Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos

Customer Reviews:

True Asimov style.......2004-12-10

This book is an excellent summation of the progress made in discovering sub-atomic particles, It may not now be up to date (it was printed in 1991), but I would not forgo the learning within, or the Asimov method of presenting it. Isaac Asimov specialty was explaining difficult subjects to his readers. He did an admiral job keeping the subject matter interesting. Each short chapter is dedicated to a particle, ex. mesons, quarks, bosons. Each chapter also gives a little historical background of the search and discovery behind each particle and how it fits within the sub-atomic world. Nuclear physicists may have progressed far beyond this by now, but this is still a good book for piecing together the subatomic puzzle of particles.

Completely Dry and Uninteresting.......2002-10-08

Isaac Asimov's Atom is an interesting premise for a book...the evolution of the smallest aspect of an element which is the basic aspect of life and existance. Asimov intends to take the reader across centuries explaining simply, interestingly, and concisely how this fascinating little thing came to be as it is and why it is so important.

However, Asimov explains the atom neither simply, interestingly, nor concisly. Let me rephrase...Asimov's writing style is extremely dry in this book. It is understandable to a certain extent...the book is divided into 51 small sections of between 3 to 7 pages each. If a reader attempts to read over more than one or two of these sections at a time, it becomes nausiating. Explainations of experiments are extremely difficult to understand, and the book drags and lacks any interest whatsoever in many parts.

Redeemed by interesting tidbits, it is easy to understand how a science buff can enjoy this and understand it, but to the average reader, the prose is uncommonly dull and loquacious. The diverse gallimaufry of scientists govered begin to combine in the mind, and it is difficult to remember who did what.

As the book stretches onward passed the three-hundered page mark, the reader is constantly questioning "Why do I care? I have learned what the atom is today, and how it came about originally. Why on earth to I need to know all the errors in between?"

In conclusion, Asimov's Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos may be perfectly suited to the literature taste buds of a science afficianado, but nobody who takes no particular interest in the subject should be forced to read such a dry and useless account. Asimov has talent, which he beautifully and powerfully demonstrates in certain parts of Atom and in almost every single other work he has written, but here his talents need to be reserved for the most scientific amongst us. It is unfortunate that so many Chemistry teachers require this book as reading for their class. This difficult narrative will only succeed in fogging the perception even more.

Excellent.......2001-01-23

This is an excellent book for students of almost all ages (14 up). I was 14 when I read it, with no education in atoms, and I understood it perfectly. Asimov writes in a way that is extremely provocative and very informative. I highly recommed this book.

Asimov's Atom.......2000-05-18

This book reveals a part of Isaac Asimov that I have never realized before: the Detective. His journey across the subatomic cosmos is that of a detective, whether he is analyzing electrons, light, neutrons, quasars, antimatter, neutrinos, interactions, or the universe. He presents a mystery, a problem, that stumps the experts in physics or chemistry or mathematics, and then begins eliminating the suspects one by one until the only possible solution is revealed. He has done the same thing in his science fiction, for example in his Foundation Series and Robot Series (see my Amazon.com reviews of various of his books) - in fact, the heroes of his robot series were a human detective and a robot or android detective. I grew up reading the science fiction of Asimov and/or his colleagues, and my wife Dr. Marleen Josie Doctorow used Asimov's book on psychological science fiction in her university psychology courses. Asimov, by a remarkable coincidence, was married to a psychiatrist, Dr. Janet Jeppson, and she continued his Foundation Series after his death via his Estate and the great writers Brin, Bear, and Benford. When I read the front page headlines recently in newspapers attacking psychiatrists and psychologists like Freud, I wonder whether the journalists realize that all of science and medicine and journalism involve detective stories. The greatest detectives also have something called intuition, which also goes by the name of ESP, and in theology is considered to be a quality of the Divine. Asimov had it, Saint Thomas Acquinas had it, the Old Testament Prophets and Mohammed had it, Buddha had it, Einstein had it, Field Marshall Montgomery had it. It leaves us humble and grateful for the miracles of our and their existence.

