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Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care
- Narrated by: Jeff Forshaw
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
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Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care
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Summary
In one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of The Theory of Relativity in recent years, Professors Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein's most famous equation, exploring the principles of physics through everyday life.
What listeners say about Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 15-04-11
Good but not suited to an audiobook
Whilst far from being an expert physicist I have read a fair bit about relativity and quantum mechanics etc so I was coming to this book looking to get a clearer understanding of the subject matter it deals with. The only problem is that I don't think I'm any clearer now than when I started.
I have no doubt that this is in large part due to the fact I was listening to it as an audiobook rather than reading it so don't want to put the book down too much. The book started off okay but quite quickly descended into multiple equations that I just found impossible to follow in my head which meant that large swathes of the book became impenetrable - and since each section relied on the previous it meant that everything went pear-shaped for me quite early on.
The book is a good attempt to explain how Einstein reached his famous equation but in the end, at least as an audiobook, the ideas just required too much abstract and mathematical thought in order to properly ensure understanding.
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94 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 31-03-11
Relatively easy relativity.
There is no denying that relativity is not a subject that most of us need to understand. I'm not sure if it's something that most of can even begin to understand whether we need to or not. That said 'Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care' goes some way to making sense of the subject for the layman using real life examples and simple mathematical explanations. Read by one of the authors, Professor Jeff Forshaw, the narration is authoritative without patronising the listener. I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did but it was a really good listen and I am happy to give it 5 stars.
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45 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 12-04-11
Good, but some equations on paper would help
Liked it. Some part are heavy but the overall thread is good. The authors strike good balance between informality accessibility and robust science. At no point does it feel dumbed down. The only real downside of an audiobook is lack of diagrams and written equations. A little pdf with the missing bits would be great.
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40 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Mr. S. Hyams
- 30-05-11
Easier than I thought
For the first time I actually understand about time and the observer.
Brilliant book enhanced by the readers accent.
The descriptions work and while the spoken equations get a little confusing - switched off for bits - the overall value of the book is excellent.
Knocks spots of books like "A brief history of time" for ease of understanding.
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32 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Becki
- 18-07-11
Still confused!
Overall I liked it, they do their best to explain the things which are generally out of the everyman's grasp but unfortunately for me, I'm still not quite tall enough! There were some "aha!" moments but the bit I found hardest was listening to the equations. If there's one thing harder than looking at equations, it's hearing them! With a couple more listens though, I might get there, I'll try again once my fried brain has recovered, which should be in 1 year of space time. Or should that be one minute of space-time? You see I still don't get it.....
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26 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- shufflingB
- 17-06-11
Almost, really good attempt, very enjoyable
Audio quality is good and the reading is generally engaging and excellent. The mathematics is not massively difficult (O-Level maybe) but I'd recommend getting the hardcopy as well, as having it in black and white certainly helps understand the niceties. Like most good things it takes a certain amount of effort to achieve, but the pay off of understanding is certainly worth it :-) I'd probably give it 5 five stars for it's valiant attempt at explanation. However the fact that it will not quite pull it off for most folks with out the hard copy and the occasional knocking of others (no matter how daft) points of view, rather than concentrating on it's own narrative mean four stars from me.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 19-07-11
Excellent book, expertly pitched and addictive
This is a great listen, goes at just the right pace and keeps you hanging on for more. The Ionian enchantment really did blow me away. I had goose bumps at one point.
The formulas are lost on the audio listener, but if you have the book in print to back it up, that's a great partnership.
Perfect for the car, just don't drift away on a thought experiment ;-)
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Sean
- 04-05-11
Essential Listening for the Physics Layman
This is a superb book, exceptionally well read and very easy to absorb. It answered pretty much all the questions that have ever irked me about relativity and the Standard Model. It all seems so straightforward now and the fact that mankind's discovery of these processes was derived from seemingly simple thought experiments almost beggars belief.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If, like me, you are a physics layman then you simply have to give this book your attention.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-09-15
Audible chose a terrible section for preview
To but bluntly I'm no science whizz but i enjoy articles on space and quantum physics sad i know. So when i had a 22hour flight to Australia i thought this would be a great book to listen to how wrong i was. I listened as the heading suggests to the whole sample file on audible.com and thought this is a book at my level of understanding and downloaded it. Well somewhere over india the book descended into an utter pile of mumbling out long complex equations that frankly even university students would require written in front of them to get their head around. Frankly haven't listened to the rest of the book only 3.5hours in i don't blame the author i think audible done a really poor job of selecting sample audio files to let you know what the book is like.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Perpetua
- 20-07-15
You don't have to have a science based education to get the gist if this ....
