INDEX
absolute space and time, cosmological theory of, 13, 63, 76, 77, 140, 164–65, 166, 198
Accademia dei Lyncei, 47
Achinstein, Peter, 111
Acta eruditorum [Acts/Reports of the Scholars] (Wallis), 88
Adams, John, 18
“addition of velocities” rule, 167, 169
adenine (A), 243
aether, 152
and Michelson-Morely experiments, 144–45, 165–66
Newton on Æthereal medium, 85, 98, 110, 144, 145, 165
“Age of Enlightenment.” See Enlightenment, Age of
AI. See artificial intelligence (AI)
Alexander the Great, 27
Almagest (Ptolemy), 29
alpha rays (α), 156, 157, 173–74, 176, 177, 178–79
American Philosophical Society, 102
Ampère, Andre Marie, 146
Anaximines, 19
Anderson, Carl D., 208
Ångstrom, Anders Jöns, 148
angular momentum, 180, 181, 184, 186, 205
Annalen der Physik [Annals of Physics] (journal), 163, 194
“antimatter,” 208
Apelles. See Scheiner, Christopher
Apollonius, 38
Arian Creed, 72
Aristarchus of Samos, 20–21, 28–29
Aristotle, 20, 27, 29, 31, 35, 117
cosmological system of, 23, 37, 43, 46
dominance of philosophy from thirteenth to seventeenth centuries, 10, 21, 22–23, 28, 46, 53, 67
and Galileo, 37, 43, 46, 53–54, 60, 64, 65
artificial intelligence (AI), 223, 229, 231, 232, 234, 238, 239, 240, 254
Assad, Bashar al-, 250
Assayer, The [Il Saggiatore] (Galileo), 11, 47, 49–50
Astronomia Nova [New Astronomy] (Kepler), 39
astronomy, 10–12, 14, 20–21, 36–49, 53–58, 81–82
clockwork universe, 11, 37, 41, 64, 91
distance of stars, 56
latest explorations, 45, 222–23. See also celestial mechanics; geocentrism; heliocentrism; solar system; sun
Athanasian Creed and Isaac Newton, 71–72
atomic weights, 125–37, 147, 149, 176, 177
atomic stability, 175, 186, 188
Greek views on, 11–12, 21, 24, 25, 26, 117–18, 128, 137, 147
isotopes, 151, 157–58, 176, 177
modern atomism, 117–37, 147. See also radiation; subatomic particles
founder of, 118
solar model of the atom developed by Bohr, 14, 181, 183, 184, 186–87, 192, 194, 209
“plum pudding” model of the atom, 173, 179.
See also molecules; radiation
Augustine, Saint, 33
“Autobiographical Notes” (Einstein), 162–63
Avogadro, Amedeo, 130, 133–34, 162, 164
awareness and computers, 232–38
Bacon, Francis, 89
Barberini, Francesco, 59
Becher, Johann Joachim, 119
Becquerel, Henri, 150, 156, 157
Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World, The (Deutsch), 222, 251
Bell, John Stewart, 205
Benghazi, killing of American diplomats, 250–51
Bergson, Henri, 242
Bernoulli, Daniel, 107
Bernoulli, Johann, 88
Berthollet, Claude Louis, 122
Berzelius, Jöns Jakob, 128, 131–32, 133, 135, 136
beta rays (19β), 156, 157, 158, 176, 182–83
Big Bang theory, 14, 140, 141, 214, 217, 223, 224, 252
Biography of Isaac Newton, A (Westfall), 68–69
biological method of scientific explanation, 65
Bjorken, James, 213
Black, Joseph, 93
blackbody radiation, 70, 84, 158–59, 160–61, 163, 182, 184, 185–86
black holes, 14, 172, 224, 226
Blue Gene (computer), 235
Bohr, Niels, 14, 178–84, 209, 219–20
Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum conditions, 190
“Bohr’s radius,” 182
and Heisenberg, 187–91, 199, 200–201
on hydrogen, 180, 182, 183, 184, 186, 206
on meaning of understanding, 189–90, 204
on Pauli and Heisenberg unified field theory, 227
and quantum mechanics, 181, 184, 187, 201–202
Bohr’s Institute’s impact on, 206
Copenhagen Interpretation, 183, 203, 220
response to EPR article, 201–202
and Schrödinger, 199
solar model of the atom, 14, 181, 183, 184, 186–87, 192, 194, 205, 209
Born, Max, 184, 190, 191–92, 193, 196–98
Bose, S. N., 210
Higgs boson (“God particle”), 208, 213, 221, 228, 243
vector bosons. See W particles; Z particles
Boston Marathon bombing, 254
Boulton, Mathew, 93
Boyle, Robert, 23, 67, 69, 76, 78, 96, 117, 118, 125
Bracciolini, Poggio, 25
Brahe, Tycho, 10, 38, 40, 42, 49
brain
compared to a computer, 232–33, 247–48
and consciousness, 246–47, 248
installing human brain in a robot, 240–42
“reverse engineering,” 234–35, 236–37
“Brane World,” 227
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 211, 213
Brougham, Henry, 110
Brown, Robert, 164
Browne, Edward, 88
Bunsen, Robert, 148
Buridan, Jean, 60
Caccini, Tommaso, 48
Callipus of Cyzicus, 20
Cambridge University, 67, 68, 70, 81–82, 88, 156, 207, 216
“Can Quantum Mechanical Descriptions of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?” (Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen), 201, 203, 215
cathode rays, 149, 150, 152–53, 154, 157, 175
Catholic Church, 10, 35, 37, 46, 252
attempts to return England to Catholicism, 81–82
and the Inquisition, 12, 26, 34, 48–49, 53, 58
treatment of scientists, 12, 37
Galileo Galilei, 12, 47–49, 53, 58–59, 61–62
See also Christianity
Cavendish Laboratory, 156, 173, 177, 178, 180
celestial mechanics, 22, 66, 72–73, 74, 75, 117
distinction between celestial and terrestrial worlds, 13, 23, 36, 45, 47, 49, 64, 77
circular orbits, 29, 36–37, 43, 55, 78
elliptical orbits, 10–11, 38–39, 43, 53, 55, 68, 73, 78
and velocities and dimensions of planets, 40, 41, 43, 66.
