Six Not-So-Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, And Space-Time (Paperback)

by Richard P. Feynman (Author) "In this chapter we introduce a subject that is technically known in physics as symmetry in physical law..." (more)
Key Phrases: excess radius, predicted radius, measured radius, Alpha Centauri (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

No twentieth-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918–1988)—physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film. The spectacular reception of the book and audio versions of Feynman’s Six Easy Pieces (published in 1995) resulted in a worldwide clamor for “More Feynman! More Feynman!” The outcome is these six additional lectures, drawn from the celebrated three-volume Lectures on Physics. Though slightly more challenging than the first six, these lectures are more focused, delving into the most revolutionary discovery in twentieth-century physics: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. No single breakthrough in twentieth-century physics (with the possible exception of quantum mechanics) changed our view of the world more than that of Einstein’s discovery of relativity. The notions that the flow of time is not a constant, that the mass of an object depends on its velocity, and that the speed of light is a constant no matter what the motion of the observer, at first seemed shocking to scientists and laymen alike. But, as Feynman shows so clearly and so entertainingly in the lectures chosen for this volume, these crazy notions are no mere dry principles of physics, but are things of beauty and elegance. No one—not even Einstein himself—explained these difficult, anti-intuitive concepts more clearly, or with more verve and gusto, than Richard Feynman.

About the Author

Richard P. Feynman was raised in Far Rockaway, New York, and received his Ph.D. from Princeton. He held professorships at both Cornell and the California Institute of Technology. In 1965 he received the Nobel Prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics. He died in 1988.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465023932
• ISBN-13: 978-0465023936
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT for the beginner., December 30, 2002

By	James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Six Not-So-Easy Pieces (Helix Books) (Paperback)

If you've got a fair background in beginning Calculus and elementary physics, you may find this book very worthwhile. I wouldn't know.

Don't be fooled, however, by reviewers who claim that Feynman explains things in such a way that even without those basic tools, the book isn't incomprehensible. I've HAD basic calculus, albeit a LONG time ago, and I'm a tad rusty. And I have even less grounding in physics. But I'm far from mathematically illiterate, or incapable. And it isn't true that I got nothing out of my reading of this book; the sixth chapter did, in fact, answer the question that I'd hoped to have answered when I bought it. But by and large, the book was close to impenetrable. Now, clearly, this may well be due to my lack of preparation in the prerequisites for understanding it. But it definitely is NOT the first step in the process of understanding physics, as one reviewer actually called it and others implied. Read "Six Easy Pieces" first, and brush up on first-year Calculus. THEN consider tackling this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six More Elegantly Explained Concepts, April 4, 2003

By	John Vickery (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Six Not-So-Easy Pieces (Helix Books) (Paperback)

Six Not-So-Easy Pieces is the sequel to the book Six Easy Pieces. The first book is a collection of six of the easier lectures from Feynman's freshman and sophomore physics classes at CalTech. Six Not-So-Easy Pieces are some of the more difficult lectures from those classes. In contrast to the first book, these lessons are much more mathematical. Freshman calculus is definitely a prerequisite to reading this book. Courses in vector calculus and differential equations will help the reader to more completely understand the works, but they are not absolutely necessary. However, without much mathematical knowledge, one can just take Feynman at his word for all the equations, reading mainly the conceptual explanations, but one will invariably miss out on some of the points. For anyone reading the book, Feynman's teaching style is something that can be enjoyed. He explains the concepts in a comprehensive and not-too-difficult manner and seems to have a full understanding of what the student in the lecture hall is thinking. The six topics (chapters) covered in this book are: Vectors, Symmetry in Physical Laws, The Special Theory of Relativity, Relativistic Energy and Motion, Space-Time, and Curved Space. This book is in no way a survey of physics. It is more of a sampling of Feynman's teaching. However, the common thread that runs through the six pieces is that they all relate to understanding relativity. For the layman who has a mathematical background and wants to understand the concept of relativity, this book is an excellent help. I would suggest reading Six Easy Pieces before reading this book, but it is not necessary. If you enjoyed reading the first book, I would highly recommend this one and vice versa.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Theory" behind the Theory of Relativity, June 14, 2000

By	Alex Mikhail (Lynchburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Not-So-Easy Pieces-Book/CD Package (Paperback)

These lectures where designed to give the student the reasoning behind relativity. Unlike some books, this book does not just explain the results or phenomena of relativity. Feynman actually explains the problems with Newton's laws and actually derives and gives the reasoning for Einstein's theories about relativity. These lectures need only some calculus and basic physics knowledge to appreciate. However, as with most bonfide scientific literature, the more "mathematically and scientifically mature" the reader the better. Feynman uses pieces of calculus (very basic stuff), algebra (symmetry, vector notation, cross products, and dot products), geometry (non-Euclidian), and basic physics knowledge (conservation laws, Newton's laws, Maxwell's equations etc). You don't need all of this to listen and understand the lectures, but obviously the more the better. Feynman also does a good job of explaining some the mathematics involved as well. The lectures pretty much follow the book so you can read along while you listen. These are actual lectures that Feynman gave at Caltech to undergraduates so they are very rigorous. In short, the lectures were clear, very understandable, and offer something to everyone. You don't need anything more than a solid background in calculus and introductory physics to get something out of these lectures.