Inward Bound: Of Matter and Forces in the Physical World by Abraham Pais (PDF)

Description

Abraham Pais’ ‘Subtle is the Lord…’–the award-winning biography of Albert Einstein–received high acclaim from The New York Times Book Review which hailed it as “a monument to sound scholarship and graceful style,” and from The Christian Science Monitor which called it “an extraordinary biography of an extraordinary man.” In his groundbreaking new book, Pais chronicles the history of the physics of matter and physical forces since the discovery of x-rays. He relates not only what has happened over the last one-hundred years, but also why it happened the way it did, the experiences of the scientists involved, and how a series of seemingly bizarre or unrelated occurrences has emerged as a logical sequence of discoveries and events. Personally involved in many of the developments described, Pais provides unique insights into the world of big and small physics, revealing how the smallest distances explored between 1895 and 1983 have shrunk a hundred millionfold. Along this “road inward,” scientists have made advances that later generations will rank among the principal monuments of the twentieth century. This magisterial survey explores the discoveries made on the constituents of matter, the laws that govern them, and the forces that act on them. Demonstrating the sometimes rocky road to new insights, Pais reveals that these have been times of progress and stagnation, of order and chaos, of clarity and confusion, of belief and incredulity, of the conventional and the bizarre, as well as of revolutionaries and conservatives, of science by individuals and by consortia, of little gadgets and big machines, and of modest funds and big moneys.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review ‘It is rare indeed to find a professional physicist who combines such historical accomplishment, a lucid and refreshing style and a deep and relaxed understanding of his subject matter…Throughout, he provides shrewd and illuminating comments on experimental practice and theory construction and on current theories in the philosophy of scientific discovery.’ Times Literary Supplement’a learned and detailed commentary on what has been discovered about the constituents of matter, the laws to which they are subject, and the forces which act on them. It is a work of real scholarship.’ New Scientist’Pais’s mastery of the whole field of elementary particle physics is manifest on every page. In addition, his insight into the personalities of the actors in the story is remarkable … It is an inimitable work.’ Nature’The history of “modern” physics has been told many times, although seldom with such insight and affection.’ Times Higher Education Supplement’In this groundbreaking new volume, Pais undertakes a history of the physics of matter and of physical forces since the discovery of X-rays … this magisterial survey richly conveys what has been discovered about the constituents of matter, the laws to which they are subject and the forces that act on them’ europe & astronomy, 1992 About the Author Abraham Pais is Detlev W. Bronk Professor of Physics at the Rockefeller University and winner of the 1979 J.R. Oppenheimer Memorial Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐It is 8 November 1895 in the late afternoon and you are a physicist working in France, feeling somewhat dysphoric because everything that is knowable in Physics has been discovered, and the world and its clockwork mechanism explained and codified in a series of brilliant differential equations. All that remains is to dot a few i’s and then the great course of knowledge begun by Galileo and brought to perfection by Newton will be complete. You are performing some experiments with a mysterious substance that intrigues you: cathode rays. Your main apparatus is a one meter long vacuum tube, its pressure reduced to one-thousandth of a torr. In your hand you hold a small apparatus at some distance from the tube and which you wave in a slow, desultory fashion. You are not expecting anything, frankly you are feeling a little bored. But you are curious and perhaps the nature of these cathode rays will reveal themselves. Suddenly, you are quite startled to notice a fluorescence on the device you are waving, a detector or small screen covered with barium platinocyanide. The fluorescence is caused by the cathode rays. You are determined to discover the nature of this mysterious substance.Your name is Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen and that fluorescence you have discovered is what the world would soon know as X-rays, a term you invent for your first paper. You quickly learn that these rays have the extraordinary effect of penetrating matter, allowing you to take astonishing photographs of the bones of the hand. Reports of these photos cause a sensation in the world press in January 1896. And when Le Matin publishes a story on X-rays on 13 January, another French scientist, by the name of Henri Becquerel, is stirred to begin his own experiments with rays. Eventually he decides to expose rocks to the sun. His experiments are sidetracked, however, when he accidently photographs a key with the rays given off by a piece of uranium-bearing ore called pitchblende that had never been exposed to the sun. His astonishment causes him to rush across the hall and invite Pierre Curie and a young female student named Marie, who is working in his laboratory, to witness this strange event. They in turn are induced to discover the nature of these strange and powerful rays, now known as radiactivity. Their work is instrumental in Max Planck’s explanation of black-body radiation (radiation is discretely emitted in quanta of energy), which catches the eye of Albert Einstein who explains the photoelectric effect in 1905, for which he wins the Nobel prize in 1921.With such a dizzying chain of events, the notion at the end of the 19th Century that Classical Physics was complete was repudiated and a new, much more radical view of nature was inaugurated. Abraham Pais, a physicist who knew many of the actors, author of Subtle is the Lord, the brilliant biography of Einstein, has written one of the finest histories of science I’ve ever read. It offers an encyclopedic overview of the development of elementary particle physics from 1895 and Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays until the discovery of W and Z Bosons in 1983 by Carlo Rubbia and the researchers at CERN: a history from X to Z. It is also a brilliant and engaging portrait of the physicists who profoundly deepened our understanding of matter and physical forces. It is told in chronological order, with scientific depth (including significant equations) and a sure knowledge of every major event and discovery in the nearly one hundred years with which the book is concerned. During that period, the smallest distances explored have shrunk a hundred millionfold. This book will reward those with some knowledge of physics, but can be read selectively, without significant loss of content, by those whose knowledge of science is rudimentary at best. This is indeed a sweeping narrative that places the great discoveries in atomic physics of the last century at your fingertips and is most strongly recommended.Mike Birman