See also astronomy; geocentrism; heliocentrism
CERN. See European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Chadwich, James, 177
Chaitin, Gregory, 223
Charles, Jacques, 125
Charlie Hebdo, attack on, 254
Chemical Treatise on Air and Fire (Scheele), 119
chemistry, 13, 84, 117–37, 147, 148, 149, 151, 158, 183, 226
Christianity
Arian Creed, 72
lack of rational credibility, 9–10, 15, 35, 252
and Plato’s philosophy, 21
transfer of Roman Empire to Constantinople, 32–33.
See also Anglicanism; Catholic Church; Protestant denominations
Christian News (newspaper), 90
circular orbits of planets. See celestial mechanics
Classical World, The (Fox), 17, 25
Clausius, R., 161
Clavelin, Maurice, 62
Cleisthenes, 17
clockwork universe, 11, 37, 41, 64, 91
Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason, The (Freeman), 222
Collegio Romano, 47
Collinson, Peter, 102
“Collision of Alpha Particles with Light Atoms” (Rutherford), 177
combining volumes, Gay-Lussac’s law of, 128–30, 133
combustion, 100, 118, 119, 120, 122, 147
Commentaries on the Movement of Mars (Kepler), 39
common sense and robots, 234
commutative law, 191
Compton, Arthur, 163–64, 184, 185
computer science, 14–15, 230–31, 239–40
brain compared to computer, 232–33
computers becoming aware, 232–38
Deep Blue beating Kasparov in chess, 232, 238
“reverse engineering of the human brain,” 234–35, 236–37
“Connection between Waves and Particles, The” (de Broglie), 184
consciousness, 31
computers becoming aware, 232–39, 241
human consciousness, 237–38, 242–43, 246–47, 248
conservation of momentum, principle of, 52, 68
Constantine, 32
constant proportions, law of, 122–23
“contextual realism,” 15, 18, 204
“Copenhagen interpretation,” 183, 203, 220
Copernicus, Nicholas, 10, 21, 23, 29, 36–38, 109, 139
corpuscular-mechanics worldview of Newton, 36, 50, 52, 63–90, 117, 141, 142, 155, 204
objections to, 109–111, 112, 142–44
wave theory of light replacing, 112–13
“correspondence principle,” 181
“Cosmic Multiverse,” 220
Cosmographic Mystery, The [Mysterium Cosmographicum] (Kepler), 20
cosmological theories
of “multiuniverses,” 14, 216–17, 220, 224, 227
Courant, Richard, 191
Cox, John, 157
Crampton, W. Gary, 90
Crease, Robert P., 191, 193, 195–96, 206, 207, 208, 214–15
Cremonini, Cesare, 46
Curie, Marie, 150–51, 156, 157, 158
Curiosity rover on Mars, 45, 223
Cyril (successor to Theophilus), 33, 34
cytosine (C), 243
Dalton, John, 93, 118, 123–30, 132, 135, 137, 147, 175
“dark-matter particles,” 222, 224, 226
Darwin, Charles, 13, 23, 93, 179, 250
“Dawn” (computer), 235
de Broglie, Louis, 184, 185–86, 194
Declaration of Independence, 18
deductive method of scientific explanation, 21, 22, 65, 85, 189
Deep Blue (computer), 232, 238
deism, 87
De Magnete [On the Magnet] (Gilbert), 38, 94–96
Demetrius of Phaleron, 27
Democritus, 11, 21, 24, 117, 118, 122, 128, 137, 147
DeMoire, Abraham, 73
Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, The (Sagan), 18, 89–90, 115
De Motu [On Motion] (Galileo), 43
De motu corporum in gyrum [On the Motion of Bodies in Orbit] (Newton), 73–74
De rerum natura [On the Nature of Things] (Lucretius), 25
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium [On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres] (Copernicus), 10, 36
Desaguliers, John Theophilus, 98
Descartes, René, 10, 23, 50, 52, 61, 67–68, 69, 70, 79, 83, 89, 93, 109, 117
Dewey, John, 155
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems—Ptolemaic & Copernican (Galileo), 12, 53–58
Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences (Galileo), 12, 44, 59–60
Different Descriptions of Logarithmic Canons [Merifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio] (Napier), 41
differential calculus (fluxions), 28, 77–78, 124
Diophantus, 32
Dioptrice (Kepler), 40
Dirac, Paul, 178, 184, 192–93, 198, 199, 206–207, 208
“Fermi-Dirac statistics,” 210
Discourse on Bodies on or in Water (Galileo), 47
DNA, 224, 242–44, 247, 249–50, 254, 255
“junk DNA,” 244
Drake, Stillman, 47, 48, 52, 58–59, 61
Dreams of a Final Theory (Weinberg), 222
Dufay (du Fay), Charles François de Cisternay, 99–101, 105
Dulong, Pierre, 132–33, 134, 135
Dumas, J. B. A., 134
dynamic societies, 251, 252–53, 254
dynamo, 146
E = mc2, 81, 163, 168, 194, 211, 223.
