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Scott Bembenek
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The Cosmic Machine: The Science That Runs Our Universe and the Story Behind It Kindle Edition

by Scott Bembenek (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 218 ratings
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Amazon #1 Best Seller
"It's very useful to have a unified overview of what we know, collected and recounted in one place. The Cosmic Machine​ will introduce you to the basic principles by which today's physicists organize the world." -Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
"A superb resource for science fans or those struggling to understand the subject; an impressive fit in an age of Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson web videos." -Kirkus Reviews​

"The Cosmic Machine​ succeeds on all accounts." -Midwest Book Review

Energy, Entropy, Atoms, and Quantum Mechanics form the very foundation of our universe. But how do they govern the world we live in? What was the difficult path to their discovery? Who were the key players that struggled to shape our current understanding?

The Cosmic Machine​ takes you from the earliest scientific inquiries in human history on an exciting journey in search of the answers to these questions. In telling this fascinating story of science, the reader is masterfully guided through the wonderment of how scientific discoveries (and the key players of those discoveries) shaped the world as we know it today.

With its unique blend of science, history, and biographies, The Cosmic Machine​ provides an easily accessible account without sacrificing the actual science itself. Not only will this book engage, enlighten, and entertain you, it will inspire your passion and curiosity for the world around us.
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  1. Print length
    360 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    August 15, 2017
  5. File size
    4383 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review


“It's very useful to have a unified overview of what we know, collected and recounted in one place. The Cosmic Machine will introduce you to the basic principles by which today's physicists organize the world." –Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

“A superb resource for science fans or those struggling to understand the subject; an impressive fit in an age of Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson web videos.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Injecting the 'popular' back into science is no light task and involves a balance between keeping the science accessible to lay readers, making it interesting enough to engage non-scientists, and being certain it's accurate enough to be authoritative. Of all these tasks, the 'lively' portion is the biggest challenge, and where competing books often fall short. The Cosmic Machine succeeds on all accounts.” –Midwest Book Review

“Kudos to Bembenek for taking an entirely mathematical concept and making it readable, comprehensible and interesting ….” –Lyle Sadavoy, Chem 13 News

“I wanted to start by saying that I really enjoyed this book. … at all times [the] writing was clear, well paced and easy to follow …. I started to discover that I was taking something unexpected from the book. I stopped focusing on the individual steps and, instead, started to see a ‘story’ behind the story. I found this enlightening.” –Gary Smailes, Founder and Editor at BubbleCow

"The Cosmic Machine is a wonderful way to introduce an intellectually curious person to how physics and chemistry have evolved and how they contribute to our understanding of the Universe." –Jim Stein, New Books Network

"The Cosmic Machine ... makes for a powerful read." –Don Lehn, Fraser Valley News

About the Author

Scott has a PhD in theoretical chemical physics, was a National Research Council Fellow, and currently works as a computational chemist doing drug discovery research. He resides in San Diego, California, with his family.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074CPJ51S
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zoari Press; 1st edition (August 15, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4383 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 218 ratings

About the author

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Scott Bembenek

Scott Bembenek

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Scott has a PhD in theoretical chemical physics, was a National Research Council Fellow, and works as a computational chemist doing drug discovery research. He has made substantial contributions to the areas of statistical mechanics, kinetic theory, glass theory, liquid dynamics, and computational drug discovery, with his work appearing in several scientific journals. He has also written popular science, science education, and science communication articles for The Huffington Post, Forbes, Scientific American, Discover, and Salon. He resides in San Diego, California, with his family.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
218 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the writing style fairly comprehensive and beautiful. They also say the book is a great read for anyone with a passion for science.

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Writing styleReadability
10 customers mention "Writing style"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style comprehensive, easy to read, and informative. They also say the author is a good storyteller and the book is wonderfully accessible. Readers describe the book as an excellent introduction to physics principles and history.

"...Fascinating stuff. Very well written." Read more

"I would have actually expected to see more math, but still good and informative and at the same time fun to read...." Read more

"...in a way the average person can understand thus making this a very easy read while very much respecting the source material...." Read more

"Explains each topic in easy to understand language" Read more

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a great read for anyone with a passion for science. They also say it's fun to pick up and come back to, and worth the effort.

"...see more math, but still good and informative and at the same time fun to read...." Read more

"This book is a great read for anyone who has a passion for science and history...." Read more

"...The chapters are relatively stand alone which makes the book fun to pick up and come back to, without feeling dislocated or lost...." Read more

"...Worth the effort!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Karl J. Hanson
5.0 out of 5 stars Provides the backstory of scientific discoveries
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2019
Verified Purchase
The best thing about this book is, it provides the reader with backstories about the lives of scientists who were responsible for the great discoveries in physics and chemistry. I especially liked the quirky human interest stories about these scientists, who were humans, just like the rest of us.

