Taming the Atom: The Emergence of the Visible Microworld (Hardcover)

by Hans Christian Von Baeyer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Not many physicists these days have Baeyer's assured curiosity, which allows him to borrow a title from Saint-Exupery ("One only understands the things that one tames") for his discussion of the wraiths and phantoms of nearly 50 years of quantum theory. Baeyer has the Little Prince's determined faith that the next generation will see the atomic world, and perhaps will at last unify atomic theory and quantum mechanics, the physics of Einstein and Bohr. As in his Rainbows, Snowflakes and Quarks, Baeyer dances gracefully with everyone's theories and makes them all seem charming to the general reader. But this is straight quantum, without clever analogy, Tao insights or any apology for the contradictions in current theories; the volume is, unfortunately, also without mathematics, even as an appendix. When the third revolution in physics ("a second quantum revolution") comes--not necessarily, Baeyer points out, as a synthesis of past ones--Baeyer's readers will have already been alerted. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
At the beginning of this volume, von Baeyer ( Rainbows, Snowflakes and Quarks , LJ 7/84) tells of his recent visit to a physics laboratory to actually see an individual mercury atom, captured, isolated, and made visible by very new techniques of microphysics. He then backs up to review the whole history of atomic theory, from the classical Greek philosophers to 20th-century quantum mechanics. Next, he tells us more of the modern techniques for manipulating and viewing atomic particles; this section features the technique known as "scanning tunneling microscopy." Finally, he refers to the still-unresolved mystery of the foundations of quantum mechanics. All of this is accomplished without resort to diagrams or equations but with marvelously fluid and intelligible prose. The book will be accessible to well-informed lay readers but should also be entertaining even to advanced researchers. A superior work of scientific popularization; highly recommended for academic and public libraries.
- Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (August 11, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679400397
• ISBN-13: 978-0679400394
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #975,793 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No praise is high enough..., November 10, 1998

By A Customer

I have wished for a book like this all of my life; I thought I'd never find it. If only there existed authors in all areas of science (& other fields, for that matter) who could summarize the complexities & histories in their respective fields in such a fascinating, accessible, & eloquent way, the world would be a much better place; & if such books were made required reading in public schools & universities, citizens would be more informed & understand their world to a significantly greater extent. I would absolutely be "beside myself" in academic ecstasy, & would treasure all such books--but if asked which one I would take "if stranded alone on a desert island", it would be "Taming the Atom". I cried tears of joy while reading this book; this book facilitated my understanding of various concepts & realities that I could not have obtained otherwise without reading, processing, & synthesizing information from massive amounts of material (& I would not have had the time). I owe a debt (of gratitude) to Dr. von Baeyer which I can never repay; I thank him beyond words for having taken the time to exercise his talent for explanation, & presenting complex concepts & facts in such an accessible, enjoyable, engaging, & fascinating manner; lastly, his writing makes what is priceless, rare, & extremely difficult (aiding in the successful comprehension of a multitude of complex concepts via the written word) seem so easy. I appreciate his work more than I can express. I am in the process of acquiring every book he has written--they will be permanent "residents" in my library, & will be with me for the rest of my life. I am spreading the word of this man's wonderful talent to those who work in various bookstores, & anyone I encounter who has an interest in these sciences (chemistry & physics). If only I could be so fortunate as to have him as a professor, or be privileged to attend any lecture or seminar he might give... I thank him for a book that is so beautiful & important to me; I've loved science all of my life, & always asked "why" when examining the world around me--had a book like this been available to me as a child, I have no doubt that my life today would be very different. I plan to make sure that the public library in the city in which I grew up has a copy of every book Dr. von Baeyer has written, with the personal intention that any child in that city with an interest in science & the means to visit said library, has opportunities @ early comprehension of so much... I thank him & am deeply grateful for his having written this book...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I second that ....., April 13, 2005

By	persephone (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taming the Atom (Paperback)

Every word written in the review named "No praise is high enough..." on November 11, 1998 is absolutely and 100% true. I am not able to write a comprehensive review at the moment, but believe me when I say, what this anonymous reviewer wrote about the book is exactly how I felt about the book...exactly.

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written for the informed scietific reader, January 8, 2009

By	Humberto Mejia "Still alive and kicking" (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Taming the Atom (Paperback)

Indeed this is a well written and instructive approach to the atom, made by someone that has been there talking to the pioneers at the cutting edge technology, and also giving us a recount to the intractable world of quantum mechanics. Be forewarned, this is not a light book, it is not a textbook though, I considere myself to be technically advanced and I still find it hard to understand certain chapters, yet there is a rewarding feeling that you can get through the maze, difficult but accesible.

I feel Dr. von Baeyer has forever shattered my idea of using the Little Prince episode of the fox, where he taught the prince the meaning of the word tame. Indeed, we must play along everyday with the notions facing the atom to beging to feel the longing that is the prelude to being tamed.

Some ideas are expressed here that I have not found in any other books, such as the notion of the incredibly fast speed on which some chemical reactions occur. The idea of femtoseconds is ungraspable, and it woul be more illustrating if we use the idea of time as a lenth, calculate the distance light would travel in a femstosecond (I have not donde it yet), but I am sure is something you can cut a string of cloth with and present it (this idea was used in "A Whack in the side of the head").

In another chapter, I was suprised that a single electron was captured in 1973!!! I thought this happened in the early days of quatum physics, what took them so long?? This was not clear to me in the explanations.

There are still some issues I do not get yet, such as the fact that if we trap a single lectron and a single proton, what would happen then? Of course by electrostatic attarction they willtry to unite, but the term unite does not exist in the real of the atomic small, is it that once they reach a critical distance they will become hydrogen atoms? and therefore electrically neutral? what happend to the elctic field that onced surrounded the whole space? I issue this doubts as a consequence of reading the book and beging the help of any of you who can inform me about it.