The Secret of My Success.......2000-01-29

I'm a hobby science-fiction writer, and you can't do that plausibly without knowing the facts of the subject matter. Everything I know about physics I drew from this book and from Richard Feynman's "Six Easy Pieces," which I also recommend. When I sell things and you like them, you'll be able to go to this book and say, "so that's where he got it from."

The Discovery of Subatomic Particles Revised Edition

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More what one would expect from a great man than a final theory
Revealing
Good but short history

The Discovery of Subatomic Particles Revised Edition
Steven Weinberg
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 052182351X

Book Description

This commentary on the discovery of the atom's constituents provides an historical account of key events in the physics of the twentieth century that led to the discoveries of the electron, proton and neutron. Steven Weinberg introduces the fundamentals of classical physics that played crucial roles in these discoveries. Connections are shown throughout the book between the historic discoveries of subatomic particles and contemporary research at the frontiers of physics, including the most current discoveries of new elementary particles. Steven Weinberg was Higgins Professor of Physics at Harvard before moving to The University of Texas at Austin, where he founded its Theory Group. At Texas he holds the Josey Regental Chair of Science and is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research has spanned a broad range of topics in quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, and cosmology, and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Physics, the National Medal of Science, the Heinemann Prize in Mathematical Physics, the Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Madison Medal of Princeton University, and the Oppenheimer Prize. In addition to the well-known treatise, Gravitation and Cosmololgy, he has written several books for general readers, including the prize-winning The First Three Minutes (now translated into 22 foreign languages), and most recently Dreams of a Final Theory (Pantheon Books, 1993). He has also written a textbook The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vol.I, Vol. II, and Vol. III (Cambridge).

Customer Reviews:

More what one would expect from a great man than a final theory.......2007-01-06

In this book we see the older Weinberg who still
thought in terms of mathematics and experiment
and not in terms of defending his theories
against an uncertain future.
This book I can give to the younger generation in conscience
and say : be wise and read this and learn.

Revealing.......2006-04-07

This book is a deviation from the author's usual books about complex cosmological issues. The Discovery of Subatomic Particles is accessible to anyone, an easy read revealing much about scientific method. It's more a history of how scientists and physicists with rather rudimentary tools devised innovative ways to probe and measure atomic particles with surprisingly accurate results. This book will be appreciated by the mechanically inclined. For the mathematically inclined, you will see in the appendices calculations developed in such a way that requires only a basic background in algebra to understand.

The author guides the reader through the history of processes that refined our understanding of the subatomic world. The subject matter is covered in a logical timeline progression and consistent format. Quantum theory is outside the scope of this book, but Niels Bohr is included in the history for using some of the discoveries to formulate his view of electron dynamics. The reader will gain a higher appreciation of how much can be measured and discovered using the basic tools and instruments available at a given level of scientific development.

Extensive appendices amount to a concise development of fundamental physics, itself creating much value owning this book. My favorite appendix has the author describing how much of Rutherford's formula for the scattering of alpha particles can be derived through simple dimensional analysis, continuing the historic application of basic tools to analyze, measure, and discover subatomic particles. The appendices give the technical details supporting much of the scientific development described so well in the main text. Steven Weinberg's book, The Discovery of Subatomic Particles, is an easy read that can be appreciated by anyone.

Good but short history.......2003-12-23

I wavered between four or five stars and finally gave the authors, a brilliant scientist, the benefit of the doubt. The book is actually a chronological review of the exploration of the atom. Starting with electricity and the discovery of the electron, we then go on to weighing the atoms to the discovery of the nucleus. A truly fascinating observation of Einstein's work notes that the "energy released by a moving body is larger than when at rest by an amount proportional to the square of its velocity"..e=mc2 was originally expresses as m=e/c2.

Book Description

M->CREATED

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive, but poor.......2005-05-22

Frauenfelder and Henley covers the material you'd want for an undergraduate course in nuclear and particle physics, but it's incredibly poorly done. It's like a paper that was written but never revised. The sequential organization of the book is of little use, the explanations are frequently awkward and impenetrable, and the problems, though numerous, are ambiguous and frustrating. I found myself reading Povh et al., Particles and Nuclei, and other sources so that I could understand the material, and Frauenfelder and Henley so I knew what to do to crank out the assigned problems therein.

ehh..........2001-03-06

My problem with this book is essentially that I don't really see much reason for such a book. Perhaps it was just the class I took using this book (a total waste of time -- we spent more time looking at whether nuclear reactions were allowed based on charge conservation than anything else), but it seems to me that if you're going to study subatomic physics, you might as well skip straight to quantum field theory and actually get a feel for what is going on as opposed to studying the surface of the subject without ever getting into (what seems to me to be) the meat of it.

