Physics, the human adventure : from Copernicus to Einstein and beyond

Winner of the 2001 Joseph Hazen Education Prize of the History of Science Society Physics, the Human Adventure is the third edition of the classic text Introduction to Concepts and Theories in Physical Science . Authored by Gerald Holton, the text was a landmark in science education. It was the first modern textbook in physics (or in any other science) to make full and effective use of the history and philosophy of science in presenting for both the general and the science-oriented student an account of the nature of physical science. A second edition, prepared by Stephen G. Brush, brought the book up to date by increasing the coverage of topics in modern physics and by taking account of recent scholarly research in the history of science. In the new book Physics, The Human Adventure , each of the chapters has been reworked to further clarify the physics concepts and to incorporate recent physical advances and research. The book shows the unifying power of science by bringing in connections to chemistry, astronomy, and geoscience. In short, the aid of the new edition is to teach good physics while presenting physical science as a human adventure that has become a major force in our civilization. New chapters discuss theories of the origin of the solar system and the expanding universe; fission, fusion, and the Big BangSteady State Controversy; and thematic elements and styles in scientific thought. New topics Theories of does the eye send out rays or receive them? Distances in the solar system The prediction of the return of Halleys comet and analysis of deviations from Keplers laws Angular momentum conservation and Laplaces nebular hypothesis Relation between symmetries and conservation Emmy Noethers theorem First estimates of atomic sizes Consequences of the indistinguishability of elementary particles of the same kind Applications of quantum mechanics to many-particle systems Diracs prediction of anti-matter The anthropic principle and other controversial issues on the frontiers of research Title ......Page 2 Copyright ......Page 3 Dedication ......Page 4 Contents ......Page 6 Preface ......Page 12 PART A. The Origins of Scientific Cosmology ......Page 16 1.1 The Motions of Stars, Suns, and Planets ......Page 18 1.2 Plato's Problem ......Page 20 1.3 The Aristotelian System ......Page 21 1.4 How Big Is the Earth? ......Page 23 1.5 The Heliocentric Theory ......Page 25 1.6 Modified Geocentric Theories ......Page 26 1.7 The Success of the Ptolemaic System ......Page 29 2.2 The Copernican System ......Page 32 2.3 Bracing the System ......Page 37 2.4 The Opposition to Copernicus's Theory ......Page 38 2.5 Historic Consequences ......Page 40 3.1 The Purpose of Theories ......Page 42 3.2 The Problem of Change: Atomism ......Page 45 3.3 Theories of Vision ......Page 46 3.4 Criteria for a Good Theory in Physical Science ......Page 50 4.1 The Life of Johannes Kepler ......Page 55 4.2 Kepler's First Law ......Page 56 4.3 Kepler's Second Law ......Page 58 4.4 Kepler's Third Law ......Page 60 4.5 Kepler's Theory of Vision ......Page 61 4.6 The New Concept of Physical Law ......Page 62 5.1 The Life of Galileo ......Page 65 5.2 The Telescopic Evidences for the Copernican System ......Page 67 5.3 Toward a Physical Basis for the Heliocentric System ......Page 69 5.4 Science and Freedom ......Page 73 PART B. The Study of Motion ......Page 76 6.1 Rene Descartes ......Page 78 6.2 Constant Velocity ......Page 80 6.3 The Concept of Average Speed ......Page 82 6.4 Instantaneous Speed ......Page 83 6.5 Acceleration ......Page 85 6.6 Oresme's Graphical Proof of the Mean-speed Theorem ......Page 87 6.7 Equations of Motion for Constant Acceleration ......Page 88 7.1 Introduction ......Page 92 7.2 Aristotelian Physics ......Page 93 7.3 Galileo's Two New Sciences ......Page 95 7.4 Galileo's Study of Accelerated Motion ......Page 98 8.1 Projectile with Initial Horizontal Motion ......Page 103 8.2 Introduction to Vectors ......Page 106 8.3 The General Case of Projectile Motion ......Page 108 8.4 Applications of the Law of Projectile Motion ......Page 111 8.5 Galileo's Conclusions ......Page 112 8.6 Summary ......Page 114 PART C. Newton's Laws and His System of the World ......Page 116 9.1 Science in the Seventeenth Century ......Page 118 9.2 A Short Sketch of Newton's Life ......Page 119 9.3 Newton's Principia ......Page 120 9.4 Newton's First Law of Motion ......Page 123 9.5 Newton's Second Law of Motion ......Page 124 9.6 Standard of Mass ......Page 126 9.7 Weight ......Page 127 9.8 The Equal-Arm Balance ......Page 129 9.9 Inertial and Gravitational Mass ......Page 130 9.10 Examples and Applications of Newton's Second Law of Motion ......Page 131 9.11 Newton's Third Law of Motion ......Page 133 9.12 Examples and Applications of Newton's Third Law ......Page 134 10.1 Kinematics of Uniform Circular Motion ......Page 138 10.2 Centripetal Acceleration ......Page 140 10.3 Derivation of the Formula for Centripetal Acceleration and Force ......Page 142 10.4 The Earth's Centripetal Acceleration and Absolute Distances in the Solar System ......Page 143 11.1 Derivation of the Law of Universal Gravitation ......Page 146 11.2 Gravitating Planets and Kepler's Third Law ......Page 150 11.3 The Cavendish Experiment: The Constant of Gravitation ......Page 151 11.4 The Masses of the Earth, Sun, and Planets ......Page 153 11.5 Some Influences on Newton's Work ......Page 154 11.6 Some Consequences of the Law of Universal Gravitation ......Page 155 11.7 The Discovery of New Planets Using Newton's Theory of Gravity ......Page 159 11.8 Bode's Law: An Apparent Regularity in the Positions of the Planets ......Page 161 11.9 Gravity and the Galaxies ......Page 164 11.10 "I Do Not Feign Hypotheses" ......Page 166 11.11 Newton's Place in Modern Science ......Page 168 PART D. Structure and Method in Physical Science ......Page 170 12.1 Introduction: The Search for Constancies in Change ......Page 172 12.2 Science and Nonscience ......Page 173 12.3 The Lack of a Single Method ......Page 174 12.4 Physical Concepts: Measurement and Definition ......Page 176 12.5 Physically Meaningless Concepts and Statements ......Page 178 12.6 Primary and Secondary Qualities ......Page 179 12.7 Mathematical Law and Abstraction ......Page 180 12.8 Explanation ......Page 182 13.1 The Free License of Creativity ......Page 185 13.2 "Private" Science and "Public" Science ......Page 186 13.3 The Natural Selection of Physical Concepts ......Page 187 13.4 Motivation ......Page 189 13.5 Objectivity ......Page 191 13.6 Fact and Interpretation ......Page 192 13.7 How Science Grows ......Page 193 13.8 Consequences of the Model ......Page 195 14.1 Opinions on Scientific Procedure ......Page 202 14.2 A Sequence of Elements in Formulations of Laws ......Page 206 14.3 The Limitations of Physical Law ......Page 210 14.4 The Content of Science: Summary ......Page 212 PART E. The Laws of Conservation ......Page 216 15.2 Steps Toward a Formulation ......Page 218 15.3 Lavoisier's Experimental Proof ......Page 219 15.4 Is Mass Really Conserved? ......Page 221 16.1 Introduction ......Page 224 16.2 Definition of Momentum ......Page 225 16.3 Momentum and Newton's Laws of Motion ......Page 227 16.4 Examples Involving Collisions ......Page 228 16.6 Further Examples ......Page 230 16.7 Does Light Have Momentum? ......Page 231 16.8 Angular Momentum ......Page 232 17.1 Christiaan Huygens and the Kinetic Energy (Vis Viva) Concept ......Page 234 17.2 Preliminary Questions: The Pile Driver ......Page 237 17.3 The Concept of Work ......Page 238 17.4 Various Forms of Energy ......Page 239 17.5 The Conservation Law: First Form and Applications ......Page 241 17.6 Extensions of the Conservation Law ......Page 244 17.7 Historical Background of the Generalized Law of Conservation of Energy: The Nature of Heat ......Page 249 17.8 Mayer's Discovery of Energy Conservation ......Page 254 17.9 Joule's Experiments on Energy Conservation ......Page 257 17.10 