Galileo's Finger: The Ten Great Ideas of Science

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003. First Edition. Softcover. Very Good Condition. Third impression of the First Edition. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 388 pages. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. No foxing in this copy. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. This book is available and will be shipped from our Australian address within two business days. In this brilliant account of the central ideas of contemporary science, Peter Atkins celebrates the effectiveness of Galileo's symbolic finger for revealing the nature of our universe, our world, and ourselves. Galileo's Finger takes the reader on an extraordinary journey that embraces the ten central ideas of current science. "By a great idea," writes Peter Atkins, "I mean a simple concept of great reach, an acorn of an idea that ramifies into a great oak tree of application, a spider of an idea that can spin a great web and draw in a feast of explanation and elucidation." With wit, charm, and patience, Atkins leads the reader to an understanding of the essence of the whole of science, from evolution and the emergence of complexity, to entropy, the spring of all change in the universe; from energy, the universalization of accountancy, to symmetry, the quantification of beauty; and from cosmology, the globalization of reality, to spacetime, the arena of all action. "My intention is for us to travel to the high ridges of science," Atkins tells us. "As the journey progresses and I lead you carefully to the summit of understanding, you will experience the deep joy of illumination that science alone provides." Galileo's Finger breaks new ground in communicating science to the general reader. Here are the essential ideas of today's science, explained in magical prose. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Science & Technology; ISBN: 0198609418. ISBN/EAN: 9780198609414. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 4924. . 9780198609414