Galileo Galilei (1564–1641) stated, “The book (of nature) is written in mathematical language.” John Kimball has tried the impossible: Summarizing the whole of physics in 380 pages and 207 figures almost without using the “language of nature,” mathematics. The topics range from Newton’s laws of movement to Einstein’s theory of relativity, to Maxwell’s electrodynamics, to Planck’s quantum physics, leading to tunneling phenomena and dark energy. Is this possible? My answer is yes and no. The author explains everything in plain, well-understandable words. However, all physicists know that quantum mechanics and relativity cannot be described using words alone—many of these facts are immediately clear using appropriate mathematics. However, Kimball is not the first one to fall into this trap; he has famous predecessors (e.g., Einstein’s popular explanation of simultaneity in his special relativity is also unclear). Knowing these problems, I have to say that this author did a great job. I cannot imagine a better explanation of the whole of physics in plain text. Certainly, other physicists may have problems with the way he introduces physical laws (e.g., he introduces the concept of entropy according to Shannon from the side of information theory). Personally, in an elementary introduction, I would prefer the “older” Boltzmann approach. Without mathematics, the descriptions of these connections are nearly impossible, but Kimball selected a great compromise. The sections on the latest developments in physics are very short, but clear and full of information. In this context, the description of particle physics using Feynman diagrams and quantum electrodynamics is—taking the impossibility of this task into account—exemplary.
The book closes with comments about Nobel laureates in physics: their lives and their ideas. It is interesting to read something about these important scientists, their family backgrounds, and philosophical ideas. These are important aspects, generally neglected, but of great importance to understand their approach to science and ideas.
This book is recommended for everyone interested in physics, especially new developments. Materials scientists will be interested in descriptions of the physical principles of alloys, magnetic materials, semiconductors, and devices and materials using these phenomena.
Reviewer: Dieter Vollathis CEO of NanoConsulting, Stutensee, Germany.
