Mr Tompkins in Paperback (Canto)
I understand that this is a classic text and I can see why. It's fun to read, and provides a foundation for further understanding. It explains uncertaintity, radioactive decay, and electron shells especially well. I may not fully appreciate the concepts I was able to internalize from this book for quite some time. I can say that I strongly recommend it to the layman or anyone who's eager to understand some basics of this incredible field of study. From Amazon A lovely reprinted edition of a peral from Gamow. The original edition has been out of print for a number of years.
This edition has added commentary and a fascinating bio of Gamow. He was born in Odessa, in what was then Russia, --before the Soviet Union. The story of his escape to the West is straight out of a thriller. Only it is real! Gamow was referred to by a journalist, some time during the Cold War, as "the only scientist in America with a real sense of humor".
He can take the most technical stuff and make it simple. Illustrated with lovely drawings by Gamow himself.
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Much of it can be understood by a child, and other parts might require a little concentration. All of it is great fun. Follow your imagination, and while you explore, you will learn about Einstein's theory of relativity. And in unexpected ways! You will see the wonders of physics thru the eyes of a child. With his unexpected thought experiments, Gamow has captured the imagination of generations of readers, and he has inspired a degree of curiosity that comes naturally to children. He has a building on campus of The University of Colorado named after him!
He is one of the few scientists who wrote popular books. They are precious pearls, and they have been equally popular with my parent's generation as with mine. For awhile they were out of print, but luckely some have now been reprinted in recent years! We are lucky that Dover has reprinted some of them. Gamow's list of scientific accomplishments includes a landmark paper on the origin of chemical elements, the Big Bang model, and later work with F. Oct 30, Marcus rated it really liked it. Without this book I would still be utterly lost trying to understand modern circa s theoretical physics.
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While I'm still far from fluent in understanding all the nuances of relativity, this book provides a guided tour through it's perplexing concepts. Want to better understand Einstein? This is the book for you. Jan 06, Jennifer rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: This is the coolest introduction to Physics out there, I actually read and reviewed it for my final project in my Physics class at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics way back in I still have a really fond place in my heart for this well-written introduction to complex concepts.
Feb 02, Vishy rated it really liked it. Finally got to read Gamov's book on physics featuring Mr. Gives a beautiful account of Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics in everyday language. It had one of the best, most accessible explanations of radioactivity that I have ever read.
May 21, Eric rated it it was amazing. If you want to read up on quantum theory, this is the best place to start! May 24, David rated it really liked it. Tompkins is not your average book. It is a collection of short stories all based around the same character learning about science. The stories are usually entirely disconnected from each other and usually turn out to just be dreams. If you like to learn about math and science I highly recommend this as the book tries to explain it in a way that lets you think about similarities to the macro world we live in compared to the micro world he usually explores.
The book talks about everything from Mr. The book talks about everything from how the speed of light works to subatomic particles qualities to things as big as the end and start of the universe. So no matter what level your at if you are interested in science this would be a great interesting and informational read. Physics has never come naturally to me. I thought this book would help me understand more since it is supposedly written for children.
Mr Tompkins in Paperback
Every once in a while, I understood something, but most of the time it went into the eyes and immediately rose up like steam through my brain without sticking anywhere. I suppose if I repeatedly attempt to understand, eventually I'll get it. Fortunately, I own this book and can easily read it again if I can bear it. The fact that it's somewhat outdated w Physics has never come naturally to me. The fact that it's somewhat outdated will lessen that possibility. I do like what I understood.
I read translated versions of these books as a boy, and they were part of the reason that I pursued an education and work life focused on natural sciences and technology. So even if theoretical physics may have evolved somewhat since the midlle of the 20th century, I thought it would be interesting to revisit Gamow's little gems. I found the stories to still be charming, but maybe three decades passed had cast a too romantic light, raising my expectations to an unrealistic level. Oct 26, Scott rated it liked it. The book is a blend of these fanciful adventures with straightforward discussions of science.
The discussion had meandered into a messy philosophical argument bringing into question our understanding quantum physics, as discussions often did in the cloistered world of university physics departments. Well actually they usually devolved to discussions on sex and quantum physics; two subjects we physicists found equally mysterious. Fortunately George Gamow had thought about quantum physics enough to make it intelligible to most, including physicists. His stories explain to the layman the basic ideas of quantum physics and relativity by exaggerating the actually existing phenomena to such an extent that they can be easily observed by the hero of his stories, C.
Tompkins, a little clerk of a big city bank. Suitably chastened after half a dozen more magazine rejections he put the manuscript in a desk drawer and forgot about it. What follows, in his own words, is a fascinating commentary on science communication: During summer of the same year, i attended the International Conference on Theoretical Physics, organized by the League of nations in Warsaw.