Generallllustration of the Law of Conservation of Energy ......Page 260 17.11 Conservation Laws and Symmetry ......Page 262 18.1 Newton's Rejection of the "Newtonian World Machine" ......Page 266 18.2 The Problem of the Cooling of the Earth ......Page 268 18.3 The Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Dissipation of Energy ......Page 271 18.4 Entropy and the Heat Death ......Page 274 PART F. Origins of the Atomic Theory in Physics and Chemistry ......Page 278 19.1 The Nature of Gases-Early Concepts ......Page 280 19.2 Air Pressure ......Page 282 19.3 The General Gas Law ......Page 285 19.4 Two Gas Models ......Page 287 20.1 Chemical Elements and Atoms ......Page 290 20.2 Dalton's Model of Gases ......Page 291 20.3 Properties of Dalton's Chemical Atom ......Page 293 20.4 Dalton's Symbols for Representing Atoms ......Page 294 20.5 The Law of Definite Proportions ......Page 295 20.6 Dalton's Rule of Simplicity ......Page 296 20.7 The Early Achievements of Dalton's Theory ......Page 297 20.8 Gay-Lussac's Law of Combining Volumes of Reacting Gases ......Page 299 20.9 Avogadro's Model of Gases ......Page 300 20.10 An Evaluation of Avogadro's Theory ......Page 303 20.11 Chemistry After Avogadro: The Concept of Valence ......Page 304 20.12 Molecular Weights ......Page 307 21.1 The Search for Regularity in the List of Elements ......Page 311 21.2 The Early Periodic Table of Elements ......Page 312 21.3 Consequences of the Periodic Law ......Page 316 21.4 The Modern Periodic Table ......Page 318 22.1 Introduction ......Page 323 22.2 Some Qualitative Successes of the Kinetic-Molecular Theory ......Page 325 22.3 Model of a Gas and Assumptions in the Kinetic Theory ......Page 326 22.4 The Derivation of the Pressure Formula ......Page 330 22.5 Consequences and Verification of the Kinetic Theory ......Page 333 22.6 The Distribution of Molecular Velocities ......Page 337 22.7 Additional Results and Verifications of the Kinetic Theory ......Page 342 22.8 Specific Heats of Gases ......Page 344 22.9 The Problem of Irreversibility in the Kinetic Theory: Maxwell's Demon ......Page 348 22.10 The Recurrence Paradox ......Page 351 PART G. Light and Electromagnetism ......Page 354 23.1 Theories of Refraction and the Speed of Light ......Page 356 23.2 The Propagation of Periodic Waves ......Page 359 23.3 The Wave Theory of Young and Fresnel ......Page 362 23.4 Color ......Page 365 24.2 Electrification by Friction ......Page 367 24.4 A Modern Model for Electrification ......Page 368 24.5 Insulators and Conductors ......Page 369 24.6 The Electroscope ......Page 371 24.7 Coulomb's Law of Electrostatics ......Page 372 24.8 The Electrostatic Field ......Page 374 24.9 Lines of Force ......Page 376 24.10 Electric Potential Difference - Qualitative Discussion ......Page 377 24.11 Potential Difference - Quantitative Discussion ......Page 378 24.12 Uses of the Concept of Potential ......Page 379 24.13 Electrochemistry ......Page 380 24.14 Atomicity of Charge ......Page 381 25.2 Currents and Magnets ......Page 384 25.3 Electromagnetic Waves and Ether ......Page 389 25.4 Hertz's Experiments ......Page 392 25.5 Cathode Rays ......Page 394 25.6 X-rays and the Turn of the Century ......Page 397 25.7 The "Discovery of the Electron" ......Page 400 26.1 Continuous Emission Spectra ......Page 403 26.2 Planck's Empirical Emission Formula ......Page 406 26.3 The Quantum Hypothesis ......Page 407 26.4 The Photoelectric Effect ......Page 411 26.5 Einstein's Photon Theory ......Page 413 26.6 The Photon-Wave Dilemma ......Page 415 26.7 Applications of the Photon Concept ......Page 417 26.8 Quantization in Science ......Page 418 PART H. The Atom and the Universe in Modern Physics ......Page 422 27.1 Early Research on Radioactivity and Isotopes ......Page 424 27.2 Radioactive Half-Life ......Page 428 27.3 Radioactive Series ......Page 430 27.4 Rutherford's Nuclear Model ......Page 432 27.5 Moseley's X-Ray Spectra ......Page 437 27.6 Further Concepts of Nuclear Structure ......Page 439 28.1 Line Emission