From Clockwork to Crapshoot: A History of PhysicsScience is about 6000 years old while physics emerged as a distinct branch some 2500 years ago. As scientists discovered virtually countless facts about the world during this great span of time, the manner in which they explained the underlying structure of that world underwent a philosophical evolution. From Clockwork to Crapshoot provides the perspective needed to understand contemporary developments in physics in relation to philosophical traditions as far back as ancient Greece. |
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... facts about the world during this great span of time , the manner in which they explained the underlying structure of that world underwent a philosophical evolution . From Clockwork to Crapshoot provides the perspective needed to ...
... facts begging to be understood and to test their theories. As does any history of science, it runs the risk of overemphasizing ... fact as a discovery demanding an explanation by a new theory takes a community of knowledgeable and active ...
... facts begging to be understood and to test their theories . As does any history of science , it runs the risk of ... fact as a discovery demanding an explanation by a new theory takes a community of knowledgeable and active ...
... facts about their world , recording them when possible , and handing them down to their offspring . As this activity evolved into what is now called science , it became more than just a collection of disconnected facts . Important as ...
... facts ] , it is as if one knew nothing . " By the time of Aristotle , the explicit goal of physics ( or " physiology , " as it was then called ) was to understand causes and to use this understanding for prediction . Aristotle himself ...
Contents
1 | |
4 | |
11 | |
Science in the Middle Ages | 41 |
The First Revolution | 67 |
Newtons Legacy | 100 |
New Physics | 121 |
Relativity | 154 |
The Quantum Revolution | 210 |
Fields Nuclei and Stars | 248 |
The Properties of Matter | 279 |
The Constituents of the Universe | 290 |
Epilogue | 308 |
Notes | 313 |
Sources and Further Reading | 316 |
Index | 322 |