Good introductory text to subject.......1999-10-20

I used this book in an undergraduate nuclear physics course. We studied under a working theoretical physicist who uses quantum field theory pretty much everyday, I suppose. I thought the book was pretty good, and had good physical insights. The math derivations always seemed to be pretty transparent so as not to obscure the physics behind it. The problems seemed a little terse, so the instructor expanded some and added some of his own on the assignments. The book assumes a level of competency in quantum mechanics which may not be there for all readers. Also, I thought that the authors didn't highlight the most important points sufficiently. Nevertheless, I think the book is very good, and is a nice introduction to the subject.

A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo: A Guide to Particle Physics

Average customer rating:

A very good supplementary reading for high school students
Don't waste your money.... or your time.
Very Helpful Book

A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo: A Guide to Particle Physics
Cindy Schwartz
Manufacturer: Amer Inst of Physics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0883189542

Book Description

"This popular book introduces the ideas, terminology, and techniques of high-energy physics. Views of matter from the atom down to the quark are discussed historically, in language that is accessible to readers who have no physics background. The author has also added a list of Web sites where the reader can find more information on particle physics. Introduction by Sheldon Glashow" "Contents" This popular book introduces the ideas, terminology, and techniques of high-energy physics. Views of matter from the atom down to the quark are discussed historically, in language that is accessible to readers who have no physics background. The author has also added a list of Web sites where the reader can find more information on particle physics. Introduction by Sheldon Glashow

Customer Reviews:

A very good supplementary reading for high school students.......2001-12-01

A clear and concise introduction to particle physics. High school students who are interested in knowing more about particle physics will find this book very useful. Good to have one in a school library.

Don't waste your money.... or your time........2001-03-30

This book has some value, hence 2 stars not one. But slogging through student essays on how quarks date (really!)is insufferable.

Get Gordan Kane's "The Particle Garden" and get more.

Very Helpful Book.......2000-01-04

I have found this book simple and straightforward. It is a great introduction that cuts out unnecessary detail and introduces students to the basic facts they need to know. I give this book to both undergraduate and graduate students who join my High Energy Physics research group. Though it is aimed at a more general audience, I find that it is a nice focused introduction and confidence builder for my research students.

The Elusive Neutrino: A Subatomic Detective Story (Scientific American Library)

Average customer rating:

Exceptional Insight
Semi-Technical history with nice artwork.
An enjoyable and most informative book.
An informative look into particle physics for everyone.

The Elusive Neutrino: A Subatomic Detective Story (Scientific American Library)
Nickolas Solomey
Manufacturer: W.H. Freeman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0716750805

Customer Reviews:

Exceptional Insight.......2004-02-05

A generous thank you goes out from myself goes out to Dr. Solomey's relatively short book about our search for the neutrino. As a fellow physicist myself I find his readings to be insightful enough to be appreciated by any reader and simple enough to be understood by someone outside of the particle physics community. The illustrations and the graphs add to the ease of reading without taking losing any professionalism or importance of material. Exceptional work, and I can't wait for his next book to come out.

Semi-Technical history with nice artwork........1999-05-06

I read the book because particle physics is a hobby of mine. The almost-coffee-table book is clear and reads well, if a bit too wordy. DO NOT be scared by this book's subject, it is a grade school tome compared to many mind-bending works on the market. The artwork is clean and concise. The scientific library series is always superb.

An enjoyable and most informative book........1997-08-03

The book is an entertaining account of the effort to understand the most minute and fundamental bits of nature. Thanks to its roots in lectures for the general public the book is readable and provides glimpses into the persons and personalities behind this never-ending effort.

One of the most fascinating themes explored and explained here is the connection between the infinitesimal (neutrino) and the almost infinite (universe). Spectacular photographs and concise drawings complement the well-written text.