Spectra ......Page 442 28.2 Absorption Line Spectra ......Page 443 28.3 Balmer's Formula ......Page 447 28.4 Niels Bohr and the Problem of Atomic Structure ......Page 449 28.5 Energy Levels in Hydrogen Atoms ......Page 450 28.6 Further Developments ......Page 456 29.1 Recasting the Foundations of Physics Once More ......Page 461 29.2 The Wave Nature of Matter ......Page 462 29.3 Knowledge and Reality in Quantum Mechanics ......Page 466 29.4 Systems of Identical Particles ......Page 471 30.1 Biographical Sketch of Albert Einstein ......Page 477 30.2 The FitzGerald-Lorentz Contraction ......Page 479 30.3 Einstein's Formulation (1905) ......Page 482 30.4 Galilean Transformation Equations ......Page 483 30.5 The Relativity of Simultaneity ......Page 485 30.6 The Relativistic (Lorentz) Transformation Equations ......Page 487 30.8 The Equivalence of Mass and Energy ......Page 489 30.9 Relativistic Quantum Mechanics ......Page 492 30.10 The General Theory of Relativity ......Page 495 31.1 The Nebular Hypothesis ......Page 502 31.2 Planetesimal and Tidal Theories ......Page 504 31.3 Revival of Monistic Theories After 1940 ......Page 506 31.4 Nebulae and Galaxies ......Page 509 31.5 The Expanding Universe ......Page 510 31.6 Lemaitre's Primeval Atom ......Page 511 32.1 Nuclear Physics in the 1930s ......Page 514 32.2 Formation of the Elements in Stars ......Page 518 32.3 Fission and the Atomic Bomb ......Page 521 32.4 Big Bang or Steady State? ......Page 524 32.5 Discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Radiation ......Page 527 32.6 Beyond the Big Bang ......Page 528 33.1 The Thematic Element in Science ......Page 532 33.2 Themata in the History of Science ......Page 535 33.3 Styles of Thought in Science and Culture ......Page 537 33.4 Epilogue ......Page 540 APPENDIX I. Abbreviations and Symbols ......Page 546 APPENDIX II. Metric System Prefixes, Greek Alphabet, Roman Numerals ......Page 550 APPENDIX III. Defined Values, Fundamental Constants and Astronomical Data ......Page 552 APPENDIX IV. Conversion Factors ......Page 554 APPENDIX V. Systems of Units ......Page 556 APPENDIX VI. Alphabetic List of the Elements ......Page 558 APPENDIX VII. Periodic Table of Elements ......Page 560 APPENDIX VIII. Summary of Some Trigonometric Relations ......Page 562 APPENDIX IX. Vector Algebra ......Page 566 General Bibliography ......Page 570 Credits ......Page 574 Index ......Page 576 Of Some Trigonometric Relations -- Vector Algebra. Ch. 1. The Astronomy Of Ancient Greece -- Ch. 2. Copernicus' Heliocentric Theory -- Ch. 3 On The Nature Of Scientific Theory -- Ch. 4. Kepler's Laws -- Ch. 5. Galileo And The New Astronomy -- Ch. 6. Mathematics And The Description Of Motion -- Ch. 7. Galileo And The Kinematics Of Free Fall -- Ch. 8. Projectile Motion -- Ch. 9. Newton's Laws Of Motion -- Ch. 10. Rotational Motion -- Ch. 11. Newton's Law Of Universal Gravitation -- Ch. 12. On The Nature Of Concepts -- Ch. 13. On The Duality And Growth Of Science -- Ch. 14. On The Discovery Of Laws -- Ch. 15. The Law Of Conservation Of Mass -- Ch. 16. The Law Of Conservation Of Momentum -- Ch. 17. The Law Of Conservation Of Energy -- Ch. 18. The Law Of Dissipation Of Energy -- Ch. 19. Origins Of The Atomic Theory In Physics And Chemistry -- 20. The Atomic Theory Of Chemistry -- Ch. 21. The Periodic Table Of Elements -- Ch. 22. The Kinetic-molecular Theory Of Gases -- Ch. 23. The Wave Theory Of Light -- Ch. 24. Electrostatics -- Ch. 25. Electromagnetism, X-rays, And Electrons -- Ch. 26. The Quantum Theory Of Light -- Ch. 27. Radioactivity And The Nuclear Atom -- Ch. 28. Bohr's Model Of The Atom -- Ch. 30. Einstein's Theory Of Relativity -- Ch. 31. The Origin Of The Solar System And The Expanding Universe -- Ch. 32. Construction Of The Elements And The Universe -- Ch. 33. Thematic Elements And Styles In Science. Gerald Holton And Stephen G. Brush. Rev. Ed. Of: Introduction To Concepts And Theories In Physical Science. 1952. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [555]-558) And Index.