A Mind Always In Motion The Autobiography Of Emilio Segrè
A Mind Always In Motion The Autobiography Of Emilio Segrè Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of A Mind Always In Motion The Autobiography Of Emilio Segrè book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
A Mind Always in Motion: The Autobiography of Emilio Segrè by Emilio Segrè Pdf
Born in Italy to a well-to-do Jewish family, Emilio Segrè (1905-1989) became Enrico Fermi’s first graduate student in 1928, contributed to the discovery of slow neutrons and was appointed director of the University of Palermo’s physics laboratory in 1936. While visiting the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California in 1938, he learned that he had been dismissed from his Palermo post by Mussolini’s Fascist regime. Ernest O. Lawrence hired him to work on the cyclotron at Berkeley with Luis Alvarez, Edwin McMillan, and Glenn Seaborg. Segrè was one of the first to join Oppenheimer at Los Alamos, where he became a group leader on the Manhattan Project. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of the antiproton. He was a professor of physics at UC Berkeley from 1946 until 1972. “[A] readable, absorbing, interesting autobiography... A valuable contribution by a person who witnessed the development of much of modern nuclear physics. Segrè’s description of the historic neutron experiments performed in Rome during the mid-1930s by Enrico Fermi’s group, of which Segrè was a member, is of inestimable worth.” — Glenn T. Seaborg, Physics Today “A Mind Always in Motion is Emilio Segrè’s account — published four years after his death in 1989 — of his personal life and his life in physics... It is absorbing, moving in places and frequently revealing. Segrè noted in his preface, ‘I have not sought to display manners and tact I never had, and I have tried to treat myself no better than any one else.’ He ably succeeded in these purposes.” — Daniel J. Kevles, Nature “For general readers with an interest in the history of nuclear physics, Segrè... is among the most personable witnesses.” — Publishers Weekly
In this biography of Enrico Fermi (1901-54), who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1938 for his work on radioactivity by neutron bombardment and his discovery of transuranic elements and who achieved the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in 1942, his student, collaborator, fellow Nobel Prize winner and lifelong friend Emilio Segrè presents the scientist, and explains in nontechnical terms Fermi’s work and his achievements. “Segrè’s description of Fermi’s early life and his involvement with and commitment to physics is extremely interesting... Segrè understands and describes very clearly the outstanding characteristics of Fermi’s theoretical work: clarity and completeness... Segrè has succeeded admirably in describing Fermi’s entire scientific career, and this book is strongly recommended.” — M. L. Goldberger, Science “We must thank Emilio Segrè for this authoritative, revealing and inspiring book. It covers in a masterly fashion the most exciting thirty years of modern physics and the character and activities of one of its greatest contributors.” — Nature “A rich, well-rounded portrait of [Fermi] the scientist, his methods, intellectual history, and achievements. Explaining in nontechnical terms the scientific problems Fermi faced or solved, Enrico Fermi, Physicist contains illuminating material concerning Fermi’s youth in Italy and the development of his scientific style.” — Physics Today “All that might be hoped for in a biography of one Nobel Prize winner in physics by another has been realized in Emilio Segrè’s biography of his friend, Enrico Fermi... A truly masterly drawing of Fermi’s character, along with his physics and the events through which he moved, Segrè has provided us with a brilliant appreciation of one of the most pre-eminent figures of modern physics.” — Physics Bulletin “This excellent biography, written by one of the original group who worked with him during the 1930s at Rome, catches beautifully the style and spirit of its subject... With Fermi’s passing the age of the universal experimental and theoretical physicist is gone. Segre’s book tells the story of this heroic age of physics and of its principal actor; it is a delight to read, and I recommend it heartily.” — American Scientist “Here we meet the man at work and we see the meticulous scientist... This book also shows us another facet of Fermi: that of the conscientious scientist torn between his love of pure research and his love of teaching.” — V. Barocas, Annals of Science “Segrè is a sensitive biographer, responsive to all problems that can plague the creative scientist; he shows, above all, Fermi’s dedication, zeal, and extraordinary talents. Segrè has provided more than sympathy. Much that is new about Fermi’s youth in Italy appears here... [A] very rewarding book... Every physicist will want to read this biography, along with every reader who has an interest in intellectual developments during the 1920-1960 era.” — J. Z. Fullmer, The Ohio Journal of Science