See also relativity, theories of
earth
age of, 217
as center of solar system, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 36, 37, 45, 49, 90, 252
distinction between celestial and terrestrial worlds, 13, 23, 36, 45, 47, 49, 64, 77
Ecphantos of Syracuse, 20
Eddington, Arthur, 172
Einstein, Albert, 13, 14, 28, 65, 66, 70, 139–40, 141, 178, 192, 206, 219, 223–24, 229
aversion to quantum mechanics, 162, 183, 215
“Bose-Einstein statistics,” 210
general theory of relativity, 140, 168, 171, 226
photoelectric effect, 84, 85, 144, 164, 184–85
quantification of radiation, 179
and Schrödinger, 194
six articles published, 162–64
on space-time, 140, 141, 145, 166–68, 198
special theory of relativity, 77, 145, 163, 164, 166, 169, 203, 226
and unified theory, 15, 171, 225.
See also E = mc2
electrical torsion balance, 107–108
electricity, 84, 86, 93, 94, 109, 131, 145–46, 159
electrochemical battery, 131
relation between magnetism and electricity, 113, 141, 145
electrodynamics, 161, 164–65, 166, 179
of moving bodies, 163, 164, 179
quantum electrodynamics (QED), 206, 208–209, 210, 213
electromagnetism, 13, 112–14, 145–47, 159–60, 164–65, 171, 180, 205, 206, 207, 224
Ampère’s Rule, 146
electromagnetic force, 171, 212, 213, 214, 219
light as form of, 70, 112–14, 141, 147, 165, 182
quantum electrodynamics (QED), 206, 208–209, 210, 213
wave theory of, 70, 113, 114, 147, 159, 165, 185, 194.
See also blackbody radiation; “electroweak” theory; magnetism; quantum mechanics
electrons, 13, 178–79, 187, 190–91, 198, 210, 224
in Bohr’s solar model of the atom, 181, 182, 183, 184, 186, 193, 194, 205, 209
and cathode rays, 152, 154, 157, 175
discovery of, 76, 118, 152, 154, 159
“plum pudding” model, 173, 179
properties of, 162, 175–76, 179, 180, 207–208, 210
vibrations/oscillations of, 179–80, 184, 185, 226
wave theory of, 187, 194, 196, 197, 208
and X-rays, 164, 174, 175, 182
“electroweak” theory, 213, 214, 219
elements, 133, 154, 157, 162, 174, 188
Berzelius creating symbols for, 127
compound substances, 121, 122, 123, 126–27, 128–29, 130–31, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137
Dalton’s work on creating a table of, 126–30, 132
determining atomic weights of, 125–37, 147
discovering new elements, 118, 122–23, 125, 136, 137, 147, 148–49, 151–52, 158
creating names and symbols for, 128, 131
element of inflammability (phlogiston), 121–22
four elements of the physical world, 12, 20, 21, 23, 117, 190
monatomic, 130, 131, 132, 133, 147
Petit Dulong law on monatomic elements, 132–33, 134
polyatomic, 130–31, 132–33, 134.
See also isotopes; Periodic Law (Meyer); Periodic Table (Mendeleev); valences
Elements of Geometry (Euclid), 28
elliptical orbit of planets. See celestial mechanics
End of Physics: The Myth of a Unified Theory, The (Lindley), 222
End of Science: Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight of the Scientific Age, The (Horgan), 222, 223
Engleman, David, 249
Enlightenment, Age of, 13, 35, 91
Epicurus, 23–25, 26, 46, 117, 118, 147, 212
Epitome Astronomæ Copernicanæ (Kepler), 69
Erasistratus, 30
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, An (Locke), 52, 83
“Essay on a Manner of Determining the Relative Masses of the Elementary Molecules of Bodies, and the Proportions in which They Enter into These Compounds” (Avogadro), 130
Eudoxus of Cnidus, 20, 29, 35, 36, 43
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), 208, 211, 213, 214
European Space Agency, 217
evil and DNA, 250
evolution, 9, 13, 140, 238, 239, 241, 242, 250, 252
republican presidential candidates disbelief, 8
Evolution of Physics, The (Einstein and Infeld), 114
“exclusion principle,” 209, 210
existence, meaning of, 203, 204, 222
experiential phenomena, 220
experimental science, 107
See also motion, Newton on
Fabricius, Johann, 38
Faraday, Michael, 113–14, 140, 146–47, 149
Federalist Papers, The, 18
“Fermi-Dirac statistics,” 210
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) (FNB), 209, 211
Feynman, Richard, 208, 209, 211, 214
field theory
gauge field theory, 213
Maxwell’s field theory, 171
quantum field theory, 170, 206, 207
of strings, 213. See also string theory
unified field theory, 15, 225, 227
Fine, Arthur, 222
Finnegans Wake (Joyce), 212
Fizeau, Hippolyte Louis, 112, 144–45, 166
fluxions (differential calculus), 28, 77–78, 124
FNB. See Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) (FNB)
Fourcroy, Antoine François de, 122
Fox, Robin Lane, 17, 25, 26–27
Franklin, Benjamin, 93, 99, 102–104, 105–107, 108, 123
Fraunhofer, Joseph von, 148
free fall, law of, 36, 42, 43, 59, 60, 64, 77, 170
Freeman, Charles, 222
French Academy of Sciences, 99, 101, 107, 121, 132, 184
Fresnel, Augustine Jean, 110–12, 143–44
From Myth to Modern Mind: A Study of the Origins and Growth of Scientific Thought—Vol. I: Theogony Through Ptolemy (Schlagel), 30
Fundamenta Chymiae [Fundamental Chemistry] (Stahl), 119
Future of the Mind, The (Kaku), 249
Galileo Galilei, 10, 23, 40, 42–58, 63, 75, 79, 89, 91, 95, 117, 167
Assayer, The [Il Saggiatore], 11, 47, 49–50
and the Catholic Church, 12–13, 47, 53, 58–59, 61–62
De Motu [On Motion], 43
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems—Ptolemaic & Copernican, 12, 53–58
Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences, 12, 44, 59–60
Discourse on Bodies on or in Water, 47
incline plane experiments, 12, 43–44, 54, 60–61, 64
“Letter to Castelli” (Galileo), 48
Little Balance, The [La Bilancetta], 43
Mechanics, 43
On Motion [De Motu], 43
similarities with Newton, 79, 80
Starry Messenger, The [Sidereus Nuncius], 11, 44–45, 46–47
gamma rays (19γ), 157, 176, 199
Garnett, Thomas, 125
Gay-Lussac, Joseph, 128–30, 132
Geiger, Hans, 173
Gell-Mann, Murray, 211, 212, 213, 214, 216
“Generation and Corruption” (Aristotle), 23
developments in genome research, 242–44
replacing defective genes, 255–56
research on illnesses and increasing longevity, 244–46, 254–55
“three-parent IVF,” 255.