Author Bembenek has done an outstanding job. We seem to forget that humans have somehow pulled themselves up by the bootstraps to develop our present understanding of nature.

I was particularly impressed with the following facts:
- Prior to 1905 - really not that long ago - the concept of atoms was not fully understood.
- Young Albert Einstein's ideas faced extreme opposition within the established scientific community
- Max Planck developed the idea of "discrete states" using classical physics concepts; but it was Einstein who described the true significance of Planck's ideas, leading the way to quantum theory.
- Erwin Schrodinger. famous for developing the equation describing quantum waves, strongly disagreed with the others who were also concurrently developing quantum theories. (An extremely interesting cast of characters in that particular story!)

Fascinating stuff. Very well written.
14 people found this helpful
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NorthernLights
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and fun to read.
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2018
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I would have actually expected to see more math, but still good and informative and at the same time fun to read. I could have included some material on relativity, but I should say the part on quantum theory was amazing.
3 people found this helpful
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Paul D
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a great read for anyone who has a passion for science ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book is a great read for anyone who has a passion for science and history.

When you come across the title, you automatically think this book is only for those with PhD's (and me with only a Master's degree) This is not true. Scott presents all of his information in a way the average person can understand thus making this a very easy read while very much respecting the source material. Rather than giving a detail of only science, Scott introduces the user to the history of the discoveries, which makes both subjects come to life.

I highly recommend this book.
21 people found this helpful
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Richard Carney
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for those looking for an easy to read book in this topic
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2019
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Explains each topic in easy to understand language
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Pervaiz Nasir
3.0 out of 5 stars Too long discussion
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2021
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“Non science” majors can quickly loose interest in too detailed a discussion on pendulums, inclines, effect of weights, etc. I lost interest half way through the first chapter - although I am a science major!
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Erin E Coltrera
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to physics principles & history
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2020
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As a layperson, I found this book wonderfully accessible. The writing style is congenial and free of jargon, making it an easy read--even for someone who hasn't taken a physics course in a decade. The chapters are relatively stand alone which makes the book fun to pick up and come back to, without feeling dislocated or lost. Overall, Scott Bembenek has crafted a delightful history of the field that manages to both educate and entertain.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars ... a preview copy of this and I am so glad to have had the chance to read it
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017
The author kindly sent me a preview copy of this and I am so glad to have had the chance to read it. Having done A level physics and been constantly intrigued by the discoveries of the subject but frequently confused by the whole thing I was hoping that this would bring a bit of sense to it all. And it did just that. By focusing on four main areas and passing the information across as a story of discovery Bembenek makes the confusing and complicated understandable. He takes you through the first theories and experiements for each subject area, showing the process followed and logic trail that each physicist went down. This breaks the whole lot down into smaller parts which makes the principles so much easier to follow and understand. There were still bits that I had to re-read a couple of times but that could well just be me as on the whole the writing kept things simple and explained everything it needed to. I think this would be enjoyable for anyone with an interest in the subject regardless of what level of background knowledge you have. And it still has all the formula, diagrams and indices that you would expect from a physics book, they're just referenced in a less scary manner.
2 people found this helpful
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Mike Sanders
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2021
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A well written history of the scientists and their efforts into what makes our universe tick. The reader who is not scientifically inclined will likely struggle with the book but it is not beyond anyone's comprehension. It will just take time to understand the concepts presented. Some math is presented but you won't be required to start solving equations. Worth the effort!
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Top reviews from other countries

Hermann Luyken
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely and exciting
Reviewed in Germany on October 3, 2020
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I sure enjoyed reading this book. It is a fascinating description of the history and development of physics and the people who contributed them. I highly recommend it.
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Giwrgos
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Happy!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2020
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Amazing book, it has helped me learn things so far, I love it. I will keep it!

Just some remarks in hopes that the writer will see and maybe improve.

The 'asterisks' or numbered notes that you find on the bottom of the page, could have been more useful, and less. I find them distracting from the main book.

I found the second half of the book harder to read and less interesting.

Apart from those The book is great, and I love it.
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steviewonder
1.0 out of 5 stars This book increases entropy
Reviewed in Canada on December 14, 2018
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I have read a number of science books and this one takes the prize for least readable. Although the author’s intent was to make physics understandable, his writing style, details and formulas interfere with him achieving his goal.
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PK
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Attempt
Reviewed in India on June 29, 2019
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Good Book. Covers the evolution of physics from Classical Physics to Thermodynamics to Quantum Mechanics. Thanks to the author's intent to bring ideas in physics to layman

However, the intent as only been met partially. The book is not written in a way for layman's consumption.
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