Canaday, a poet and playwright who has been a Watson Fellow and a Starbuck Fellow in Poetry at Boston University, analyzes a variety of texts produced by physicists before, during, and after WWII, including Niels Bohr's "The Quantum Postulate"; the technical lectures used for training at Los Alamos; scientist's descriptions of their work and of the Trinity test; and Leo Szilard's postwar novella, The Voice of the Dolphins. He looks at physicists' use of figurative language in the development of quantum theory, and examines the role played by the rhetorics of exploration and religion in the construction of the Los Alamos community. Includes bandw historical photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR
The Lost Elements by Marco Fontani,Mariagrazia Costa,Mary Virginia Orna Pdf
In the mid-nineteenth century, chemists came to the conclusion that elements should be organized by their atomic weights. However, the atomic weights of various elements were calculated erroneously, and chemists also observed some anomalies in the properties of other elements. Over time, itbecame clear that the periodic table as currently comprised contained gaps, missing elements that had yet to be discovered. A rush to discover these missing pieces followed, and a seemingly endless amount of elemental discoveries were proclaimed and brought into laboratories. It wasn't until thediscovery of the atomic number in 1913 that chemists were able to begin making sense of what did and what did not belong on the periodic table, but even then, the discovery of radioactivity convoluted the definition of an element further. Throughout its formation, the periodic table has seen falseentries, good-faith errors, retractions, and dead ends; in fact, there have been more elemental "discoveries" that have proven false than there are current elements on the table.The Lost Elements: The Shadow Side of Discovery collects the most notable of these instances, stretching from the nineteenth century to the present. The book tells the story of how scientists have come to understand elements, by discussing the failed theories and false discoveries that shaped thepath of scientific progress. Chapters range from early chemists' stubborn refusal to disregard alchemy as legitimate practice, to the effects of the atomic number on discovery, to the switch in influence from chemists to physicists, as elements began to be artificially created in the twentiethcentury. Along the way, Fontani, Costa, and Orna introduce us to the key figures in the development of the periodic table as we know it. And we learn, in the end, that this development was shaped by errors and gaffs as much as by correct assumptions and scientific conclusions.
From Falling Bodies to Radio Waves by Emilio Segrè Pdf
This chronicle by a renowned physicist traces the development of scientific thought from the works of Galileo, Huygens, and Newton to discoveries by Maxwell, Boltzmann, and Gibbs. 1984 edition.
Biographical Memoirs by National Academy of Sciences Pdf
Biographic Memoirs Volume 81 contains the biographies of deceased members of the National Academy of Sciences and bibliographies of their published works. Each biographical essay was written by a member of the Academy familiar with the professional career of the deceased. For historical and bibliographical purposes, these volumes are worth returning to time and again.
"Rest is such a valuable book. If work is our national religion, Pang is the philosopher reintegrating our bifurcated selves."---Arianna Huffington, New York Times Book Review Overwork is the new normal. Rest is something to do when the important things are done—but they are never done. Looking at different forms of rest, from sleep to vacation, Silicon Valley futurist and business consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang dispels the myth that the harder we work the better the outcome. He combines rigorous scientific research with a rich array of examples of writers, painters, and thinkers—from Darwin to Stephen King—to challenge our tendency to see work and relaxation as antithetical. "Deliberate rest," as Pang calls it, is the true key to productivity, and will give us more energy, sharper ideas, and a better life. Rest offers a roadmap to rediscovering the importance of rest in our lives, and a convincing argument that we need to relax more if we actually want to get more done.
