On the shoulder of giants

On the shoulder of giants

On the Shoulders of Giants investigates the relationship between the disciplines of physics and mathematics and shows how many of the most significant advances of 20th-century physics rely on mathematics developed, sometimes much earlier, with no particular physics application in mind. Quoting from mathematicians such as Poincare and Euclid and physicists such as Newton and Feynman, the links between the two disciplines are explored in the author's entertaining style, providing a fascinating account of the twists and turns in scientific progress through the ages. Challenging, stimulating, and questioning, the book explains how the uncanny ability of formal and abstract mathematics can interpret the properties of the physical world. Using a wide ranging set of examples, it illustrates the manner in which mathematics has been applied to physics and even points to directions for future research.
Requiring some prior knowledge of physics and mathematics, this well-illustrated book will be of interest to all readers with an interest in physics and mathematics, in learning more about the role of mathematics as the formal language of physics, and in how physics and mathematics have influenced scientific research.

Malcolm Lines

CRC Press

1994

Engels

NAT0864

9-780-7503-0102-9