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I simply loved this book as a student fresh out of high school. It got me excited about what I was about to go and study at university - physics, maths and the ground-breaking theories they were used to derive. But Einstein's Hero's also introduced me to my scientific hero, James Clerk Maxwell, and for that reason I will always love this book.
This is an unusual book - partially a biography of Newton, Faraday and Maxwell (Einstein had portraits of Maxwell and Newton on his wall - hence the title), but mostly a detailed discussion of how the relationship between math and physics changed due to the work of these scientists, and how the notion of a field, which Faraday developed and Maxwell mathematicized, revolutionized physics of the 19th century, paving the way for Einstein's relativity. The mathematics in the book is deliberately kep...
Dr. Arianrhod's contention is that the grammer of mathematics allows us to reach concluusions that we would otherwise miss. Nice explanation of vector calculus. Focus on J. C. Maxwell's work
This book is especially hard to get through, especially when I am here to understand more about the mathematical language. Although it is publicised as a book that can reveal the wonders of the mathematical language, what I got instead is a bunch of histories and biographies packed into 281 pages. When the author attempts to bring forth the use of mathematics in the discovery of various scientific concepts, the message in which the author is trying to convey becomes muffled by all the unnecessar...
This is an interesting text that seems to be 3 separate book ideas mashed into one. Part biography of James Maxwell, part mathematical and physics history, part mathematical philosophy, Arianrhod is all over the place. She writes with passion, and the portion of the book that describes the life of James Maxwell is a well written biography of one of physics' most under-recognized heroes. I think she would have been better off on tackling one of these ideas, but there are some really interesting i...
This book presents a very lovely view of mathematics, presenting it as a "language in its own right". And the author had the inspired notion of structuring her book around the work of three mathematical idols of another seminal thinker: Einstein's admiration of Newton, Faraday and Maxwell. A lot of ground is covered in the course of this book, and Arianrhod presents a lot of mathematics and physics in a manner that is accessible to any interested reader. Highly recommended!
Fascinating read that will reveal many historical events that led to interesting discoveries in the scientific realm and that in turn led to applications we now take for granted. Mathematics revisited through the works and lives of Newton, Faraday, Maxwell and Einstein (the middle two, personal heroes of mine).
I appreciated the fact that most of the actual math was explained at a level I could comprehend - although I just didn't have the energy to really grasp vectors let only the differential sort. I was most intrigued by the wonderful narratives of the subjects: Maxwell and Faraday. The author placed their work and their thinking into the evolution of the early scientific revolution. It seems to this lay reader that Newtonian thinking (action at a distance) was fast approaching dogma. Faraday and th...
Absolutely amazing novel. The author paints a beautiful picture through history, science, and mathematics. The story centers on James Clark Maxwell with frequent appearances by Faraday and Newton. I loved how the author brought you through their thought process and mathematical understanding. It was not hard to understand. The novel awakened much curiosity in me. I found I was studying calculus and the electromagnetic spectrum outside the novel to have a deeper understanding of these incredible
Too wordy, convoluted approach to explaining math, some interesting math ideas, but not explained very well.
Robyn Arianrhod published her book "Einstein's Heroes" in 2003. Robyn's book captures the magic of mathematics and physics in language easy to understand and full of insight. Her notes and index are great. The book presents the brilliance of James Maxwell, Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Faraday, Ampere, Hertz, and Einstein in the context of their times and in the context of our present day.
The author went back in time and presented elements of the lives of a number of philosophers/mathematicians that enriched my knowledge and understanding of these historical figures, figures who's groundbreaking work made the future development leading to 20th Century breakthroughs in physics possible. My only criticism is the author's style and presentation, too frequently, was such that at times there was not a very smooth transition between time and people, for me.
Very informative and very readable. It establishes the importance of Faraday and Maxwell in the development of modern physics while at the same time, illustrating how modern mathematics became central to this development.