The Autobiography of Robert A. Millikan by Robert Andrews Millikan Pdf
“The Autobiography of Robert A. Millikan is one of the most outstanding works of its kind done by an American man of science. The treatment is lucid and brings out in clear relief not only the activities of the man himself but of those, and there are many, with whom he has associated and collaborated in the fields of teaching, research, and administration. The autobiography is that of a dynamic personality associated with patience, persistence and enthusiasm. The treatment is free from egotism and refreshingly frank and forthright.” — B. J. Spence, American Journal of Physics “Robert Andrews Millikan is one of the most distinguished physicists in the world and his autobiography will interest not only the entire scientific world, but the reading public at large... It is refreshing and helpful for younger [scientific] workers to read... that only after many discouraging attempts did [Millikan’s] great researches on the determination of the electronic charge and his proof of the Einstein photoelectric law emerge.” — Robert S. Shankland, Physics Today “It is seldom that a man is so successful in getting his personality into his own writing about himself... The book is much more than the record of the life of one man,... it is a history of the physics of his time, and as such will find its place among the other histories of the most memorable decades that physics has yet experienced.” — P. W. Bridgman, Science “[A] history of twentieth-century physics as viewed through the eyes of one of its chief participants... The book is a necessity in the education of our younger physicists. It is very valuable to all those who have any part in public affairs.” — Dinsmore Alter, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific “Physicists everywhere will find Millikan’s autobiography a narrative of absorbing interest.” — J. G. Wilson, Science Progress “An interesting account of a busy scientist’s career and absorbing descriptions of major advances of 20th-century physics to which Millikan made essential contributions. A rare history of a civilized, happy man.” — Scientific American “Interestingly written and [...] not devoid of flashes of humor.” — Paul R. Heyl, The Scientific Monthly
"Oppenheimer reveals its subject as both an expert working on behalf of the state and an intellectual with broad cultural and moral authority. Oppenheimer played a crucial role not only in defining the task of the physicist as nuclear weaponeer, but also in expounding the wider cultural meanings and moral responsibilities associated with that task. The controversy over the hydrogen bomb and Oppenheimer's public fall from grace in the 1954 loyalty-security hearings, Thorpe argues, revealed fundamental tensions at the heart of the modern technoscientific state, raising questions about the responsibility scientists should take for the technologies of death they produce." "Oppenheimer maps out changes in the roles of scientists and intellectuals in twentieth-century America, ultimately revealing transformations in Oppenheimer's persona that coincided with changing attitudes toward science in society."--BOOK JACKET.
Explorer of the Universe: A Biography of George Ellery Hale by Helen Wright Pdf
“George Ellery Hale [1868-1938] is the subject of this impressive biography... Wright charts Hale’s steady progress towards leadership in the nascent field of astrophysics from his childhood experiments at home in Chicago, through student days at MIT, to his first observatory at Kenwood, all of which demonstrate his passion for unravelling the secrets of nature through the then new medium of spectroscopy. This enthusiasm led him into contact with most of his peers both in America and beyond (Lockyer, Huggins, Pickering, Rowland, and many more), many of whom remained close associates and correspondents for years after. Probably this sense of community made Hale so active in the organization of science, including the formation of the AAS [American Astronomical Society], the IAU [International Astronomical Union], and ICSU [International Council of Scientific Unions]. It also gave him the contacts to give the Astrophysical Journal such a good start in 1895. Perhaps the greatest debt we owe Hale is for his relentless drive towards the creation of ever bigger and better facilities, starting with the still unsurpassed Yerkes refractor, continuing with the solar telescopes on Mt. Wilson and then the 60- and 100-inch telescopes on the same peak, and concluding with the 200-inch [at Mt. Palomar]... Scientifically, Hale’s lifelong affair with the Sun brought him success in the detection of magnetic fields and early studies of surface activity by means of the spectroheliograph he developed, and for which he was duly fêted, and the frustrations of trying to record the corona. But these were early successes and as astropolitics and finance took an ever increasing share of his time, he was able to contribute less than he would have liked. Part of the problem was the