A distinguished physicist and teacher, George Gamow also possessed a special gift for explaining the intricacies of science. Here he takes an enlightening look at three scientists whose work unlocked many of the mysteries behind the laws of physics: Galileo, the first to examine closely the process ...

A distinguished physicist and teacher, George Gamow also possessed a special gift for explaining the intricacies of science. Here he takes an enlightening look at three scientists whose work unlocked many of the mysteries behind the laws of physics: Galileo, the first to examine closely the process of free and restricted fall; Newton, originator of a universal force; and Einstein, who proposed that gravity is no more than the curvature of the four-dimensional space-time continuum. Most of the book is focused on Newton's ideas, with a concluding chapter on post-Einsteinian speculations concerning the relationship between gravity and other physical phenomena. This remarkably reader-friendly volume is graced with the author's own drawings, both technical and fanciful.