Physics in blind alleys / Juraj Tekel
Juraj Tekel, from the Department of theoretical physics of the Faculty of mathematics, physics and informatics CU in Bratislava, describes in his popular science book the history of the most important events and discoveries in physics. However, he does not choose the standard approach and rather spends time also with ideas and versions which turned out to be incorrect.
Our understanding of the laws of nature made huge progress in more than two millennia and we have made it remarkably far. However, the route was far from straightforward, and very often our understanding of the world around us got stuck or took a wrong turn. But such situations are not failures of the researchers. They are a natural and integral part of any progress and instances, where the obvious solution to a problem is also the correct one, are more of an exception. The book looks at several of such moments in the history of physics, explains how and why did physics get to a blind alley, and what helped us find our way out. And it concludes with two problems where we are finding the way out of blind alleys today.
Apart from the history of physics, by reading the book, you can learn also a bit of physics itself. Or see your older knowledge in a new light and new contexts, thanks to the different scope the book offers.
This publication was made possible thanks to the support of The European Regional Development Fund. It can be downloaded in several electronic formats (in Slovak) at the website https://vedanadosah.cvtisr.sk/publikacie/fyzika-v-slepych-ulickach/.
Publisher: Centrum vedecko-technických informácií Slovenskej republiky
ISBN: 978-80-8115-314-3
Year: 2021