The New World of Mr Tompkins: George Gamow's Classic Mr Tompkins in Paperback / Edition 2

by George Gamow, Russell Stannard, Michael Edwards, Wu Bozhe

Overview

Mr. Tompkins is back! The mild-mannered bank clerk with the short attention span and vivid imagination has inspired, charmed, and informed young and old alike since the publication of the hugely successful Mr Tompkins in Paperback (by George Gamow) in 1965. Now, this highly affable character returns to embark on a set of adventures that explore the extreme edges of the universe—the smallest, the largest, the fastest, and the farthest. Just by following the experiences and dreams of Mr. Tompkins, readers discover and come to know the merry dance of cosmic mysteries, including: Einstein's theory of relativity, bizarre effects near light-speed, the birth and death of the universe, black holes, quarks, space warps and antimatter, the fuzzy world of the quantum, and that ultimate cosmic mystery—love. The story of Mr. Tompkins' journey to the frontiers of modern physics will delight and inform all readers. Russell Stannard is a best-selling popular science writer and the author of the critically acclaimed Uncle Albert series of science books for children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521630092
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/16/1999
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.79(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

George Gamow (1904 to 1968) was not only one of the most influential physicists of the twentieth century (one of the founders of the Big Bang theory) but was also a master at science popularisation. Of his many popular books, the best known is Mr Tompkins in Paperback (1965).

Russell Stannard has established a reputation as one of the most gifted popularisers of science through numerous media appearances and projects, and in particular for his Uncle Albert Trilogy (The Time and Space of Uncle Albert, Black Holes and Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest), which covers the work of Albert Einstein and quantum theory in a way that is accessible to children of 11+. These books have enjoyed much success and critical acclaim, being translated into 15 languages, shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc non-fiction Book Prizes, the Whitbread Children's Novel of the Year, and the American Science Writing Award.

Table of Contents

Revisor's foreword; Gamow's preface; 1. City speed limit; 2. The professor's lecture on relativity which caused Mr Tompkins' dream; 3. Mr Tompkins takes a holiday; 4. Notes of the professor's lecture on curved space; 5. Mr Tompkins visits a closed universe; 6. Cosmic opera; 7. Black holes, heat death and blow torch; 8. Quantum snooker; 9. The quantum safari; 10. Maxwell's demon; 11. The merry tribe of electrons; 11.1/2. The remainder of the previous lecture through which Mr Tompkins dozed; 12. Inside the nucleus; 13. The woodcarver; 14. Holes in nothing; 15. Visiting the 'atom smasher'; 16. The professor's last lecture; 17. Epilogue.

Editorial Reviews

The New World of Mr. Tompkins is a lovely book which I am sure everyone interested in modern physics, from the age of 11 upwards wil enjoy enormously.
— Nature

Anton Zeilinger

"[Mr. Tompkins's] adventures and mishaps illuminate in startling fashion the oddities of relativity and quantum theory. Much loved by physics students a generation ago, Mr. Tompkins now embarks on some new escapades, courtesy of coauthor Stannard, who updated the original tales and added illustrations in Gamow's appealingly simple style." Science News

"This revision makes Mr Tompkins not only more accessible to the present generation of both scientists and nonscientists, but more in tune with current science and sensibilities." Science Books and Films

"The best just got better....It is absolutely the best place to get a feel for the most important scientific ideas of the 20th century. It is also a perfect way to get to visual grips with relativity theory and quantum mechanics." The Independent

"The real measure of Stannard is that the new material is covered comprehensibily and in a style that matches the original." The Times Higher Education Supplement

"The best just got better...It is absolutely the best place to get a feel for the most important scientific ideas of the 20th century. It is also a perfect way to get to visual grips with relativity theory and quantum mechanics." The Independent

"The reader will get both entertainment and plenty of information about modern physics." Scientific American

"...a lovely book which I am sure everyone interested in modern physics, from the age of eleven upwards, will enjoy enormously." Nature

"If newcomers who have not seen the original read the book, they will find a charming, whimsical introduction to modern physics...The New World...is a unique book." Physics Today

From the Publisher