About the Book
Where is mankind located in the Universe? What goes on inside atoms? Was Einstein always right? Will we find extraterrestrial life in the near future? And what should be done about global warming? Sebastien Balibar, a leading authority in physics, uses illuminating stories from his own life to answer the most intriguing questions in the physical sciences today. The Atom and the Apple considers aspects of our environment--the things we see around us, but seldom truly understand--and shows that science can be an exciting adventure grounded in the phenomena of the daily world. Balibar examines twelve problems spanning the frontiers of physics, and he devotes a chapter to each issue. He looks at chaos theory, cosmology, fluid mechanics, and climatology. He explains how we discovered the age of the Earth, how we know the Universe is expanding ever more rapidly, and why the spiral patterns of pinecones and sunflowers are related to the Golden Ratio in mathematics. He scrutinizes how the collective behavior of atoms leads to such amazing results as lasers, superconductors, or superfluids.
As Balibar invites us to appreciate the physics hidden within the sights and sounds of the natural world, he also recounts the experiences of his childhood and career that were pivotal to his lifelong passion for science. Written for general readers, The Atom and the Apple explores fascinating aspects of our world, and demonstrates why the pursuit of scientific knowledge is well worth everyone's time, regardless of scientific background.
Table of Contents:
A Few Apples to Sink Your Teeth Into ix Chapter 1: Black Night 1 Chapter 2: My Cousin the Leek 16 Chapter 3: I Am Radioactive 26 Chapter 4: Einstein, the Flute, and Quantum Dew 40 Chapter 5: Is My Table Quantum? 54 Chapter 6: The Power of Words 71 Chapter 7: Crystals and Glasses 91 Chapter 8: God, Helium, and Universality 105 Chapter 9: Cyclists and Butterflies 117 Chapter 1: Other Apples 132 Chapter 1: From Pianos to the Sun 146 Chapter 1: I Speak English 160 What Don't I Know? 172 Notes 179 Index 184
About the Author :
Sebastien Balibar is professor of physics at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris.
Review :
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009 "Parisian physics professor Balibar has a fervor for life and his work that makes this look at everyday physics, its history, and his own life experiences contagiously readable. Whether explaining the crystal chime of a wine glass or the 'sweet spot' in bicycle touring, his text is eloquent, charming and rigorous, translated beautifully by Stein... Full of ways to rethink daily activities and draw out readers' curiosity, this is an excellent, personable scientific tour."--PublishersWeekly.com (starred review) "Casting himself as more a dreamer than a detail-obsessed scientist, French physics professor Balibar credits his own childlike sense of wonder as the inspiration for this engaging collection of essays on the physics of everyday objects... Balibar's breezy bicycle ride through the French countryside is the starting point for an engaging digression on chaos theory and the so-called butterfly effect... [B]alibar is careful to keep his readers enthralled with colorful analogies and a flair for dressing up scientific concepts in elegant, entertaining prose."--Carl Hays, Booklist "When it comes to ideas, the French have the knack. You see it in their science documentaries and, as Sebastien Balibar's little book proves, you see it in their science writing. The assumption is that readers are curious folk who may not know the, uh, domain of discourse, but they're interested. No need to talk down, no need to talk up to show off. Just chat. And that's exactly what Balibar, a physicist, does. He draws us into 12 problems of physics--from chaos theory to cosmology--by recounting events of his childhood and career. It's wonderful."--Leigh Dayton, The Australian "The Atom and the Apple is a delightful ramble through many areas of science as well as through the experiences, opinions, passions and frustrations of a leading research physicist. Unlike most books describing scientific ideas to the wider public, Sebastien Balibar does not attempt to present a systematic discourse on a single area of physics, but tries instead to convey a wide range of scientific concepts together with the excitement of research and a description of the environment in which the physicist works. It is a very refreshing read that will do much to bring an understanding of scientific culture to the reader. This book is certainly provocative and stimulating, and it frequently challenges political correctness... The Atom and the Apple provides an accessible introduction to a wide range of physics topics: the Big Bang, superfluidity, chaos and turbulence, quantum computing and cryptography, the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe and many more. At least as importantly, however, Balibar explains the framework that underpins scientific knowledge and research. Since attempts to solve the major challenges in this enjoyable book help to make an informed debate possible."--Chris Sachrajda, Times Higher Education Supplement "This work is a translation of the French physicist's collection of short essays covering a wide range of topics, from background radiation in the universe to energy in the atom. Balibar explicates the physics of our natural world as much as he meditates on what we can expect from physics in the future... Balibar's delightful essays are evocative of similar reflections in biology by the late scientist-author Lewis Thomas. They are not just a recounting of physical information, but also a reflection on our natural and created reality through the lens of quotidian life."--N. Sadanand, Choice "[A] pleasantly personal view on some key scientific issues, life, the universe and everything."--Brian Clegg, Popular Science Praise for the original French edition: "With this book, Balibar shows that physics research, even at the ecole Normale Superieure, is not enclosed by an ivory tower. Rather than transform the discipline into a kind of pure abstraction in which mathematics takes precedence over reality, this author resolutely inscribes physics into everyday life--in particular, his everyday life--as if to show that a scientist always sees the world through the instrument of his knowledge, or to convince readers that childhood questions bear investigation throughout one's entire life."--Le Monde Praise for the original French edition: "Balibar has written...a beautiful book about working as a researcher, using simple explanations of facts based on experience, and questions that apply to everyone. His testimony is honest, fun, and important."--P. G. de Gennes, 1991 Nobel laureate in physics, La Recherche "This book will not only spark reflection among teachers but also will provide many anecdotes to share with students."--Susan Behrens, NSTA Recommends "The Atom and the Apple, the book of Sebastien Balibar, professor of physics at the Normal Superior School from Paris, is addressed to general readers and explores fascinating aspects of our world and demonstrates why the pursuit of scientific knowledge is well worth everyone's time, regardless of scientific background."--Lidia Elena Kozma, Zentralblatt MATH "The Atom and the Apple is a wonderful example of how physical science can be explained to lay readers in a captivating discourse that, far from lowering the quality of the information conveyed by oversimplifying its contents, keeps up rigorous standards of scientific observation, data analysis, and an adequate meta-language. The enthralling prose, beautifully rendered in English by Nathaniel Stein, shows how empirical evidence, based on simple facts of our ordinary experience, should be taken as a point of departure for all scientific debate, and not the other way round."--Filomena Vasconcelos, European Legacy
