First You Build a Cloud: And Other Reflections on Physics as a Way of Life (Paperback)

~ (Author) "POPULAR SCIENCE writers are forever proclaiming the profound importance of such matters as the ultimate fate of the universe, or the events that took place..." (more)
Key Phrases: friend the physicist, color force, one physicist, Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, Victor Weisskopf (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When you try to push a heavy sofa, you disturb the entire gravitationally entangled cosmos. No wonder it's so hard to move."

Now that's good science writing--punchy, direct, and immediately meaningful to the reader's life. K.C. Cole, the Leonardo da Vinci of science writers, has taken her great, out-of-print Sympathetic Vibrations and revised, expanded, and updated it to create an entirely new book, First You Build a Cloud: And Other Reflections on Physics as a Way of Life. Her enthusiasm for science as an intensely meaningful endeavor comes through on each page: here is someone who not only thinks about the world around her but gets others to do the same.

In addition to her chapter on forces (quoted above), Cole covers the quantum world, relativity, and universal patterns, among other fundamental topics. Throughout she manages to show the reader the power of science to shape our dreams, religion, and poetry, as well as our bridges, dams, and highways. Conversations with such luminaries as Richard Feynman and Frank Oppenheimer enlighten us on both the form and substance of what was once known as "natural philosophy" and rehumanize this field too often recognized for its dizzying abstractions. Despite the enormity of its role in our lives, science should not be feared. Instead, we should keep working on new translations of its mysteries; with scribes like Cole, the work becomes much easier for us all. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

Contemporary physicists believe in, and depend on, theories and objects that, according to Cole, are now and always will be "unseeable... untouchable, unmeasurable, and sometimes even unimaginable." How can they do so, and why do they have to? Cole's admirable, clear set of essays will help lay readers understand and appreciate the laws, methods and language of working physicists, and of scientists in general. Where many science explainers focus on particular theories and gee-whiz facts, this volume (a reworked and expanded version of Cole's Sympathetic Vibrations) grounds itself in everyday experience (Why is the sky blue?) and explores the territory philosophers and literary essayists share with experimental physicists. Drawing on previous thinkers and writers from Newton and Einstein to Annie Dillard (and in particular on physicist and writer Victor Weisskopf), Cole explains how science uses metaphors; why scientists use, and need, many "wrong" ideas; how physicists learn to "see" invisible particles; what makes a theory beautiful; and how to distinguish between a force field, a force and a pseudo-force. Later chapters take on such specific key concepts of physics as wave-particles, relativity, resonant frequencies and quantum theory. Cole (who did the same for math in her The Universe and the Teacup) to balance concrete explanation and literary appreciation. Demystifying her peers' complex theories, she shows at the same time how "even our view of strictly physical forces such as gravity can have a profound effect on the way we view ourselves."
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156006464
• ISBN-13: 978-0156006460
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #396,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ideas of modern physics made delectable, June 4, 2000

By	Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Cole has taken great pains in shaping a book that informs and delights in the tradition of Guy Murchie, whose eminently readable Music of the Spheres certainly served as an inspiration. In effect (since this is a complete reworking of her 1984 book, Sympathetic Vibrations) Cole wrote this book twice, the second time with the benefit of fifteen years of experience under her belt. It's clear that she wanted to accomplish two things: one, provide access to the ideas of physics to a wide readership; and two, convey the enthusiasm and awesome delight for physics found in the work of the greats like Newton, Einstein, Gamow, Bohr, Feynman and the Oppenheimer brothers.

She succeeds. This is science writing for a popular audience at its finest. As such it is a perfect gift especially for a young person interested in science, or for anyone who would like to know more about the way physicists view our world. It is a work of love filled with luscious quotes from the great scientists and others who have shaped our modern view of the universe. In a sense it is a celebration of the scientific view of life.

I have read Cole's The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty (1998) which enjoyed a well-deserved popular success, but I can tell you, this is an even better book. There is a sincerity and depth of earnestness here that delights. Cole's warm and human style brings the world of modern physics to life.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good read for the non-science major. For the curious only., September 28, 1999

By A Customer

As a non-science major I found this work to be useful in helping me obtain a better understanding of physics in everyday life. Sometimes it wasn't simple enough for me-- however-- it is very interesting material!

A more comprehensive display of Relativity and Quantum Theory in simplistic terms would have made this a great work.

Seventh grade, as previously recommended will be a little tough to handle. Ninth grade and up is appropriate if they have strong interest.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars physics for a democratic society, February 27, 2000

By A Customer

K.C. Cole's book is not for people who already know, or think they know, everything about physics. It's for people who like to marvel at the wonders of the natural world but find them all too often obscured by the jargon and equations of professional scientists. There is none of that here. The author stands firm for accessibility, and her presentation is lucid and clear. She brings readers the substance of physical science without the pedantry that weighs down many other such expositions. In short, it's an excellent guide to a wide range of fundamental concepts in physics, exploiting every opportunity to show how they illuminate everyday life.