The author is somewhat harsh on theorists in the first 150 pages although he mellows and restores some balance in the end. Students contemplating a pursuit of theoretical science are well-advised to either ignore the comments or read the whole book before they make up their mind.
J.M. Karanikas

An informative look into particle physics for everyone........1997-06-06

This book is not only a collection of great pictures, entertaining captions, and interesting stories, it is also packed with information.

Book Description

The first textbook on Bose-Einstein correlations and their applications, an interdisciplinary topic bridging particle physics and quantum physics, and currently the centre of considerable interest in high energy physics. Besides its fundamental importance for particle physics, this phenomenon constitutes the main tool for the determination of sizes and lifetimes of particle sources.

The contents of this book are divided into the following chapters, each of which concludes with exercises designed to test the reader's understanding of the concepts and theories included therein:

The Foundations; Hadron Interferometry; Currents; Sources; Applications to Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions; Correlations and Multiplicity Distributions; Photos versus Hadrons.

It provides the first systematic analysis and comparison of the different theoretical approaches to the subject and will be invaluable to theorists and experimentalists in particle and nuclear physics, quantum optics and astrophysics.

The Neutrino (The Library of Subatomic Particles)

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The Neutrino (The Library of Subatomic Particles)
Fred Bortz
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

The Neutron (The Library of Subatomic Particles)

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The Neutron (The Library of Subatomic Particles)
Fred Bortz
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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Download Description

"Julie Roseman and Romeo Cacciamani know a thing or two about good fortune. For generations, their families were rival florists and bitter enemies. Then Julie and Romeo met by chance, just as each became single again. Even more miraculous, they fell in love. Three years later, Julie and Romeo are still blissfully happy. They don't often get a quiet moment alone, and rarely manage a night -- quiet or otherwise -- in the same bed, but Julie feels blessed by what they do have: true love, wonderful jobs, and houses packed to the rafters with family. Romeo's ninety-three-year-old mother, his son Alan, Alan's wife and their three children live with him; Julie's daughter Sandy and her family -- including Sandy's Willy Wonka-obsessed daughter, Sarah, and their cat -- live with her. The odds of Julie and Romeo getting a few days of peace together seem about as likely as winning the lottery. But their wish comes true -- with a twist -- when an injury puts Romeo flat on his back in Julie's room. Spending days in bed may sound heavenly, but with Romeo on pain pills, initially as comatose as Juliet in her tomb, the reality is less romantic. Then Julie's other daughter, Nora, drops her own crisis on her mother's doorstep. Now Julie has to figure out how to run two flower shops, take care of an ever-expanding household, nurse her beloved Romeo back to health, tackle Sarah's fixation with lottery tickets, and keep her daughters from regressing into full-scale teenage bickering. And Lady Luck has one more surprise in store.... Wonderfully witty and unerringly wise, Julie and Romeo Get Lucky is a smart, heartwarming story of timeless love and family loyalty, and a reminder that if you suddenly get everything you ever wished for, the only thing to do is live happily ever after. "

Customer Reviews:

Another GREAT book by Jeanne Ray.......2007-05-09

As with her previous book this one is fun and entertaining. As in "Julie and Romeo", the main characters seem to be thwarted at each turn by their crazy family. But by doing so the characters grow and learn more about each other.

Fun Read.......2006-08-21

Julie Roseman and Romeo Cacciamani, who fell in love with each other in "Julie and Romeo", are still in love, but don't get to spend much time together. Romeo's 93 year old mother lives with him as does his son Alan, Alan's wife and their three children. Julie's daughter Sandy and her husband and two children live with her. Naturally, they are thrilled to find themselves alone at Julie's house one day, but Romeo overdoes things, hurts his back, and ends up stuck in Julie's house, flat on his back, for weeks. Adding to the crush of people living in Julie's house, is her daughter, Nora, with a medical problem. On top of everything else, Julie's eight year old granddaughter is convinced she can win the lottery and is having every adult possible buy her tickets. Will everyone's dream come true?