illness, with both physical and mental symptoms, which progressively plagued the life of this hyperactive polymath; it is sad to note his decline which prevented him playing a fuller part in the creation of what was to become his memorial... this [biography] is something of a classic on one of astronomy’s giants.” — David Strickland, The Observatory “This important biography is well written and is highly recommended.” — A. E. Covington, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada “[An] outstanding biography of this most remarkable man... Helen Wright has done a superb job of tracing Hale’s development not only of new and powerful instruments and of his important discoveries of sunspot magnetic fields and the law of reversing polarities, but also of the embryonic state of American science in the early days of this century... an authoritative biography of one of the most influential men of science this country has produced. The hook will bring to contemporary scientists and historians the story of this unique astronomer whose life is of such special interest to the Caltech community.” — Allan Sandage, Caltech Magazine (formerly Engineering and Science) “Helen Wright gives a detailed account of the life and almost frantic activities of this remarkable scientific leader... In summarizing astrophysical events of the years 1880 to 1950... Wright has provided a useful and fascinating account of scientific development that led to the preeminence of the United States.” — Thornton Page, Science “In writing the story of Hale’s origins, career and bequest to posterity Helen Wright has richly served her fellow astronomers. No one else could have done so well. Her account preserves an admirable balance in presenting Hale not only as a doer but also as a dreamer... Miss Wright’s excellent biography covers the highlights of his career... Miss Wright’s book is highly authentic.” — Harlow Shapley, Scientific American Published under license from Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
A great folk hero in American history, Edison is viewed by the public as a facile inventor, the electrical wizard and the perfect symbol of the self-made and practical creator. But he was also a paradoxical figure: deaf, impoverished and with no formal education as a youngster, Edison nevertheless became a fertile and versatile inventor, accumulated fortunes for himself and others but remained indifferent to wealth except as a means towards more inventions. Edison’s key contributions include the carbon microphone, the electric light bulb, electricity distribution systems, the phonograph and the motion-picture camera. Edison’s methods were also remarkable: halfway between the craftsman-tinkerer of the early 19th century and the scientist of today, he established and ran pioneering research laboratories with large staffs, yet lacked training in mathematics or the basic sciences. Matthew Josephson’s Edison: A Biography won the Society of American Historians’Francis Parkman Prize in 1960. “This is an outstanding biography... [Josephson] establishes the developing relationship between finance and invention which constitutes the basis for Edison’s success... [He] has mastered the substance of Edison’s inventive activity and has written of it quite authoritatively and vividly.” — Thomas P. Hughes, Technology and Culture “... It is clear that there is reason to welcome yet another book about a man of whom so much has been written. It must have been precisely because so much in the Edison record is myth, fostered by adulators and by Edison himself that Mr. Josephson turned his skillful, corrective hand to a saga that may have seemed more familiar than it actually is. From his well-presented, well-written findings emerges a giant without whom much of life as we live it would simply not exist. It is a first-rate job that needed doing.” — John K. Hutchens, New York Herald Tribune “A well-researched account of the life of one of America’s authentic folk heroes--Thomas Alva Edison--an original creator with a genius for strategic invention... Thoroughly absorbing, this significant volume is a competent contribution to the history of American science, and gives not only a sharply drawn picture of this self-educated giant of invention, but also of the beginnings of the telegraph, electrical, record, motion picture and automobile industries, as well as the sociological changes that were wrought by Edison’s practical discoveries.” — Kirkus Review “A biography that is dignified, detailed, and objective, sprinkled with moments of humor, pathos, and drama... One of the chief virtues of this book is the care taken by the author to build up a realistic picture of Edison the man.” — F. Garvin Davenport,The American Historical Review