See also DNA
genome, 9, 223, 224, 239, 243, 244, 249, 250, 252
geocentrism, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 36, 37, 45, 49, 90, 252
Georgi, Howard, 214
Gerlach, Walther, 209
Gilbert, William, 38–39, 94–95, 96
Glashow, Sheldon, 211, 212, 213, 214
Gleick, James, 43
Gleiser, Marcelo, 228
Glorious Revolution, 82
God, belief in, 13, 31, 33, 48
Newton’s belief in, 71–72, 76, 85, 86, 87, 122, 123
Goddard Space Flight Center, 217
“God Particle.” See Higgs boson (“God particle”)
Goudsmit, Samuel S., 205
Grand Design, The (Mlodinow), 216
Grand Unified Theory (GUT), 171, 214
gravity, 60, 68–69, 86, 99, 118, 171, 212, 215, 224
Kepler on, 11, 37, 40, 57, 68, 86
Newton on, 13, 65, 68–69, 75, 80, 86, 105, 107, 108, 109–110, 112, 141
universal law of gravitation, 13, 40, 65, 105, 107
Greece. See Hellenic and Hellenistic scientific thinking
Greenaway, Frank, 127
Gregory, David, 83
guanine (G), 243
GUT. See Grand Unified Theory (GUT)
gyroscope, 144
Hahn, Otto, 157
Hallam, Henry, 94
Harmonice Mundi [World Harmony] (Kepler), 40
Hauksbee, Francis, 96, 97–98, 99
Heisenberg, Werner, 14, 178, 184, 186–93, 196, 198–203, 206–207, 227
heliocentrism, 11, 12, 20–21, 29, 36, 37, 38–40, 45, 48, 49, 53–58, 109
Hellenic and Hellenistic scientific thinking, 10, 17–34, 35, 117–18, 128, 137, 147
“Hellensitic Copernicus.” See Aristarchus of Samos
Heraclides of Ponus, 20
Hero of Alexandria (Heron), 32
Herophilus of Chalcedon, 30
Hertz, Heinrich, 114, 140, 147, 152
“heterotic string theory,” 227
Higgs boson (“God particle”), 208, 213, 221–22, 228, 243
Hipparchus of Nicaea, 28, 29, 32
“History, Parts, and Generation of Animals” (Aristotle), 23
Hitler, Adolf, 250
Hohenburg, Herwart von, 41
Hooft, Gerardus ‘t, 213
Hooke, Robert, 69, 78, 79, 83, 88, 109, 142, 144
“How the Universe Works” (Crease and Mann), 214–15
Hubble, Edwin, 14, 38, 140, 217, 222–23
Human Genome Project, 243
Hume, David, 155
Huygens, Christiaan, 23, 69–70, 79, 83, 109, 112, 142, 144
hydrogen, 119, 127, 128, 135, 147, 148, 152, 176, 177
Bohr on, 180, 182, 183, 184, 186, 206
hydrogen bomb, 223
Il Saggiatore [The Assayer] (Galileo), 11, 47, 49–50
See also atoms and atomism
Industrial Revolution, 92–93, 230
inertial systems, 167, 169, 170
Infeld, Leopold, 114, 140, 147
infinite particles theory, 117
“Inflationary Universe,” 220, 223
“insensible particles,” 11, 21, 64, 75
Institute of Theoretical Physics, 178, 190, 199, 206, 220
intercellular fluids, 239, 244
international conflicts, causes of, 251–54
“Ionian fallacy,” 19
Island of Knowledge, The (Gleiser), 228
isotopes, 151, 157–58, 176, 177
“Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?” (Fritzsch), 216
James Webb Space Telescope, 14, 223
Jeans, James. See Rayleigh-Jeans Law
Jefferson, Thomas, 18
Jeffreys, Lord, 82
Johnson, George, 217
Jordan, Pascual, 184, 192, 193, 196
Journal de Physique [Journal of Physics], 130
Joyce, James, 212
Jupiter, 11, 37, 45, 47, 53, 56, 69
J/Y particle, 213
Kaku, Michio, 139, 222, 225–27, 229–30, 231, 233–34, 237, 238, 239–41, 242, 245, 249, 254, 255
Kaufmann, Walter, 157
Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson), 160, 166
Kepler, Johannes, 12, 23, 37–42, 65, 66, 68–69, 75, 79, 89, 190
clockwork universe, 11, 37, 41, 64, 91
Commentaries on the Movement of Mars (Kepler), 39
Cosmographic Mystery, The [Mysterium Cosmographicum] (Kepler), 20
Dioptrice (Kepler), 40
Epitome Astronomæ Copernicanæ (Kepler), 69
on gravity, 11, 37, 40, 57, 68, 86
laws of, 39, 55, 63, 64, 67, 68, 73, 77–78
on the motion of planets, 10–11, 38–39, 43, 53, 64, 69, 109
New Astronomy [Astronomia Nova] (Kepler), 39
Rudolphine Tables [Tabula Rudophinæ](Kepler), 41
World Harmony [Harmonice Mundi] (Kepler), 40
Kepler Space Telescope, 14
Kikkawa, Keiji, 225
Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert, 148
Kirsh, Yoram, 176, 177, 185–86, 192
KISMET (robot), 234
Kleist, E. G. von, 101
Koestler, Arthur, 39
Koran, 252
Kramer, Hendrik “Hans,” 178, 187
La Bilancetta [The Little Balance] (Galileo), 43
LAGR (robot), 233
Langevin, Paul, 169
Large Hadron Collider at CERN, 211
Laue, Max von, 183
Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 118, 120–22, 137, 147
“Laws of Motion, The” (Newton), 65, 67–68
Lederman, Leon, 221
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von, 88
Lemaître, Georges, 140
“Letter to Castelli” (Galileo), 48
Leucippus, 11, 21, 117, 122, 128, 137, 147
“Leyden jar,” 102, 103, 105, 106
as form of electromagnetism, 70, 112–14, 141, 147, 165, 182
Galileo and the velocity of light, 75
Newton on, 66, 69–70, 75, 84–85, 147–48
corpuscular theory of (particle theory), 70, 84, 109–110, 111, 112–13, 140–41, 142–44
particles of (photons), 162–63, 181, 184. See also photons
Planck on “quantum of energy,” 184–85
polarization of, 111, 112, 143–44
prismatic experiments, 13
velocity of, 112
wave-particle duality of light, 141, 184–86
wave theory of light, 13, 70, 84, 109, 111–13, 140–41, 143–44, 165
Little Balance, The [La Bilancetta] (Galileo), 43
Lunar Society, 93
Madison, James, 18
magnetism, 93, 99, 114, 141, 145–46, 153, 157, 205, 228
and electrons, 205, 206, 207, 209
and protons, 209
relation between magnetism and electricity, 113, 141, 145.
See also electromagnetism
magneton, 206
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 124–25, 175
Mann, Charles C., 191, 193, 195–96, 206, 207, 208, 214–15
Mars
orbit of, 10–11, 37, 38, 53, 55–56, 68, 69
mathematics, 18, 19–20, 21, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 89, 107, 114
differential calculus (fluxions), 28, 77–78, 124
influence on scientific inquiry, 37
language of mathematics, 89, 107
as language of nature, 42, 65, 75
mathematical formalism, 201, 215
mathematical principles of philosophy, 74–75, 78–79
and Newton, 65, 66, 67–69, 70–71, 74–75, 76, 77, 78–79, 88–89
square roots and successive sums, 44
matrix mechanics, 14, 186, 191–92, 193, 195, 196–97, 198
Maxwell, James Clerk, 114, 140, 147, 164–65, 171
Maxwell-Lorentz equation, 166–67
Mechanics (Galileo), 43
medicine, 13, 18, 27, 30–31, 119, 207, 229
genetic research on illnesses and increasing longevity, 244–46
Meisenböck, Gero, 235
Meitner, Lisa, 223
Melville, Thomas, 148
“Memoir on the Combination of Gaseous Substances with Each Other” (Gay-Lussac), 128–30
“Memoir on the Diffraction of Light” (Fresnel), 111, 143
“Memory, Dreams, and Prophesying” (Aristotle), 23
Mendeleev, Dmitri Ivanovich, 135–37, 147, 176, 188
Merifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio [Different Descriptions of Logarithmic Canons] (Napier), 41
mesons, 212
“Metaphysics” (Aristotle), 23
Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique [The Method of Chemical Nomenclature] (Lavoisier, et al.), 122
Meyer, Julius Lothar, 135, 147
Michelson, Albert A., 165, 166
Michelson-Morely experiments, 77, 145, 160, 165, 166–67
Mills, Robert. See Yang-Mills gauge theory
“minima” of Epicurus, 24, 118, 147, 212
Minkowski, Herman, 168
Mlodinow, Leonard, 216
molecular chemistry, 123–30, 132–37
molecular physics, 183
molecules, 130, 134, 136, 148, 153, 154, 163, 164, 182–83, 198
biomolecular components of the brain, 232, 239
molecular structure, 51, 76, 118, 129, 132, 133, 137, 147, 175, 188
molecular substances and compounds, 122–23, 125, 128, 130, 132, 137
DNA as molecular, 243, 247, 250. See also DNA
momentum, 111, 118, 164, 185, 186, 191, 194, 199, 200, 201, 204
angular momentum, 180, 181, 184, 186, 205
Montague, Charles, 87
Moore, G. E., 155
Moore, Gordon, 230
Moore’s law for computers, 230
Morley, Edward W., 165.
