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The Character of Physical Law
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
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The Character of Physical Law
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Summary
In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not "how clever we are to have found it out but…how clever nature is to pay attention to it" and steers his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws. Rather than an essay on the most significant achievements in modern science, The Character of Physical Law is a statement of what is most remarkable in nature. Feynman’s enlightened approach, his wit, and his enthusiasm make this a memorable exposition of the scientist’s craft. The law of gravitation is the author’s principal example. Relating the details of its discovery and stressing its mathematical character, he uses it to demonstrate the essential interaction of mathematics and physics. He views mathematics as the key to any system of scientific laws, suggesting that if it were possible to fill out the structure of scientific theory completely, the result would be an integrated set of mathematical axioms. The principles of conservation, symmetry, and time irreversibility are then considered in relation to developments in classical and modern physics, and in his final lecture, Feynman develops his own analysis of the process and future of scientific discovery.
Like any set of oral reflections, The Character of Physical Law has special value as a demonstration of the mind in action. The reader is particularly lucky in Richard Feynman - one of the most eminent and imaginative modern physicists.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-01-22
Excellent narration and book
Book needs no introduction. Feynman needs no introduction. Topics were covered flawlessly. Must listen for anyone going into maths/physics/engineering. Only drawback is it does not come with pdf of figures and tables referenced in audiobook. So I bought a hardcopy because it was that good.
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- Kaloyan Kirilov
- 25-12-21
Great book, no pdf...
Great book, although, It is a pity that there is no pdf file accompanying it. Some several formulas and diagrams have been explained, and without the visual, it is hard to follow especially if you are not acquainted with physics.
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1 person found this helpful
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- RL
- 03-09-22
Very enjoyable
A very good summary with some clever insights which anyone can enjoy. He really was a class act
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- LC
- 23-08-21
Very enjoyable and educational
I really enjoyed this one, as with other Feynman books. Although I was already familiar with most of the physics being described, the way it was described in relation to ways of thinking about physical laws and finding new ones helped expand my thinking.
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- Prometheus
- 12-02-22
Richard Feynman: Gateway drug for Physics
Every time I read something by Richard Feynman, it tweaks my perspective on things I thought I had a good handle on. In his own inimitable style, this time it was the nature of wave particle duality and 4th (and higher) dimensional planes. Not bad for a book aimed at laymen, like myself.
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- Mike
- 12-08-22
Excellent.
A great book on science, experiment and physical law, more than just scratches the surface, and I for one am grateful to be living in a time when we humans don't know very much, it is worth a second listen!
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- Billy the squid
- 10-08-23
He needs a biopic: ‘A Few Fine Men’
Required listening for anyone at all interested in physics, or in science in general. Pick it up.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-09-21
typical Feynmen
a beautifully elegant outlook on our reality with typical bluntness. Not once dies the author beat around the bush regarding his views on superstition and the fundamental facts of nature.
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- Brian Ardill
- 20-04-20
Excellent. Feynman has a real art in explaining.
Feynman is great in making difficult concepts understandable to the layman without trivialising them.
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- Mairi Deighan
- 05-02-22
Fascinating
The narrator has a great delivery for the subject matter. Sounded like a wise scientist. The principles are explained so well to give a good understanding of important science. I wonder what he'd think of advances now fifty years after this book. You need to be fairly comfortable with science and willing to try picture the graphs he refers to but it doesn't greatly disadvantage the reader not to see them. Some concepts need you to pause and reflect. I really enjoyed going back to stuff I studied a few decades ago.
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