Seemingly shy, Andrei Sakharov was in fact a man of three great passions. His passion for physics ultimately lead him to create the Soviet H-Bomb, making the USSR a super power. But he rejected all the position and prestige his inventions had brought him in the name of a greater passion — for justice. And yielding nothing to these two passions was his passion for human rights activist Elena Bonner, their love story one of the great romances of our time. This book tells the story of the man, his passions, and the time and place where they all played out. “As Richard Lourie’s new, subtle and revealing biography of Sakharov demonstrates... [Sakharov] ranks with Nelson Mandela as a person who helped guide his country to democracy, changing himself in the process. One of the strengths of Lourie’s biography is his description and analysis of how this transition occurred... a fascinating account of Sakharov... [Lourie’s] analysis of [Sakharov’s] complicated political journey seems authentic and immensely revealing.” — Loren Graham, The New York Times “A vivid portrait of [Sakharov,] this moral and intellectual giant... Lourie has written a highly intelligent and exceptionally readable book. He not only captures his protagonist admirably but exhibits a fine feel for the social and political backdrop as well as for the peculiar mixture of fearful servility and courageous generosity of the Russian people. Among other things, he vividly brings to life how the Communist regime constrained scientists, sometimes even arresting and murdering them, while those who survived persevered in their work to achieve remarkable results.” — Aleksa Djilas,Commentary Magazine “Lourie does full justice to a life that could not be more engrossing. The socially introverted son of Moscow intelligentsia, Andrei Sakharov became a star physics pupil, then chief architect of the Soviet Union’s first thermonuclear device, and later on a dissident and target of KGB ire — and finally the moral conscience of a democratically awakening Russia... The evolution from a politically passive scientist to a lonely figure holding sidewalk vigils outside kangaroo courtrooms is almost unfathomable for a non-Russian. Lourie, however, makes it comprehensible, not least by painting with an artist’s spare, deft strokes this transcendent figure into the history of his day.” — Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs “Richard Lourie is ideally placed to write the first full biography of this remarkable man. He was able to interview Sakharov and many of his colleagues. He has translated Sakharov’s memoirs, and often uses direct speech drawn from them to take us behind the scenes without giving rise to the usual suspicion of novelistic invention. This makes for an engagingly readable book... Lourie’s appraisal of Sakharov as a man is scrupulously balanced, with as much emphasis on his obstinacy as on his compassion... The book conveys both the elation of scientific work, the intense love between Sakharov and his second wife, and the bewildering nature of human courage.” — Elaine Feinstein, The Telegraph “The inventor of the Soviet H-bomb, [Sakharov] was in the forefront of the post-war breakthrough in thermonuclear physics that led to the creation of atomic energy. Yet he also stood, heroically at times, in the vanguard of the movement for human rights in the Soviet Union. Richard Lourie tells both these stories in this first full-length biography of the physicist and dissident. Lourie has benefited from the recent publication of the KGB files on Sakharov. He also knew the man himself, whose Memoirs he helped to smuggle out of Russia to the West (where they were published in Lourie’s translation a year after Sakharov’s death in 1989). Sakharov’s widow, Elena Bonner, has helped Lourie’s research, which adds a welcome new perspective on the last 20 years of his eventful life, when husband and wife were subjected to a bullying campaign of threats and slander by the KGB in a vain attempt to silence them.” — Orlando Figes, The Telegraph “A solid factual and interpretive study... Sakharov is an important account of one scientist’s courage and his quest for a humane world at peace.” — Herbert Mitgang, Chicago Tribune “This first biography of the renowned physicist, Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner weaves the details of Sakharov’s life together with the history of the Soviet Union, which barely outlasted him. Lourie... describes Sakharov’s upbringing in a liberal family and his rise through the Soviet science program during the 1930s and ‘40s. Lourie’s vivid accounts of Sakharov’s meetings with Stalin and KGB chief Beria, his role in the intelligentsia, his marriages and his cramped apartments offer a textured picture of Soviet life during the Cold War... Lourie’s intelligent, engaging biography will be appreciated by those interested in Russian and Cold War history.” — Publishers Weekly
The Master of Light: A Biography of Albert A. Michelson by Dorothy Michelson Livingston Pdf
