Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein (Oxford… (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 1982; vuoden 1983 painos)

Subtle is the Lord is a biography of Albert Einstein by Abraham Pais. It brilliantly tells the story of Einstein and his development into a world-renowned Physicist. While covering his life, the book also covers the work that Einstein did in Physics. Starting with his youth and childhood, Subtle is the Lord addresses the theories of Einstein being bad in school by presenting his report card. Although it is true that Einstein didn’t particularly like the authoritative atmosphere of his school, he did not get terrible marks. He taught himself Differential and Integral Calculus by the time he was 16 or so and was wonderful at math.

While Einstein might have had some professional stumbling blocks, most people can agree that 1905 was the year for Einstein. He published six papers that year, with one of them gaining him the Nobel Prize and the others firmly planting him in the upper echelons of physicists. The six papers are:
(1. The light-quantum and the Photoelectric Effect. This one led to the Nobel Prize and was completed on March 17.
(2. A new determination of molecular dimensions, completed April 30. This one became his doctoral thesis and was quoted quite often.
(3. Brownian Motion, received May 11. A direct outgrowth of his thesis work.
(4. The first paper on Special Relativity, received June 30.
(5. The second paper on Special Relativity, containing E = mc^2 received September 27.
(6. The second paper on Brownian Motion, received December 19.

I particularly like the book because it doesn’t shy away from the Mathematics of Einstein’s theories. It discusses the ideas behind the things he developed and shows the state of affairs for each thing beforehand. For instance, before 1905 Einstein published some papers that he felt were lacking once he discovered the works of Gibbs and Boltzmann. It talks about his work on Brownian Motion, his work on the Photoelectric Effect, Special and General Relativity and many of the other things that he had a hand in. With Pais being a Physicist himself, he is able to explain the equations and what they mean.

This particular copy of Subtle is the Lord was printed in 1982, so it does not have further developments on Einstein’s theories and how they are accepted or denied now. ( )

Best Grisham thriller for a while ( )

One of the best books about Einstein. ( )

ספר מרשים ביותר בעומק הידע הפיזיקלי וההיסטורי המופגן בו ובכמות המחקר שהושקעה בו. נראה שהמחבר קרא והבין כל פיסת נייר שנעתבו על ידי או על איינשטיין. מרתק לעתים - בעיקר בגלל העניין העצום באדם עצמו ובנושאים המטופלים. ם זאת גם מעורר תמיהות ומשאיר בלתי מסופק מכמה בחינות. א. חוסר הארגון משונה. שילוב של ביוגרפיה כרונולוגיצ עם ביגורפיה מדעית המסודרת לפי נושאים. ב. למי זה מיועד - יש כאן הרבה מאוד פיזיק מבלי להסביר אפילו מושגים מתקדמים. רק פיזיקאים מקצועיים יכולים להבין את הכל וחבל. ג. איינשטיין האיש הולך לאיבוד. חייו מתוארים רק בסגנון טלגרפי ויבש. ( )

One of the greatest geniuses of all time, who proposed the profoundly significant Theory of Relativity, believed in God! ( )