Overview

"""The Universal Force"" conveys the excitement of science and nature's mysteries. It describes gravitation as seen by examining the achievements of those great scientists who have struggled with the seemingly simple facts and managed to extract some truth about the nature of gravity, its origins, and its effects. Gravity is intimately tied up with motion, and therefore with time and space, and is responsible for planetary systems, the evolution of stars and the existence of black holes and the very beginning of the Universe. It is the universal force, and to look at gravity is to look at the deepest aspects of nature. The historical context from Aristotle's teleology through Galileo's conflict with the Church, to Newton's law, and Einstein's curved space time, displays the evolution of the science of gravity as one of the greatest and most fascinating human achievements. Contrary to popular opinion, all important science can be understood by anyone, with or without a scientific background. This book shows that the beauty and mysteries of science can be shared with everyone."

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9780199228966

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Reviews

Girfalco's passionate book is a good introduction to the ancient history of cosmology, the personalities involved, and the experimental method. Gordon Fraser-author of Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam, the first Muslim Nobel Scientist The 'Universal Force' by Louis Girifalco is an excellent introduction to the fundamental concepts underlying our modern theory of gravity that contains some engagingly written descriptions of the work of the people who contributed to its development...A very impressive and enjoyable book. 'The biographies are interesting and very readable...' Astronomy Now, January 2008, David Storey.

Girfalco's passionate book is a good introduction to the ancient history of cosmology, the personalities involved, and the experimental method. Gordon Fraser-author of Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam, the first Muslim Nobel Scientist The 'Universal Force' by Louis Girifalco is an excellent introduction to the fundamental concepts underlying our modern theory of gravity that contains some engagingly written descriptions of the work of the people who contributed to its development...A very impressive and enjoyable book. 'The biographies are interesting and very readable...' Astronomy Now, January 2008, David Storey.

Author Information

Louis A. Girifalco Professor of Materials Science University of Pennsylvania After completing a Ph.D thesis on surface physics at the University of Cincinnati and being employed for a short time at DuPont, the author joined the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, which later became part of NASA. He became Head of the Solid State Physics Section at NASA-Lewis and then became an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. His research focused on solid state theory and statistical mechanics and he published over 90 reviewed articles and five books. These included works on solid state diffusion, statistical mechanics and technological change. At Penn he held a variety of academic administrative positions including Chair of my Department, Director, Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter and Vice Provost for Research.

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