In this biography of Albert A. Michelson (1852-1931), his daughter shares personal reminiscences, describes her father’s family life — two wives, six children, and a strong temperament — and follows Michelson from his birth in Poland to Jewish parents to the United States where his parents brought him at the age of three, settling in a gold-rush town in Nevada and then in San Francisco. Michelson graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1873, studied in Europe, taught at Clark University, and was head of the department of physics at the University of Chicago from 1894 to 1929. Michelson’s passion was the accurate measurement of the speed of light. In his first experiment, he found it to be 186,320 miles per second, which remained the best value available for a generation, until Michelson himself bettered it. He also invented the interferometer to measure distances using the length of light waves; he measured the meter using the wavelength of cadmium light for the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris; and he used light interference to determine the size of stars. With E. W. Morley, he showed that the absolute motion of the earth through the ether is not measurable, contributing to the development of the theory of relativity. The first American to receive a Nobel prize in science, Michelson received the Nobel prize in physics in 1907 for his optical precision instruments and for the spectroscopic and metrological investigations he made with them. “This work of a devoted daughter who is not herself a scientist catches the humanity of a complex, brilliant man through anecdotes and informed detail.” — The New York Times “From personal recollection, from much reading, and from interviews, Mrs. Livingston has written a well-organized scientific biography of her father... In this book the author has attempted not only to discuss his scientific achievements, but also to portray Michelson the man — his personality and character, strengths and foibles. He was dedicated but demanding and could be arrogant, strict, and severe... This book portrays Michelson not as a legend, but as a real, believable person.” — John N. Howard, Science “[A] beautiful family portrait of Albert Abraham Michelson, America’s first Nobel laureate for science. This biography is more than an intellectual exercise, more than merely of academic or scientific or historical interest. It is almost a religious work that begins with a ‘quest for my father’ and ends with a ‘postscript’ on Michelson’s honors and continuing influence... an intelligently organized, emotionally motivated, intellectually controlled search for meaning in the life and works of a great man of science... Michelson’s youngest daughter by his second marriage, has presented a sensitive, artful, honest, and superbly readable portrait of her father... [which] paints the full life, personal relations, and human figure of Michelson in a form that is a worthy monument to his memory... We learn to know much more intimately where Michelson originated, how he matured, who recognized and helped him, what personal influences shaped his life, when and where his own exertions were influential in shaping the life of physics in the United States and the world... the author has been remarkably judicious and meticulous in handling her material.” — Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., Isis “A non-physicist herself, [the author] has relied heavily on physicists who were familiar with her father’s work and with the field of optics in general, as well as archivists, historians of science, writers and editors. Thus, this thorough biography is the fortunate combination of the efforts of many people, resulting in a valuable reference work as well as a very readable story about one of America’s greatest scientists... Its merit lies in the masterful way the author has melded voluminous information from many sources into a sensitive and realistic portrait of Michelson, showing him as a very real person with strengths and weaknesses, and showing his relation to scientists and the science of his period. It is a book well written and well worth reading by physicists and non-physicists alike.” — Jean M. Bennett, Physics Today “Mrs Livingston, Michelson’s last child by his second wife, is, as she says, neither a physicist nor a writer. Her book nonetheless has something for both the general reader and the specialist. The former will find an interesting and even adventurous life, the latter some gems from unpublished correspondence.” — J. L. Heilbron, The British Journal for the History of Science “The biography is a well-researched, accurate, and reliable work enhanced by the author’s invaluable first-hand experience with the subject. Michelson’s achievements are set against his personal life including his family, relationships to other scientists, and the struggles which inevitably develop in establishing a college science department.” — George T. Ladd, The Science Teacher “This excellent biography by Michelson’s youngest daughter is a judicious mixture of anecdotes and details of the scientific achievements... Dorothy Livingston is to be congratulated on this very readable and informative biography of her talented father.” — W. W. Watson, American Scientist “[An] admirable biography of Michelson the man... most fascinating.” — David R. Topper, Technology and Culture