It Must Be Beautiful - Great Equations Of Modern Science (Paperback, New edition)

Talk about science and you inevitably end up at equations. To the non-scientist, the two seem irrevocably linked. Yet it was only 350 years ago that Galileo proposed that the progression of science could best be achieved through a 'narrow observation' of phenomena - with results described in mathematical terms. Since then some branches of science, of course, have remained relatively equation-free. You don't need mathematics to explain Darwin's theory of evolution or to describe the intricacies of continental drift or plate tectonics. In fact, as Graham Farmelo explains in his introduction, pure maths is abstract and has nothing at all to do with the real world that science seeks to explain. The great enigma for many scientists is not how a law of nature can be expressed mathematically, but why. This book is a revelation - and will do much to scotch the popular public conception of scientists as dry, rather soulless individuals. Here, in 11 succinct, enlightening and surprisingly readable essays, experts from the world of science explain, with remarkable passion, the attraction (and frustration) of working with equations. Dealing with a topic which most popular science books chose to shy away from, It Must Be Beautiful reads at times more like a philosophy text. Take, for example, the question of whether equations are invented or discovered, the fact that some equations seem to take on a life of their own or the question of why, as Einstein commented, the best theories 'are the beautiful ones'. If, as Farmelo suggests, equations are 'the poetry of the twentieth century', then this is the indispensable reader's guide. (Kirkus UK)

The exact sciences have an immense weight and influence in our culture. At the heart of their effectiveness lies the mathematical equation. The difficult form of the great equations - particularly those of modern physics - has often acted as an obstacle to any understanding and they have come to embody the mystery and terror of modern science. This volume brings together well-known scientists, historians and writers about science as each seeks to unpack an equation and explain how it was arrived at, what it can do and what remains to be understood about it. The contributors include Roger Penrose, John Maynard Smith, Arthur Miller, Steven Weinberg and Oliver Morton.

General

Imprint:	Granta Books
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	February 2003
First published:	February 2003
Authors:	Graham Farmelo
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 20mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	284
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-1-86207-555-9
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Popular science
LSN:	1-86207-555-7
Barcode:	9781862075559

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