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The Prism and the Pendulum: The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments in Science by Robert P. Crease
jasonfurman's review
5.0
An excellent book, it effectively uses the ten experiments to illustrate a set of broader ideas in the philosophy of science through a series of interludes. In this way it dried to draw a broader set of lessons than George Johnson's "The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments." And to tell less of a human story than Johnson's book.
It is remarkable that two books that share a title/subtitle had so few overlapping experiments. Maybe they both should have dropped the adjective "most," resting only on the unambiguously true claim that they're about beautiful experiments. Or maybe the Crease books should have added the qualifier "physics," the field that essentially all of his experiments are drawn from.
It is remarkable that two books that share a title/subtitle had so few overlapping experiments. Maybe they both should have dropped the adjective "most," resting only on the unambiguously true claim that they're about beautiful experiments. Or maybe the Crease books should have added the qualifier "physics," the field that essentially all of his experiments are drawn from.
brashtech's review
4.0
The most beautiful experiments in science are all physics and astronomy experiments! Coincidence? I think not! :)
As a physicist, I enjoyed the book very much, though I can't comment on how accessible it would be to the layman. This book would make a great basis for an undergraduate course for physics majors or for non-majors, as many of the experiments could be easily reproduced in the classroom, and they raise a lot of important issues about the nature of science, of experiment, and of reality.
I was most fascinated by the chapter on Millikan's Oil Drop experiment. I performed this experiment as an undergraduate physics major, nearly going blind from squinting at dim little globules of light, throwing my back out of whack for a week because I had to hunch over to see through the awkwardly-positioned microscope, and getting lousy results—I think I found the mass of the electron to be 2.5 times the actual value. More interesting than the description of the experiment itself is The Prism and the Pendulum's discussion of how Millikan selected and represented his data. Is it ethical to discard data that you feel are clearly out of line due to faults in your instrument or your experimental setup? Sure. Is it okay to do so without making mention of it in your paper? I don't think so. Is it okay to discard data and then claim that you used all the data you collected in order to avoid criticism by rival camps? Not by my standards, though Crease defends Millikan's choice to do just that.
Definitely a good read for someone interested in physics or the process of science.
As a physicist, I enjoyed the book very much, though I can't comment on how accessible it would be to the layman. This book would make a great basis for an undergraduate course for physics majors or for non-majors, as many of the experiments could be easily reproduced in the classroom, and they raise a lot of important issues about the nature of science, of experiment, and of reality.
I was most fascinated by the chapter on Millikan's Oil Drop experiment. I performed this experiment as an undergraduate physics major, nearly going blind from squinting at dim little globules of light, throwing my back out of whack for a week because I had to hunch over to see through the awkwardly-positioned microscope, and getting lousy results—I think I found the mass of the electron to be 2.5 times the actual value. More interesting than the description of the experiment itself is The Prism and the Pendulum's discussion of how Millikan selected and represented his data. Is it ethical to discard data that you feel are clearly out of line due to faults in your instrument or your experimental setup? Sure. Is it okay to do so without making mention of it in your paper? I don't think so. Is it okay to discard data and then claim that you used all the data you collected in order to avoid criticism by rival camps? Not by my standards, though Crease defends Millikan's choice to do just that.
Definitely a good read for someone interested in physics or the process of science.