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20 Works 71 Membros 11 Reviews

About the Author

Image credit: Dr Robert Piccioni giving a lecture on Einstein at Cal State Channel Islands

Séries

Obras de Robert L. Piccioni

Einstein for Everyone (2010) 11 cópias

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Resenhas

2009 (I really enjoyed this. My review can be found on the LibraryThing post linked)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/68641#1554823
 
Marcado
dchaikin | outras 8 resenhas | Oct 4, 2020 |
"A World Without Einstein" is a fascinating book and one I highly recommend to anyone interested in better understanding the role scientist Albert Einstein played in contributing not only to enhancements in scientific theory but in the development of technology that ultimately improves our Universe. Once again, Dr. Robert L. Piccioni has achieved what I thought would be impossible and explained the complex theorectical principles developed by Einstein in a simplistic way so those of us who are not scientists can comprehend the Cosmos better.

In this book, we learn about Einstein's personality, his personal defeats as well as his important triumphs. We come to understand that without Einstein's many contributions, we would not have sophisticated technology like lasers which improve our lives on so many levels. Einstein's Theory of General Relativity is explained and the reader will realize that this was Einstein's most profound achievement. Piccioni teaches us about everything from lasers to space travel to black holes. He tells us that Einstein's least favorite discovery was of course nuclear weapons. Piccioni explains that if it were not for Einstein's scientific contribution regarding the bomb, World War II would have never ended as quickly and so many, many more soldiers and civilians would have been injured or died. Piccioni tells us that Einstein was the only person to explain Brownian motion and then helps us understand how very important this was to our lives!He reminds us that it was Einstein who in 1905 discovered that mass was a form of energy. Because of Einstein's brilliance and his interesting process of thinking things through, we now know of gravity as curved spacetime and have a more sophisticated understanding of gravity and its relevance to the speed of light.

This book is a treasure of information about our Universe. Dr. Robert Piccioni has such a unique talent to explain complex happenings in a simple and interesting way to his readers. Not only has Albert Einstein enriched our lives, but thanks to Dr. Piccioni, so many of us can now understand the true workings of our Cosmos! Be sure to read this fabulous book!!!!
… (mais)
 
Marcado
barb302 | Jan 18, 2012 |
Another excellent read from science writer and physicist, Robert L. Piccioni, Ph.D. In this book, Piccioni uses his easy-to-understand style of communication to explain to the non-scientific reader the possiblities of the accidental creation of life on earth. I really enjoyed learning more about our universe, our galaxy and our planet from this book. The reader learns about atoms and particles, how stars make life possible, why our planet is so special and what needed to happen in order to make life viable for this planet. My favorite chapter is the one that is called The Big Bang. Piccioni says, "we will call the beginning of time t=0 and will divide the entire history of time into three eras, which in chronological order are: the Era of Quantam Gravity, the Era of Inflation and the Era of the Big Bang. I gained a much better understanding of our universe after reading this chapter, learning that our planet is located in the Goldilocks Zone. Be sure to purchase this book if you are interested in science. You will thoroughly enjoy reading what Piccioni has to say and i can guarantee that you will understand our cosmos like you never have before because not only is Piccioni an accomplished physicist but he is truly a fine educator. He knows how to simplify the complex and stir the imagination and curiousity of his readers. Don't miss out on his earlier book, "Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein and the Universe" which is also a terrific read. Both books succeed in communicating real science for real people!… (mais)
 
Marcado
barb302 | Jun 11, 2010 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
LibraryThing's Member Giveaway program is really quite a nice offshoot of the Early Reviewers program. I've participated by both giving away books and receiving others to read and review, which is how I snagged a copy of Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe: Real Science for Real People by Robert L. Piccioni, Ph.D. Dr. Piccioni earned his bachelor degree at Caltech in physics and his doctorate at Standford University in high-energy physics. For a time, he was a researcher at Harvard University. He is also the son of Oreste Piccioni (an important high-energy physicist) and personally knows many other top scientists, both past and present. Plus, he's a member of LibraryThing. He's currently retired, but continues to lecture on Einstein and Einstein's theories and on cosmology.

The purpose of Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe is to introduce modern scientific principles, discoveries, and theories in such a way that is accessible to most people--without dumbing it down. As Piccioni states right off the bat, "You don't need to be a great musician to appreciate great music. Nor do you need great math or physics expertise to appreciate the exciting discovers and intriguing mysteries of our universe." The book is divided into three main parts. "Part 1: The Micro-World" covers atoms, particles, forces, energy , relativity, and quantum mechanics. "Part 2: Stars" looks at, well, stars, but also at a bit more than just that, including the life of stars, general relativity, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, and space telescopes. Finally, "Part 3: The Universe" investigates our universe, redshift, expansion, the dark side, the Big Bang, and what came before, among other topics.

Piccioni has written the book in such a way that each chapter is more or less discrete. This means a reader can jump around and pick and choose which subjects most interest them and skip over those that don't. The minor drawback to this is that the book doesn't really build upon itself and at times seems more like a listing of facts rather than explaining them in depth. The chapters are relatively short which is nice beaus it allows concepts to be introduced methodically and gives the reader ample opportunity to stop, process, and mull over the information without becoming too overwhelmed.

Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe succeeds, for the most part, in making complex scientific ideas understandable for people who aren't well versed in math or science or, in particular, physics. Piccioni includes several bibliographies compiled according to readers' experience and interests: collections of celestial photographs, for a general audience, for those who enjoy math and physics, for those with strong physics skills, and for graduate physicists. And I mustn't forget to mention the inclusion of gorgeous full color image plates from NASA. One thing that did annoy me was the use of bolding in the text. Usually, this indicated that the term could be found defined in the glossary, but frequently it seemed words were bolded even if they weren't. Some of the asides, examples, and jokes made in the text probably would be more effective in a lecture setting than they were in the book, but overall weren't problematic. Piccioni has done a marvelous job with Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe and his website and blog aren't to be missed either.

Experiments in Reading
… (mais)
½
2 vote
Marcado
PhoenixTerran | outras 8 resenhas | Aug 17, 2009 |

Prêmios

Estatísticas

Obras
20
Membros
71
Popularidade
#245,552
Avaliação
½ 4.5
Resenhas
11
ISBNs
6

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