contemporary philosophers. Galileo's own beautifully lucid arguments are used to show how his scientific method was utterly divorced from the Aristotelian approach to physics in that it was based on a search not for causes but for laws. Galileo's method was of overwhelming significance for the development of modern physics, and led to a final parting of the ways between science and philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Author: John Polkinghorne
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191577677
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Book Description
Quantum Theory is the most revolutionary discovery in physics since Newton. This book gives a lucid, exciting, and accessible account of the surprising and counterintuitive ideas that shape our understanding of the sub-atomic world. It does not disguise the problems of interpretation that still remain unsettled 75 years after the initial discoveries. The main text makes no use of equations, but there is a Mathematical Appendix for those desiring stronger fare. Uncertainty, probabilistic physics, complementarity, the problematic character of measurement, and decoherence are among the many topics discussed. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Light

Author: Ian A. Walmsley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199682690
Category : Light
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Book Description
Introduces readers to the basic properties of light -reflection and refraction, polarization, and interference- before moving on to how light is generated, its role in relativity, and quantum effects it exhibits.

The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Lawrence Principe
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199567417
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
Lawrence M. Principe takes a fresh approach to the story of the scientific revolution, emphasising the historical context of the society and its world view at the time. From astronomy to alchemy and medicine to geology, he tells this fascinating story from the perspective of the historical characters involved.

Philosophy of Science

Author: Samir Okasha
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198745583
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
What is science? -- Scientific inference -- Explanation in science -- Realism and anti-realism -- Scientific change and scientific revolutions -- Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology -- Science and its critics.

Time

Author: Jenann Ismael
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191871238
Category : PHILOSOPHY
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Time: A Very Short Introduction explores questions about the nature of time that have been at the heart of philosophical thinking since its beginnings: questions like whether time has a beginning or end, whether and in what sense time passes, how time is different from space, whether time has a direction, and whether it is possible to travel in time. These questions passed into the hands of scientists with the work of Isaac Newton when the structure of space and time became connected to motion and included the subject matter of physics. This VSI charts the way that the history of physics, from Isaac Newton through Albert Einstein's two revolutions, wrought changes to the conception of time. There are parts of physics that are in a state of confusion, but this strand of development is a story of philosophical illumination and conceptual beauty. The discussion here provides an opportunity to see what distinguishes the methods of physics from those of philosophy. It brings together physics, cognitive science, and phenomenology in the service of reconciling what modern theories tell us about the nature of time with the everyday living experience of time.

Astrophysics

Author: James Binney
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198752857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
Astrophysics is said to have been born when Isaac Newton saw an apple drop in his orchard and had the electrifying insight that the Moon falls just like that apple. James Binney shows how the application of physical laws derived on Earth allows us to understand objects that exist on the far side of the Universe.

Epicureanism

Author: Catherine Wilson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019968832X
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
This very short introudction corrects the prevalent view of Epicureanism that often conjures up ideas of tasty delights and hedonism. Wilson explains the philosophical and scientific ideas of Epicurus and his followers and the legacy of Epicureanism on later European thought.