See also Michelson-Morely experiments
Morveau, Guyton de, 122
Moseley, H. G. J., 174, 175, 183
motion, 149
electrodynamics of moving bodies, 164–65
Galileo’s incline plane experiments, 12, 43–44, 54, 60–61, 64
Newton on
F = ma, 81, 163, 168, 223. See also motion, Newton on
laws of, 64, 66, 67–68, 77–78, 163
projectile motion, 60
Mount Wilson Observatory, 14, 38, 222–23
M-theory, 227
Mubarak, Hosni, 250
Muhammad (prophet), 252
multiuniverses, cosmological theory of, 14, 216–17, 220, 224, 227
“Music of the Spheres,” 19, 183, 225
Musschenbroek, Pieter van, 101–102
Mysterium Cosmographicum [The Cosmographic Mystery] (Kepler), 20
Nagel, Thomas, 155
Napier, John, 41
NASA, 217
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), 243–44
National Institutes of Health, 244
nature
mathematics as language of, 42, 65, 75
principle of uniformity of nature, 52, 187
Ne’eman, Yuval, 176, 177, 185–86, 192
neutrons, 13, 76, 177, 209, 210, 212, 224
New Astronomy [Astronomia Nova] (Kepler), 39
New System of Chemical Philosophy (Dalton), 14, 126, 128
Newton, Isaac, 10, 11, 13, 23, 63–90, 105, 117, 142, 147–48
absolute space and time cosmological theory of, 13, 63, 76, 77, 140, 164–65
corpuscular-mechanics worldview of, 36, 50, 52, 63–90, 117, 141, 142, 155, 204
objections to, 109–111, 112, 142–44
wave theory of light replacing, 112–13
on gravity, 13, 65, 68–69, 75, 80, 86, 105, 107, 108, 109–110, 112, 141
influence of, 93
and mathematics, 65, 66, 67–69, 70–71, 74–75, 76, 77, 78–79, 88–89
on motion
F = ma, 81, 163, 168, 223. See also motion, Newton on
laws of, 64, 66, 67–68, 77–78, 163
projectile motion, 60
Opticks, 75, 76, 81, 83–87, 93, 96, 109, 147–48
Principia Mathematica, 65, 66, 68, 72–79, 81, 83–84, 88, 164
Preface to the First Edition, 74–76
and religion, 71–72, 76, 87, 88, 122–23
similarities with Galileo, 79, 80
style of presentation, 60
on time and space, 198
NHGRI. See National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Niccolini, Francesco, 59
Nicholson, John, 180
Nobel Prize, 150, 151, 158, 162, 163, 166, 177, 192, 193, 207, 208, 209, 213–14, 243, 246
nuclear physics, 140, 183, 213, 226
nucleus of the atom, 174, 176–77, 178–84
Obama, Barack, 229
observable evidence/properties, 11, 35, 55, 147, 155, 190, 194
“occult force or powers,” 40, 57, 80, 86, 93, 164
“Ode Dedicated to Newton” (Halley), 74
Oersted, Hans Christian, 113, 114, 145–46
On a Dynamical Theory of the Electro-magnetic Field (Maxwell), 147
On Motion [De Motu] (Galileo), 43
“On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids” (Dalton), 125–26
“On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules” (Bohr), 179
“On the Heavens” (Aristotle), 23
On the Magnet [De Magnete] (Gilbert), 38, 94–96
On the Motion of Bodies in Orbit [De Motu corporum in gyrum] (Newton), 73–74
“On the Nature of the Principle which Combines with Metals during Calcination and Increases their Weight” (Lavoisier), 121
On the Nature of Things [De rerum natura] (Lucretius), 25
On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres [De revolutionibus orbium coelestium] (Copernicus), 10, 36
“On the Soul” (Aristotle), 23
“On the Theory of Light and Colors” (Young), 110, 143
“Opinions and Conjectures Concerning the Properties and Effects of the Electric Matter, arising from Experiments and Observations made at Philadelphia, 1749” (Franklin), 103–104, 105–106
Opticks (Newton), 75, 76, 81, 83–87, 93, 96, 109, 147–48
compared with Principia Mathematica, 83–84
orbits of planets. See celestial mechanics
Oreme, Nicole, 59
Orestes (governor of Alexandria), 33
“Outlines of Experiments and Inquiries Respecting Sound and Light” (Young), 109, 142
Oxford Dictionary, 240
oxygen, 107, 118, 119, 121, 122, 128, 135, 136, 147
Pais, Abraham, 152–53, 158, 180, 181, 182–83, 194–95, 197, 206–207
“Parallel Worlds,” 220
particles
alpha rays, 157
having wave properties, 194
of light (photons), 162–63, 181, 184
subatomic particles, 149, 153, 204
Partington, J. R., 121
pattern recognition and robots, 233, 234
Patterson, Clair, 217
Patterson, Elizabeth C., 124–25
Pauli, Wolfgang, 178, 184, 193, 196, 209–210, 227
Paul III (pope), 36
Paul V (pope), 47
and belief in an external world, 219, 223–24
and the human brain, 237.
See also senses
Periodic Law (Meyer), 135, 147
Periodic Table (Mendeleev), 135–37, 147, 188, 222.
See also elements
Perrin, Jean-Baptiste, 164, 174–75
Petit, Alexis, 132–33, 134, 135
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Newton). See Principia Mathematica (Newton)
Philosophical Magazine, 153, 175, 177
Philosophical Transactions (Royal Society), 96, 98, 109, 142
phlogiston theory of combustion, 100, 118–20, 121–22
photons, 70, 84, 162, 163–64, 181, 184, 185–86, 206, 208, 209, 212, 224
Physicae subterraneae (Becher), 119
Physical Review (journal), 201
physical world, composition of
four elements of the physical world, 12, 20, 21, 23, 117, 190.