Part screwball comedy, part fantasy, "Julie and Romeo Get Lucky" is a fun, if lightweight read. Julie and Romeo are a delightful couple and it's a pleasant change to read about a couple in their sixties that have fallen in love. The book is full of realistic, slightly eccentric characters, especially Julie's daughters, Sandy and Nora, who still suffer from sibling rivalry even though they are adults. Sandy's eight year old daughter, Sarah, obsessed with both Willie Wonka and winning the lottery, is in many ways the center of the novel and at times lovable and at other times a spoiled brat. There are many laugh out loud moments and some nicely sweet moments. This is a feel good book and everyone indeed does live happily ever after.

"Julie and Romeo Get Lucky" is a good book to read when you need to escape from the real world.

Another winner from a fantastic author.......2006-04-20

Julie and Romeo Get Lucky by Jeanne Ray is the sequel to Julie and Romeo. Jeanne Ray's writing is so spot-on accurate, sometimes I swear she must be recording people in their home and then simply transcribing it! But she's so much funnier and sweeter than real life. Romeo throws out his back carrying Julie up her stairs and ends up an invalid in her bed. Nora, Julie's oldest daughter, is pregnant and on bed rest, so she moves home too. Sarah, Julie's granddaughter, is obsessed with Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and so the story goes from there. Julie can't grab a spare moment to herself when everything is falling apart. Ray has a unique talent for describing physical comedy that few writers can manage. I found myself laughing and gasping out loud at poor Romeo. I wish life was as sweet as it is in Ray's world, and I treasure the moments I get to spend there. Read her other books as well; they're all winners.

Not her best.......2006-01-24

I loved the first book (and all of her other works) but this one while it held my attention also annoyed me.

Way too much time was given to the spoiled little girl and she lost me from the very beginning when it was explained that if she didn't get to watch the movie every day she screamed.

Sadly the adults were almost as spoiled as the children and it was hard to feel any kind of sympathy or empathy for the main character when she was the one who had created these brats.

Disappointing Sequel.......2006-01-07

I've loved Jeanne Ray's other books (Julie & Romeo, Step Ball Change, and Eat Cake). I found them all to be well written, funny and entertaining reads, with varied and likeable characters. This book doesn't come close to meeting the standard set by the others. It isn't funny at all. All of the characters act horribly, including the martyred Julie who lets everyone in her family walk all over her. I haven't read a book in a long time where I didn't like a single character. (And I liked these people in the first book - Julie and Romeo). I highly recommend her other books, but I'd stay away from this one.

Readers Digest Select Editions (Volume 5, 2005) (Heartbreak Hotel, The Closers, The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, Julie & Romeo Get Lucky, Volume 5)

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Readers Digest Select Editions (Volume 5, 2005) (Heartbreak Hotel, The Closers, The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, Julie & Romeo Get Lucky, Volume 5)

Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000C006Y8

Before I Say Good-Bye/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky/Demolition Angel/Winter Solstice (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 6: 2000)

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Before I Say Good-Bye/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky/Demolition Angel/Winter Solstice (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 6: 2000)
Mary Higgins Clark , Jeanne Ray , Robert Crais , and Rosamunde Pilcher
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ETP14W

The Closers/The Ladies of Garrison Gardens/Heartbreak Hotel/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 5: 2005)

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The Closers/The Ladies of Garrison Gardens/Heartbreak Hotel/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 5: 2005)
Michael Connelly , Louise Shaffer , Jill Marie Landis , and Jeanne Ray
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MPPWIS

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Hunting Badger/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 112: 2001)

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Hunting Badger/Julie and Romeo Get Lucky (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 112: 2001)
Tony Hillerman , and Jeanne Ray
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q0M2J6

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Julie and Romeo Get Lucky/Murder at the B-School (Reader's Digest Select Editions in Large Type, Volume 143: 2006)

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Julie and Romeo Get Lucky/Murder at the B-School (Reader's Digest Select Editions in Large Type, Volume 143: 2006)
Jeanne Ray , and Jeffrey Cruikshank
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JKJ2WS

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ASIN: B000LPCC1E

Product Description

2 NOVELS IN ONE BOOK! LARGE SOFT COVER - LARGE PRINT BY READER'S DIGEST PARTNERS FOR SIGHT FOUNDATION

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