Feyman's Six Pieces

Six Not-so-easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and Space-time By Richard P Feyman consists of six chapters drawn from his legendary "Lectures on Physics. Some really complex stuff in here and gets heavy at parts but it’s often illustrated by original drawings by the author which help to convey some quite complex theories and certainly help me a lot as I do like visuals to go with lessons. His styles and analogies are now widely copied since first published but still well worth the effort here. The book also discusses the important concept of symmetry in physical laws. It has wonderful analogies that explain difficult ideas, and some mathematical equations for those who want to go one step further from just knowing the theory qualitatively (Though people who are not so sure of mathematics can also skip these without missing any descriptive content). This is a truly great book, something that everyone with an interest in modern physics should possess and enjoy. As you may have guessed, he also published an earlier book (to which Six not so easy pieces succeeds) called Six Easy Pieces: Fundamentals of Physics Explained (funnily enough) and perhaps a good place to start and of course much easier going. Richard Feynman was, until his death in 1988, the most famous physicist in the world. Only an infinitesimal part of the general population could understand his mathematical physics, but his outgoing and sunny personality, his gift for exposition, his habit of playing the bongo drums, and his testimony to the Presidential Commission on the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster turned him into a celebrity. He was often called 'the most original mind of his generation', while in its obituary The New York Tims described him as 'arguably the most brilliant, iconoclastic and influential of the postwar generation of theoretical physicists'. Understandably, given the date of the lectures (talking about 6 easy pieces here), there have been major developments in physics, and science in general, since the lectures were first presented. For instance, the talk on nuclear physics is very out of date because the make-up of protons and neutrons was not understand at that time to the extent that it is now. Likewise, the lecture covering the links between physics and biology pre-dates the discovery of the genetic code. Therefore, it is pointless reading this book to gain an understanding of the latest theories. Nevertheless, not everything has changed in 50 years and some lectures are as relevant today as they were then. For example, the lecture on the conservation of energy was wonderfully presented, especially the section on potential energy where Feynman used illustrated examples to explain the conservation of potential energy in reversible machines. On the other hand, I felt he made heavy weather of his account of the two slit experiment in his lecture on quantum mechanics and I've read much better explanations elsewhere. To a marked extent Feynman did over complicate much of his material but this is to expected since his stated intention was to teach to slightly beyond the level of the brightest students in each class; of course, whether or not this was the best strategy is open to debate. The first couple of chapters do drag a bit but it soon builds up momentum and simulates the old grey cells…the quantum superposition chapter particularly interesting The six chapters are: 1) ATOMS IN MOTION - an excellent overview of the structure and behaviour of atoms, this acts as a good taster for Feynman's down-to-earth approach in communicating facts and ideas with daily language and examples. 2) BASIC PHYSICS - a good run-through of some of the most fundamental principles, both before and after the advent of quantum physics. 3) THE RELATION OF PHYSICS TO OTHER SCIENCES - including chemistry, biology, astronomy, geology and even psychology. This might as well be described as a rapid-fire explanation of the whole world. Never again confuse your atomic nucleus with your cell nucleus. 4) CONSERVATION OF ENERGY - the fundamental principle of how energy can change form. Probably the most difficult chapter for a novice, but a decent introduction nonetheless. 5) THE THEORY OF GRAVITATION - charting the development of the theory of gravity, from Kepler through to Einstein. There's some mathematics here, but provided you pay attention, it's nothing to be scared of. 6) QUANTUM BEHAVIOR - includes a retelling of the double-slit experiment of quantum mechanics - an explanation which, in my view, remains unmatched for its clarity.