See also atoms and atomism
physics, 149
origins of modern atomism, 117–37
in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, 139–72
nuclear physics, 140, 183, 213, 226
“Physics” (Aristotle), 23
Physics and Beyond: Encounters and Conversations (Heisenberg), 187
Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 (Kaku), 222, 229–30
Piccolomini, Ascanio, 59
Planck, Max, 14, 65, 84, 160–64, 179–81, 184, 194, 199
Planck’s constant, 162, 179, 180–81, 184–85, 192, 200
theory of radiation, 179
Planck as a unit of length, 226
Planck telescope, 217
Plato, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28, 37, 39, 109, 190
“Pleiades” constellation, 11, 46
Plücker, Julius, 148
“plum pudding” model of the atom, 173, 179
See also EPR article
Priestley, Joseph, 92–93, 107, 119–20, 121–22
Principia Mathematica (Newton), 65, 66, 68, 72–79, 81, 83, 88, 164
Preface to the First Edition, 74–76
Prior Analytics, The (Aristotle), 22
Proceedings of the Royal Society, 206
projectile motion, 60
Protestant denominations, 252
protons, 13, 76, 118, 137, 174, 176–77, 209, 210, 212, 224, 226
“psi” particle. See J/Y particle
Ptolemaic dynasty, 27
Ptolemy I Sorter, 27
Putin, Vladimir, 250
Putnam, Hilary, 155
Pythagoras of Samos, 19–20, 225
Pythagoreans, 29, 36, 109, 190, 225
QCD. See quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
QED. See quantum electrodynamics (QED)
“Quantization as an Eigenvalue Problem” (Schrödinger), 194
quantum chromodynamics (QCD), 211–15
quantum electrodynamics (QED), 206, 208–209, 210, 213
quantum mechanics, 181, 190–91, 193, 204–206, 208, 219–20, 222–23
and Bohr, 181, 184, 187, 201–202
Bohr’s Institute’s impact on, 206
Copenhagen Interpretation, 183, 203, 220
duality of contrary properties, 185
Einstein’s aversion to, 162, 183, 215
future of, 228
and matrix mechanics, 14, 186, 191, 192, 195, 196–97
quantum theory and interior of the atom, 179
uncertainty principle in, 140, 171, 185, 198, 202.
See also magnetism
“Quantum Mechanics of Collision Phenomena” (Born), 197
quarks, 24, 147, 208, 211, 212, 213, 214, 224, 226
Queries of Newton. See Opticks (Newton)
Quigg, Chris, 209
Quinn, Helen, 214
radiation, 149, 158, 173, 179–80, 243
Balmer radiational formula, 180, 182, 206
blackbody radiation, 70, 84, 158–59, 160–61, 163, 182, 184, 185–86
electromagnetic radiation, 70, 145, 180, 185
electron radiation, 182
identification of, 149–52, 156
Planck’s theory of radiation, 160, 162–63, 179
radioactivity, 151–52, 156, 157–58, 170, 175–76, 178–79, 182, 212, 217
Rayleigh, Lord (John William Strutt), 166
relativity, theories of, 14, 65, 81, 163, 168, 181, 206, 226
general theory of relativity, 140, 168, 171, 226
special theory of relativity, 77, 145, 163, 164, 166, 169, 203, 226
religiousness
in static societies, 253
Republic (Plato), 109
Review of Modern Physics (journal), 205
Reynolds, Joshua, 240
Ricci, Ostilio, 43
Robinson, Elihu, 123
robotics, 15, 231–32, 233–34, 240–41
and prosthesis, 239
simulating human behavior, 234–35
Roller, Duane and Duane H. D., 96, 106–107, 108
See also EPR article
Royal Institution, 113, 131, 135
Royal Society, 66, 68, 72, 74, 99, 102, 107, 113, 153
Newton as president, 83, 88, 96–97
Philosophical Transactions, 96, 98, 109, 142
Proceedings of the Royal Society, 206
Rubbia, Carlo, 213
Rudolph II, 41
Rudolphine Tables [Tabula Rudophinæ](Kepler), 41
Rufus of Ephesus, 32
Rühmkorff, Heinrich, 149
Russell, Bertrand, 155
Rutherford, Ernest, 140, 155–59, 173–77, 178–79, 183
“Rutherford Memorandum” (Bohr), 179
Rydberg’s constant, 182
Ryle, Gilbert, 155
Sagan, Carl, 18, 89–90, 115, 251–52
Salem, Abdus, 213
Sarpi, Paolo, 44
Sarsi, Lothario of Siguenza. See Grassi, Orazio
Scheele, Carl Wilhelm, 119
Scheiner, Christopher, 47
Schrödinger, Erwin, 178, 184, 186, 192, 193–99, 206, 207
Schwinger, Julian, 208, 211, 214
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), 14
Segrè, Emilio, 156, 161, 162, 175, 198–99
senses, 11, 48, 50–52, 109, 203, 217.
See also perception
SETI. See Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Shaky Game: Einstein Realism and the Quantum Theory, The (Fine), 222
Sidereus Nuncius [The Starry Messenger] (Galileo), 11, 44–45, 46–47
Sklodowska, Marya. See Curie, Marie
SLAC. See Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC)
Sloane, Hans, 88
Socrates, 22
solar model of the atom. See atoms and atomism
center of solar system. See geocentrism; heliocentrism
and planetary orbits. See celestial mechanics
time for revolutions of planets, 54.
