Table of Contents

Copernican Astronomy. Newtonian Mechanics and Causality. The Energy Concept. Entropy and Probability. Electromagnetism and Reality. Quantum Theory and the End of Causality. Conservation Principles and Symmetries. Epilogue. Index.

Reviews

YA A nontechnical discussion of the major aspects of physics, this is a revised edition of a college text intended for liberal arts majors. The ``seven ideas'' include: Copernican astronomy, Newtonian mechanics, the energy concept, entropy and probability, relativity, quantun theory, and conservation principles and symmetries. In the first two sections Spielberg and Anderson give an exciting historical account of the events that gave rise to what is now known as classical physics. They make readers understand the importance of the work of such men as Kepler, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and others. The authors also do a fairly good job of making readers understand the excitement in the new physics of today (quarks, leptons, the color force, etc.). The ideas of relativity and quantum physics are not as vividly presented, but on the whole, the book succeeds in providing a descriptive lesson on the ``history of physics.'' High-school physics and chemistry students, as well as teachers, should find the book useful as a reference. Robyn Schuster, Episcopal High School , Bellaire