Ludwig Boltzmann: The Man Who Trusted Atoms [Paperback]

Carlo Cercignani (Author), Roger Penrose Sir (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198570643 | ISBN-13: 978-0198570646 | Publication Date: March 9, 2006

Ludwig Boltzmann arguably played the key role in establishing that submicroscopic structures underlie the ordinary world. He had a tremendous impact on late 19th-century and early 20th-century physics, and he anticipated many contemporary ideas, including Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions and recent theories of knowledge based on Darwinian principles. This book is the first accessible biography of this important figure. Without relying on equations, it provides a deep look at the full range of his scientific and philosophical ideas, discussing both their original context and their relevance today. The book also gives a concise portrait of Boltzmann's life, which, despite his successes, ended tragically in suicide. Drawing on recent research related to some of Boltzmann's more controversial ideas, this book offers fascinating insights into the birth of modern physics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`It is valuable, not only for the wealth and scope of information it provides, but for offering an up-to-date view, accessible to all, of Boltzmann's scientific ideas.' Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics

`Carlo Cercignani has made an important contribution to our understanding of the man and his work in the context of his times... Much of the book will be interesting for the general reader.' George Fleck, The Chemical Intelligencer

`I can warmly recommend the book to everybody who is interested in the history of science.' Dieter Flamm, Physics World

About the Author

Carlo Cercignani Dipartmento di Matematica Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 20133 Milano Italy

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198570643
• ISBN-13: 978-0198570646
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,207,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stimulating biography of a great scientist, May 30, 2000

By 

Dr David J Bottomley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ludwig Boltzmann: The Man Who Trusted Atoms (Hardcover)

Cercignani provides a stimulating biography of a great scientist. Boltzmann's greatness is difficult to state, but the fact that the author is still actively engaged in research into some of the finer, as yet unresolved issues provoked by Boltzmann's work is a measure of just how far ahead of his time Boltzmann was. It is also tragic to read of Boltzmann's persecution by his contemporaries, the energeticists, who regarded atoms as a convenient hypothesis, but not as having a definite existence. Boltzmann felt that atoms were real and this motivated much of his research. How Boltzmann would have laughed if he could have seen present-day scanning tunnelling microscopy images, which resolve the atomic structure at surfaces! If only all scientists would learn from Boltzmann's life story that it is bad for science to persecute someone whose views you do not share but cannot disprove. One surprising fact I learned from this book was how research into thermodynamics and statistical mechanics led to the beginnings of quantum theory (such as Planck's distribution law, and Einstein's theory of specific heat). Lecture notes by Boltzmann also seem to have influenced Einstein's construction of special relativity. Cercignani's familiarity with Boltzmann's work at the research level will probably set this above other biographies of Boltzmann for a very long time to come.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Physical Chemists, December 30, 2006

By 

Alan Earhart (Lincoln, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ludwig Boltzmann: The Man Who Trusted Atoms (Paperback)

Why are you here? Why are you looking for a biography about Boltzmann? If you are looking for a strong science biography with a lot of mathematical detail, then you'll want this book. The book is not just a historical biography but a mathematical one. For this purpose I would have given it 5 stars.

However, I was looking for a biography in the same category as Lindley's "Degrees Kelvin" (William Thomson aka Lord Kelvin) or Mahon's "The Man Who Changed Everything" (James Clerk Maxwell). While much of the math is placed into appendices, chapters 4, 5, and 6 will be difficult for the typical science history reader. The first three chapters were wonderful and detailed the life of Ludwig Boltzmann. Before this book he was simply the guy who's name was attached to a constant (which is why I want to read more about him!).

The back cover praise is extremely misleading-

"...accessible to all..."

"Much of the book will be interesting to the general reader."

"I can warmly recommend the book to everybody who is interested in the history of science."

Umm... no. If the second paragraph of my review is what you are looking for then I would suggest you try Lindley's "Boltzmann's Atom". While I have yet to read it, I did read his book about William Thomson/Lord Kelvin, "Degrees Kelvin", and really enjoyed it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poorly written, May 13, 2008

By 

Gift Card Recipient - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ludwig Boltzmann: The Man Who Trusted Atoms (Hardcover)

I purchased this book with the intent of learning something significant about Boltzmann's personal life, about the context in which he made his discoveries. I found the prose to be cumbersome and the structure of the chapters to be poorly thought out.

the author repeatedly falls into the trap of including too much information, while failing to succinctly capture the big idea - which remains obscured. while the book is technically adept, it adds little to the overall presentation, as the mathematics is wrapped with poorly edited and badly structured prose. the technical portions of the text are then insufficient to serve as a complete technical explanation on boltzmann's ideas while distracting from the point of the biography.

with so much great writing out there it is hard to justify time and money spent on a book so poorly written.