See also names of planets, i.e., Jupiter, Mars, Venus, etc.; sun
solar year, length of, 20
Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum conditions, 190
space, 76, 93, 111, 114, 169–70
luminiferous ether filling space, 85
multidimensional hyperspace, 227
red shift of light waves in outer space, 141
space-distance between two events, 168
space-time
absolute space and time cosmological theory, 13, 63, 76, 77, 140, 164–65, 166, 198
Einstein on, 140, 141, 145, 167, 168, 188, 203
space time interval, 168
spectral analysis, 148–49, 159, 182
stability
atomic stability, 175, 186, 188
of the elements, 132
Stahl, George Ernest, 119
STAIR (robot), 233
Stalin, Joseph, 250
“Standard Theory” of Feynman and Gell-Mann, 211, 222
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC), 211, 213
Starry Messenger, The [Sidereus Nuncius] (Galileo), 11, 44–45, 46–47
static societies, 251, 253, 254
Stefan’s law, 162
Stern, Otto, 183
Stern-Gerlach experiment, 209
Stevens, J. Christopher, 250
Stoney, George, 154
Strange Beauty (Johnson), 217
“strangeness,” 212
string theory, 15, 220–21, 225–28
“heterotic string theory,” 227
superstring theory, 225
strong force, 171, 212, 213, 214
“Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid, A” (Watson and Crick), 242–43
“Structure of the Atom, The” (Rutherford), 175
Strutt, John William. See Rayleigh, Lord (John William Strutt)
Stukeley, William, 68
“Subatomic Particle Is Breakthrough in Understanding [the] Basics of the Universe” (Washington Post), 221
subatomic particles, 149–54, 155–59, 162–64, 173–217, 204, 211–15
having wave properties, 194–98
modern atomism
study of structure and subatomic particles, 162–64
See also baryons; bosons; “charm”; electrons; fermions; gluons; gravitons; hadrons; Higgs boson; J/Y particle; leptons; mesons; neutrinos; neutrons; particles, i.e., electrons, protons, bosons, leptons, etc.; photons; protons; quantum mechanics; quarks; “strangeness”
sun, 14, 38, 56, 73, 108–109, 142
as center of solar system, 11, 12, 20–21, 29, 36, 37, 38–40, 45, 48, 49, 53–58, 109. See also geocentrism; heliocentrism
gravitational force of, 55, 64, 75, 168
length of a solar year, 20
orbits of planets around, 20–21
circular orbits, 29, 36–37, 43, 55, 78
elliptical orbits, 10–11, 38–39, 43, 53, 55, 68, 73, 78
See also geocentrism; heliocentrism; solar system
superconducting collider, funding in US cut for, 228–29
superstring theory, 225
“super-symmetry theory,” 227
superweak force, 214
Susuki, Mahiko, 225
syllogistic logic, 22
symmetry
and spin, 210
symmetry breaking, 213
Tabula Rudophinæ[Rudolphine Tables] (Kepler), 41
telescope, 36
Catholic Church opinions on, 47
Galileo’s development of, 44–46, 64
Newton’s improvements on, 72
Thales, 19
Theodosius the Great, 33
Theophilus of Antioch, 33
thermodynamical law of Wien, 162
Thomas Aquinas, Saint, 21
Thomson, J. J., 152, 153–54, 156, 173, 174, 175, 178, 179
Thomson, Thomas, 95
Thomson, William. See Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson)
thymine (T), 243
Timaeus (Plato), 190
time, 198
amd inclined plane experiment, 12, 44, 61, 64
length of a solar year, 20
reversing time, 227
space-time, 207
absolute space and time cosmological theory of, 13, 63, 76, 77, 140, 164–65, 166, 198
Einstein on, 140, 141, 145, 167, 168, 188, 203
space-time interval, 168
and speed of light, 75
time for revolutions of planets, 54
and uncertainty principle, 200
tissue engineering, 244
Tomonaga, Sinitiro, 208
Traité de Chimie [Treatise on Chemistry] (Lavoisier), 121
Traité de la lumière où sont expliquées les causes de ce qui arrive dans la réflexion et dans la réfraction. Et particulièrement dans l’étrange réfraction du cristal d’Islande [Treatise on light explaining the cause of reflection and refraction. And particularly in the strange refraction of Island crystal] (Huygens), 142
transformation
Lorentz and Einstein transformation equations, 168
transmutation of radioactive substance, 157
Trowbridge, John, 215
Tsarnaev, Tamerlan, and Dzhokhar, 254
Uhlenbeck, George E., 205
“ultraviolet catastrophe,” 160, 161
uncertainty principle, 14, 140, 197, 198, 199–200, 202–203, 207, 210
understanding, Bohr on meaning of, 189–90, 204
unified theory, 15
Grand Unified Theory (GUT), 171, 214
likelihood of finding, 228, 229
of Pauli and Heisenberg, 227
unified field theory of Einstein, 15, 171, 225
uniformity of nature, principle of, 52, 187
“Unity of All Elementary-Particle Forces” (Glashow and Georgi), 214
universal law of gravitation, 13, 40, 65, 105, 107
universe, age of, 217
uranium, 150–51, 156, 158, 176, 217, 223
Urban VIII (pope), 12, 47, 56, 57, 58
V-A, 211
Van der Meer, Simon, 213
Veneziano, Gabriele, 225
Villard, Paul, 157
Vincent, Nathaniel, 74
Vinta, Belisario, 52
Volta, Alessandro, 131
voyage au boulet [twins paradox], 169–70
Wallis, John, 88
Warrington Academy, 93
Washington Post (newspaper), 221, 224, 255
wave-particle duality, 140, 198
of subatomic particles, 210
wave theory
of electromagnetism, 70, 113, 114, 147, 159, 165, 185, 194
of light, 13, 70, 84, 109, 111–13, 140–41, 143–44, 165
“electroweak theory,” 213
superweak force, 214
“weakly interacting massive particles” (WIMPs), 224–25, 228
Wedgwood, Josiah, 93
Weinberg, Steven, 211, 213, 214, 215, 222
Westfall, Richard S., 68–69, 70, 72–74, 76–77, 86, 88, 89
Whewell, William, 95
Whitehead, Alfred North, 155
Whitrow, G. J., 168
Wien’s thermodynamical law, 162
Wigner, Eugene, 211
Wilkinson, John, 93
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, 217
William of Orange (king), 82
Wilson, C. T. R., 154
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 155
Wollaston, William, 148
World Harmony [Harmonice Mundi] (Kepler), 40
W particles, 213
Wycliffe, John, 10
X-rays, 150, 156, 157, 163–64, 174, 175, 182, 185, 242, 243
Yang-Mills gauge theory, 213
Young, Thomas, 109–111, 142–43
Yukawa, Hideki, 211
Zeitschrift für Physik [Writing on Physics] (journal), 190, 192, 193, 197, 200
Zweig, George, 212