⭐I started reading this book and won’t be finishing so soon, because it is a real course in the history of 20th century physics. This enormously talented author, I’ve read three other books by him – on Einstein, Bohr, and his autobiography, which I recommend – he had an extremely exciting life – knows how to convey to the interested reader all the excitement of scientific discovery, not to talk about the fascinating personalities of the scientists involved in this thrilling adventure. If you’re the kind of person to whom all this has an appeal, this is a book for you. Well, it is for me, anyway.

⭐The author, Abrahan Pais, was distinguised 20th century physicist who personally knew Niels Bohr, Albert Einsterin, Enrico Fermi and the other top physicists. Fortunately for us, in addition to being a top notch physicist, he was also a prolific and clear cut writer. His book Inward Bound narrates the development of special and general relativity, and that of quantum theory. It is a lovely book, that cannot be skimmed. it is worth all the time and effort it takes to read it. Better still, it should be read with Pai’s books on Einstein and on Niels Bohr. I just gave Ifnward Bound to my grandson as an encouragement for his to consider at least some physics in his graduate education. Highly recommended.

⭐The odd phenomenon’s of “Brownian motion”, and Hertz’s “photoelectric effect”,… the failure of the classical equipartition theorem to account for experimental results of specific heats and blackbody radiation, set the stage for the revolution that was to come.Abraham Pais is one of the finest physics historians you’re likely to find. The experimental and theoretical events leading up to the scientific revolution of the twentieth century are meticulously described here. What is particularly appealing about this history is the presentation of the struggle, the dead-ends, and reluctances in accepting the conceptual paradigm shift necessary from the classical view of reality.Pais also has written exceptional biographies of Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Paul Dirac.”Subtle is the Lord – Life and Time of Albert Einstein””Niels Bohr’s Times, in Physics, Philosophy, and Polity””Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work”

⭐I am sure Pais is a genius, but reading this makes clear I am not. I believe only a Physics grad student would understand this book. Brian Cox says this book is superb. Cox can understand this stuff, but this is no book for anyone but a serious student of physics. The two star is not to say Pais isn’t brilliant with great command of the subject matter, it is a reflection of how far over my head this book is. If you aren’t a physics grad student, I doubt you will find this book an easy read. If you want Physics made fun read Neil de Grasse Tyson. If you are an advanced student in physics, I am sure this book is five star for excellence. Pais is a giant, he just isn’t a giant at writing for a lay audience.

⭐At points, this book tells a tale and is readable. At other times, it feels more like a diary, journal, or work in progress.One topic I was interested in was the development of the weak force. The book mentions some conferences, equations, and says hundreds or thousands of papers were published. This was about 4 pages. I was hoping more for the story and highlights here. It is one of the four fundamental forces. It does have an interesting history from the study of radioactivity, its role in fusion, the discovery of Z particles, etc.Then, neither as a plus or minus, simply a comment: The book can be highly technical. In general, I wouldn’t describe it at all as a book for the general public.For a more general survey and reader, you might look at Emilio Segre or Frank Close’s books. Segre gives much of a human account, and Close’s short book provides a good summary.

⭐An amazing book but incredibly detailed and much of it over my head. Fortunately, there is loads of material on YouTube which explains this stuff e.g. Dr PhysicsA

⭐all ok

⭐I really wanted his exposition of Quantum mechanics (another book, apparently) but I do not resent reading this at all.

⭐The book was in a great condition. Shipping was fast.

⭐Pour ceux qui aiment la physique et veulent comprendre son évolution.Il se penche sur l’une des périodes la plus fascinante, où dans l’espace de deux décennies, toute la physique moderne est née.Une histoire raconté, non par un farfelu, mais par quelqu’un qui y a participé.Mieux qu’un polar

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