The Equations: Icons of Knowledge [Hardcover]

Sander Bais (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674019679 | ISBN-13: 978-0674019676 | Publication Date: November 15, 2005 | Edition: Edition Unstated

The mysteries of the physical world speak to us through equations--compact statements about the way nature works, expressed in nature's language, mathematics. In this book by the renowned Dutch physicist Sander Bais, the equations that govern our world unfold in all their formal grace--and their deeper meaning as core symbols of our civilization.

Trying to explain science without equations is like trying to explain art without illustrations. Consequently Bais has produced a book that, unlike any other aimed at nonscientists, delves into the details--historical, biographical, practical, philosophical, and mathematical--of seventeen equations that form the very basis of what we know of the universe today. A mathematical objet d'art in its own right, the book conveys the transcendent excitement and beauty of these icons of knowledge as they reveal and embody the fundamental truths of physical reality.

These are the seventeen equations that represent radical turning points in our understanding--from mechanics to electrodynamics, hydrodynamics to relativity, quantum mechanics to string theory--their meanings revealed through the careful and critical observation of patterns and motions in nature. Mercifully short on dry theoretical elaborations, the book presents these equations as they are--with the information about their variables, history, and applications that allows us to chart their critical function, and their crucial place, in the complex web of modern science.

Reading The Equations, we can hear nature speaking to us in its native language.

(20060115)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An intriguing little book...founded on a quarrel with what the author calls the 'fashionable dogma' of not including equations in science books intended for general readers. 'The veto is like asking somebody to explain art without showing pictures,' Bais argues. And he's right. His book is worth a look for anyone feeling brave enough to journey into the language of physical science on its own ground: the terra firma of mathematics.
--Anthony Doerr (Boston Globe 20060323)

The author writes clearly and incisively about the physical ideas...Most books of this genre take it as axiomatic that they must avoid equations. Bais embraces them, building his book around the equations of physics and using them as the vehicle for describing the counter-intuitive world of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and string theory.
--David M. Bressoud (Mathematical Association of America )

Let me say at once that I learnt a great deal from the author's broad-brush approach...The physics is very readable, with connections between different parts of the subject made well. And because the book is so short, the reader has a real chance to see "the big picture"...There is no doubt that The Equations is a bold and original book. And, in my view, imagination of this kind will be needed in the future if maths and science education is to avoid sliding gradually into lightweight stuff about what Newton ate for breakfast.
--David Acheson (Times Higher Education Supplement )

In addition to its pedagogical value, Bais's book presents these icons of our physical world in all their beauty. It is very good to be reminded of this.
--Malcolm Longair (Nature )

About the Author

Sander Bais is a theoretical physicist at the University of Amsterdam.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; Edition Unstated edition (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674019679
• ISBN-13: 978-0674019676
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,089,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Compilation of the `Rules of the Game', December 14, 2005

By 

C. L. Frenzen - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Equations: Icons of Knowledge (Hardcover)

The book was heavily wrapped in plastic -- Harvard University Press ? What was the title? `The Equations' ? I opened it in my local bookstore. And there were all the major equations describing mechanics, fluid dynamics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, quantum chromodynamics, string theory, and more. Like the icons they were, they stood silently ... in the middle of the pages, with some brief explanations about them on the nearby page.

What a great idea for a book! A 5 star idea, surely. These equations must surely count for the highest density of information (or predictive power, perhaps) per symbol ever produced by humans, so perhaps this book, as short as it is, counts in some similar way.

Why not 5 stars for the book? For a couple of reasons:

1) The production quality seems excellent. The book was printed in Italy, but the book does not say whether it was printed on acid-free paper. I assume it was. It is very nicely bound.

2) The author uses bold face for vectors, quite common. But because of the unusual color schemes, when one sees white equations on a red background, it can take the eye a split second longer to separate scalars from vectors -- not a serious problem.

3) There seem to be typos in the book --- yes, the Gaussian on page 53 should have a minus sign in the exponent. Worse still, the explantion of what it means for a fluid to be incompressible on page 32 is wrong. An incompressible fluid most often is defined so that the density of each mass element in the fluid is constant, and this means that the `time derivative following the fluid element' of the density is zero, not that the local time rate of change of the density is zero. But mistakes happen --- the gods frown on perfection.

4) The author devotes a few pages to outlining differential calculus, but then shies away from the `integration idea' because he says that `we will never have to explicitly integrate the equations of motion'. But the integration idea is often used in DERIVING the equations of motion (for example, the integral theorems of vector calculus, etc.) so one approach might have been to develop these ideas more thoroughly.


These are small quibbles, about a book containing very big ideas. It is a wonderful idea to produce a book like this. I hope some of those who read it, especially young people, will find themselves staring mystically at these equations, wondering, `How much...how much really is in these? What are the equations of the future going to look like? What would this book look like in a hundred years? ' and that these thoughts lead them into a career in science.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inishgtful, Mesmerizing, Amazing, March 6, 2006

By 

Matt Mabry (Dexter) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Equations: Icons of Knowledge (Hardcover)

If you've ever wondered what kinds of formulas physicists deal with to solve complex ideas such as String Theory, look no further than this book.

I have looked everywhere for the real equations that physicists use, but to no avail. Finally, I purchased this little gem and it fulfills all of my hopes.

Not only does this book give you the actual run-down of what the equation at hand looks like, the author, Sander Bais, breaks the formula down to describe it piece by piece. Bais breaks down what each variable represents and what your end result would be if you were to actually do the problem. Bais includes graphs to represent what the end result should look like, as well as the ranges the equation's answers should fall into when solved. Great book.

My only quarrel is that this book has a fault. One of the equations is wrong (as you've read through other reviews). And since this book is called "The Equations", I think it's a major mistake. That's why I give it a 4. Otherwise, this is a superbly insightful book. Anyone with any interest in physics of mathematics should definately take a look at this book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting work, November 27, 2005

By 

S. C. Flowers "S.C." (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Equations: Icons of Knowledge (Hardcover)

This book is unique in that it exposes the reader to equations dealing with Mechanics, E&M, QM, etc. in very few pages. To my way of viewing this work, the intent of the author was never to provide a complete coverage of the equations, you'd need a personal library for that. The reader, however, should glean the ideas embodied in the mathematical notation. This popularization of science was a pleasure to read.