Time, space, energy, matter: such fundamental concepts have been explored by inspiring scientists for millennia. At Five Books, we interview experts and physicists to discuss notions and get them to recommend books on all aspects of physics that will, with any luck, unpack their scientific as well as philosophical meanings. We also take a look at the people behind those discoveries, such as Albert Einstein, and women in science.
Two of the most recommended physics books across all our interviews on the subject are Albert Einstein and Max Born's Letters, and Graham Farmelo's book on Paul Dirac, The Strangest Man.
The best books on Quantum Physics and Reality, recommended by Jim Baggott
Quantum physics is deeply confusing and its relation to reality the cause of heated debate among physicists since its discovery. Here, science writer Jim Baggott—who has spent more than three decades thinking about quantum mechanics and written a number of books about it—recommends books for better understanding what it’s about, and explains why how physicists approach it is so crucial to science’s credibility.
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1
The First 3 Minutes
by Steven Weinberg -
2
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
by Sean M Carroll -
3
How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space
by Janna Levin -
4
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking -
5
Black Holes and Time Warps
by Kip S Thorne
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
Before Einstein, how the universe began was a question for theologians, not scientists. Over a century later, we know much more, but not enough to do more than guess at what happened at the moment of the Big Bang and immediately after. Astrophysicist Dan Hooper, author of At the Edge of Time—a book that explores dark energy, dark matter and other things we don’t yet understand—talks us through books about the Big Bang, and questions whether our entire understanding of the universe is about to be turned upside down.
The Best Physics Books for Teenagers, recommended by Kate Lee (St Paul's Girls' School)
What are the best books for getting a teenager into physics? Kate Lee, Head of Physics at St Paul’s Girls School, recommends books about NASA, space travel, and the Big Bang—and puzzles the question of why it is so hard for young women to stay in physics as a profession.
Jim Baggott on Writing about Physics
Contemporary physics is so complex that no single physicist can be said to have a decent grasp of the full picture. This makes communicating physics a formidable challenge. Acclaimed popular science writer, Jim Baggott, talks us through this challenge by discussing his favourite physics books.
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The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee -
2
Thunderstruck
by Erik Larson -
3
Moneyball
by Michael Lewis -
4
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by Sam Kean -
5
Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
by Dan Fagin
The best books on Radiation, recommended by Timothy J. Jorgensen
The best books on Radiation, recommended by Timothy J. Jorgensen
Public understanding of radiation needs to improve if people are to properly assess its benefits and risks argues author and academic, Timothy Jorgensen. From the discovery of radio to a cancer cluster in New Jersey, he chooses highly readable books illuminating different aspects of radiation.
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The Misbehavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Financial Turbulence
by Benoit B. Mandelbrot -
2
Foundations of Economic Analysis
by Paul A. Samuelson -
3
Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems
by Didier Sornette -
4
Beat the Market: A Scientific Stock Market System
by Edward O. Thorp and Sheen T. Kassouf -
5
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
by Lee Smolin
The best books on Physics and Financial Markets, recommended by James Owen Weatherall
The best books on Physics and Financial Markets, recommended by James Owen Weatherall
Blaming “the quants” for the 2008 financial crisis is simplistic and short-sighted, says the author of The Physics of Wall Street. He picks five books showing the contribution physics has made to understanding financial markets.
Books on the Wonders of The Universe, recommended by Philip Plait
Philip Plait urges us to remember that “science isn’t an encyclopedia of facts to memorise. It’s alive.” The astronomer and author of the acclaimed Bad Astronomy blog discusses books that can’t help but light the fire of interest in all things astronomical. He looks at how we can date the age of the universe, the danger of solar flares, and why Pluto is no longer classed as a planet.
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1
The Limits to Growth
by Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H Meadows & Jorgen Randers -
2
Hubbert’s Peak
by Kenneth S Deffeyes -
3
Winning the Oil Endgame
by Amory B Lovins, E Kyle Datta, Jonathan G Koomey and Nathan J Glasgow & Odd-Even Bustnes -
4
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by Michael Braungart and William McDonough -
5
Wind Power
by Paul Gipe