or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
56 used & new from $0.59

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness
 
 

Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: quantum paper, inertial coordinate system, pollen particles, Einstein's May, Einstein's June, Nobel Prize (more...)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Price: $21.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Wednesday, November 18? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
29 new from $4.39 27 used from $0.59

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, January 14, 2005 $21.95 $4.39 $0.59
  Paperback, April 29, 2006 $17.00 $10.62 $3.85

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Hydrogen: The Essential Element by John S. Rigden

Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness + Hydrogen: The Essential Element
  • This item: Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness by John S. Rigden

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Hydrogen: The Essential Element by John S. Rigden

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics

Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics

by Albert Einstein
4.2 out of 5 stars (11)  $21.21
The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom

The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom

by Graham Farmelo
4.6 out of 5 stars (15)  $19.77
The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell

The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell

by Basil Mahon
4.5 out of 5 stars (26)  $10.85
Understanding Relativity

Understanding Relativity

by Stanley Goldberg
Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science

Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science

by David Lindley
4.4 out of 5 stars (34)  $10.17
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The year 2005 will be the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis, when he published the five papers that marked him as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Washington University professor Rigden (Hydrogen: The Essential Element) sits readers down in front of his white board and explains what Einstein said in each of these papers, what was significant in them and how the scientific community reacted (not very well, in most cases—for a while). Einstein started off with a bang: in March he proposed that light was not a continuous wave, but was made up of particles. In April he finished what became his dissertation, on how to determine the size of molecules in a liquid (that may not sound very exciting, but this is one of Einstein's most cited papers). In May he wrote his paper on Brownian motion, and then in June came the summit of his achievements that year: the paper proposing his principles of relativity and the consistency of the speed of light (commonly known as the Special Theory of Relativity). Finally, almost as an afterthought, in September came the three-page paper that unleashed his now-famous equation, e=mc2, upon an unsuspecting world. Rigden writes with a rare felicity, free of jargon and with everyday metaphors that Einstein himself would no doubt have appreciated. 7 b&w illus, 5 line illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-An accessible, even page-turning, account of Einstein's new insights and the turmoil that they created. Five research papers published in 1905 by an unknown physicist working in the patent office in Bern, Switzerland, revolutionized physics and provided knowledge that would transform the world. Readers will be particularly intrigued by the details of how the young man challenged, and then generally overcame, the scientific establishment, and how his ideas have themselves been challenged by others. Rigden shows that scientists have personal dimensions that are rarely mentioned in more formal textbooks. Significant insight is provided into the critical need for conflict in science, where advances are made when theories are tested by experiments that lead to new theories, and so on. Rich sources of information are given on Einstein's thoughts and those of his contemporaries on the nature of light, how atoms can be visualized in relatively simple experiments, the role of time as a fourth dimension, and, above all, how matter and energy are interrelated. Simple diagrams and reproductions of the front pages of the papers inform key aspects of the text. This book is strongly recommended for those wishing to understand the nature of the physical world, the creation of the universe, the origin of current scientific theories, and how simple experiments and concepts can successfully challenge long-held ideas.-Alexander Woodcock, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0674015444
  • ISBN-13: 978-0674015449
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #517,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

John S. Rigden
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's John S. Rigden Page

Inside This Book (learn more)




What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 
(15)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Anno Mirabilis, June 16, 2005
By Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This year is the hundredth anniversary of "Einstein's Miracle Year" of 1905. In 1905, Albert Einstein published five scientific papers, all of which were important and three of which are still considered groundbreaking. Many scientists would consider themselves lucky to publish five important papers in a lifetime, which is one of the many reasons why Einstein's achievement is considered such a triumph. And yet, it is rare, even among the well-educated, to find people who really know what Einstein did. Words like "relativity" and "E = mc squared" are tossed around without any real comprehension of their meaning. That is why it is good and not at all surprising to find a book like Mr. Rigden's on the shelf now.

In Einstein 1905, Mr. Rigden takes us through each of Einstein's papers of 1905--the quantum paper of March (often referred to as the "photoelectric effect" paper), the molecular dimensions paper of April, the "Brownian motion" paper of May, the relativity paper of June and the energy-mass paper (with that famous equation) in September. He does his best to explain exactly what it is that each paper said and, simultaneously, what Einstein was trying to achieve. (Not always the same thing.) He is even better at explaining the impact each paper had on the development of physics often far into the future and in ways Einstein both did and did not see. He also describes how many people still misunderstand what the impact of these papers is.

This is by no means a book for the faint of heart. Mr. Rigden throws physics terminology around a little to easily for that. However, it is also not a book that requires a serious education in math and physics. It is very readable with hardly an equation in sight. A reader with a good general education and a desire to understand the impact that Einstein had on the world will get a lot from this book because, in the final analysis, the physics is only the means to an end here.

Ultimately, Mr. Rigden is trying to get a handle on the nature of genius in his analysis of some of Einstein's greatest triumphs. Apart from Newton's flurry of brilliance in the early 1660's, there is probably not another period of time in history where so much has been achieved over such a brief period. Einstein's name has become synonymous with genius and everyone would like to know what it was that made Einstein who he was.

Still, in the end, the nature of genius remains elusive. Mr. Rigden has written a great history here but is basically remains on the surface as it must in an investigation like this. One can describe how Einstein was confidently stubborn and how he worked from contradictions to "generalize it and then be guided by its implications until a resolution was found, frequently in the form of profound new insights." True as this may be (and I found his recurring discussion of the continuity/discontinuity problem in physics to be one of the most insightful things I've read recently), this doesn't always lead to genius--as can be seen from Einstein's own later years.

The fact remains that Einstein's work was an achievement almost without equal and that Mr. Rigden has written an excellent account of it. Einstein's work should be better understood beyond being able to mouth a single equation and the term "relativity." Here, in a slim volume, we have a respect for the totality of Einstein's triumphs of 1905 and should be read by anyone who claims to be educated.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.