I was chatting over a glass of excellent Polish miod with my old friend Sir Charles Darwin, the grandson of Charles The Origin of Species Darwin, and the conversation turned to the popularization of science. I told Darwin about the bad luck I had along this line, and he said: Snow, who is the editor of a popular scientific magazine Discovery published by the Cambridge University Press.
This book was followed by a sequel, Mr Tompkins Explores the Atom, published in Then in Cambridge University Press united these two books into this current volume, which updated the stories with current advances in physics, illustrations by Gamow and verses and songs! This possible quaintness works well for these stories; giving them an intimate storytelling, an almost in my mind Lewis Carroll feel to the stories, while at the same time knowing that the physics is real.
The fifteen chapters in this volume truly are a masterclass of science communication; exquisite science, simple and engaging stories, imbued with subtle humor. Some of my favorites are: Rowling I think was influenced by this piece of writing , A Part of the Previous lecture which Mr Tompkins Slept Through, which introduces quantum chemistry. This was a must read in when I was first introduced to it. Gamow is also, I believe, a great example to any, both aspiring and established, science writers on how to develop and communicate a narrative around complex science subjects.
This review was first published here: Feb 23, Jeffrey Sung rated it it was amazing. A fun and imaginative introduction to quantum mechanics for the layperson. Didn't age the greatest, and would honestly in the modern day and age probably be an all-CGI movie. Actually, they basically made such a movie in like or so, but I forgot its name. WIll update this when I recall the name. Nov 19, Billpalmer rated it it was amazing. Palmer This book should be on any science teacher's bookshelf: Firstly, however a little information about the publication.
This small paperback volume contains not one but two separate books. The two volumes have been through different editions and reprints ever since and in , Cambridge University Press marked more than half a century of Mr Tomkins by bringing out a joint paperback volume of all the Mr Tomkins stories. Mr Tomkins in Wonderland explains Einstein's theory of relativity. Mr Tomkins Explores the Atom explains atomic structure and some of the ideas of quantum mechanics.
He does this through the introduction of three main characters, Mr Tomkins, a clerk in a big city bank, with an interest in, but little knowledge of, science and a strong propensity to fall asleep and dream during the "Professor's" scientific lectures, the "Professor", who gives the scientific explanations, and his daughter Maude, who develops a romantic attachment to Mr Tomkins. Relativity and quantum mechanics are explained very well through these stories and Roger Penrose in the introduction states that with a few minor exceptions these stories still give a useful explanation of these 'difficult to grasp' concepts.
Gamow wrote the first of the Mr Tomkins stories in and was unsuccessful in finding a publisher. Eventually he offered it to C. Snow, who then edited Discovery and who published it and subsequent Mr Tomkins stories in Discovery.
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The original illustrations were drawn by John Hookham, but after Hookham had retired, Gamow did subsequent drawings himself following Hookham's style. I suggest that the whole new volume would be very suitable for teachers who want a reasonably accessible explanation of relativity or quantum mechanics or for interested students in Years Feb 15, Rob rated it liked it. Gamow took on the challenging task of writing a novel that would involve lofty science topics such as relativity and quantum mechanics, in which he would help the readers develop a basic understanding of the topics.
I teach students now, and suggest it to all my undergraduate students who are starting out. It really makes relativity understandable and would be great for introductory class like Physics 2. This is the real one. This is the original and the best, unlike the "modern" version that was multilated by Russell Stannard in the name of political correctness. George Gamow, an absolute physics legend of the mid-twentieth century, has a classic here with Mr.
The book covers many of the things that you'd like to know about physics and the physical world but may have been afraid to ask ; and covers them through the prose of the affable Mr.
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Tompkins keeps the book moving from topic to topic as he gets his education in physics, and all the while the reader finds him- or herself of course getting the same education. In this way, Mr. Tompkins is a narrative device to make learning physics non-threatening. A must read for those interested in learning about physics, those who know physics as Gamow is a famous personality in the history of physics , and those who just want a good read.
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Canto Classics: Mr Tompkins in Paperback : George Gamow :
Read thisbook un grad school physics , and lived it. Bought this for a grandson. While an older book, it is still entirely current in explaining relativity in plain language. Mr Tompkins in Paperback A very advisable book. Written with great ingenious by one great physicist. It explains in a very simple way some of the ideas behind the modern physics following the life of one character Mr Tompkins that is involved with other characters representing some physicists that made the foundation of the modern physics, for example Pauli with some other name disguised as a minister of the electrons.
Not quite as good as One Two Three Infinity but fun nonetheless. I love reading about relativity theory and quantum physics.
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I don't have a background on neither so I need a book who be clear and enjoyable to read at the same time. This book is both. George Gamow makes both subjects seem easy to understand and describes them in a fun and cute way. I recomend this book to anyone who is intersted in physics. See all 59 reviews. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping.
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