The evolution of physics

The evolution of physics

The book has three parts: classical physics, relativity, and quantum physics (there wasn't much particle physics or cosmology in 1938, after all). The classical treatment is an extended examination of Galilean invariance, and is both brilliant and nicely presented (without equations). The special relativity theory part explains the twin principles of inertial frames and the constancy of the speed of light. It is very nicely done, although it has to be mysterious for the reader when even the simplest algebra is off limits. The general relativity part is presented as the extension from inertial to arbitrary frames, from with gravity is introduced via the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass. I suspect this is mostly mysterious for the reader, but I'm not sure. The quantum section is the least successful. The authors center on particle energy discreteness, but do not really get into the strange and mysterious aspects of quantum mechanics. Nor do the explain spin, fermions, bosons, etc.

Review on Amazon by Herbert Gintis, october 2020

Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld

NAT0918

0-000-6712-0156-5