This is exceptionally well written so that it is accessible to the uninitiated. I don't have a science based education and have maths only up to A level, but took it to heart when the authors say in chapter 5, "It is always an option to skim over the equations in search of the punch line. The mathematics makes the argument more convincing but it's okay to keep listening without following the details."
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Roy
- 13-06-11
Needs a few Diagrams
Audio books, in the main, are an effective means of absorbing difficult concepts.
There are however pit-falls. E=MC2 falls into one of them.
This audio version only needs a few diagrams to make it the best tutorial on Relativity.
A complementary web site would lift it from frustratingly incomplete to brilliant.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ian C Robertson
- 30-11-13
Generally Good
It is always hard to know where to make your pitch. This must be true of every non-fiction title, but I expect it is particularly true of physics. One can't get any more iconic than the formula at the heart of this title, but very few of us know what it really means or why it is so important. I got interested in finding out about the time reports were leaking out of CERN about a particle that was faster than light. I thought it was time to turn to Cox and Forshaw for help (again). Of course they supplied the answers, but pitched at a level that was a bit too general for my liking. I was having fun with the maths (now that I don't need to pass exams) and getting into the dimensions they explore in the text when, suddenly I couldn't follow the math myself and I read the dreaded words (or words to the effect of), "take it from me, if you do the maths, this is the result". I wanted to do the maths. So, i ordered the hardcopy from Amazon, hoping it would be filled with lots of nice tables, diagrams and appendices. There are some diagrams, but the detail is omitted. That's fine of course for where the authors pitched the text, but I was a bit disappointed. I of course went out and got Physics for Dummies (or something akin to it), then went onto a text book and now I'm happy and ready to write this review.
The rub is, if you know nothing and are happy with something, then you'll be well pleased with this. If you want to do the math (like me) then it's a beginning, not an ending.
Jeff Forshaw reads the title with interest and is easy to listen to. No problem with the performace, at all.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- serine
- 22-04-16
Superb Introduction to Relativity !
This is a great introduction to understanding how energy has been converted to mass and back into energy, creating every bit of known matter. The first part of the book introduces the reader to the concept of e=mc2, in very simple and easy to understand terms. In the second part of the book, the authors breakdown the equation to teach any curious learner the math behind the equation. Even if you are not interested in breaking down the math, I would still highly recommend this book if you are curious about special or general relativity.
I found the 3rd part of the book to be the most enjoyable. The authors give a fantastic and extremely easy to understand survey of the various types of stars in the universe. Stars are one of my favorite things to read about, and I have read my share of books about them. I would definitely say these authors excelled at explaining the relationship between mass and type of star as well as the forces at work to keep stars active. There is a beautiful dance that exists between the inward pull of gravity and the outward push of fusion and electron repulsion. The way the authors organized this discussion was so simple and beautiful. I think anyone interested in the dynamics of stars would love this book. They did not mention my favorite star, the brown dwarf. That was a tiny bit disappointing.
The final part of the book gave an extremely brief summary of the standard model as well as a summary of some of the particles accelerators and wave detectors. The authors chose not to bog the reader down with the various particles of the standard model. They were more interested in trying to help the reader understand how these particles are at work in e = mc2.
I would definitely recommend this book for someone who is looking for an introduction or a refresher.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 1DrummingAddict
- 30-10-14
Have a pencil and paper handy...
Would you listen to Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care again? Why?
I fully plan to listen to the book again... and again... and again. I have a general understanding of the topic and am not a physicist or mathematician, but I know enough to do the math in this book, I just want to understand it better.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care?
Mathematically changing the unit of measurement from meters per second to the speed of light (c).
What does Jeff Forshaw bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He has a similar accent to Brian Cox and sounds like he REALLY KNOWS this material. It was a pleasure to listen to him through the reading.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made lightbulbs go off over and over again... it was GREAT!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dana
- 10-11-21
A Surprisingly Beautiful, and Deep Presentation
While am still not sure whether I would have presented the material in this audio in this manner, I found chapter 5 extremely insightful! It was well worth the purchase! And, except for a few brief moments, the narration was clear! I would recommend this to anybody seeking a deeper understanding of of E = mc2. Albeit, I would recommend that the listener take notes unless you have a photographic memory, or a much higher level of understanding of physics than myself. I am personally going listen to this book over a few times, and pursue a few other sources, to clarify the systematic presentation of the technical information presented here! Two thumbs up!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-10-17
Wow great explanation wirh a bit or real maths
This book really does help get an understanding of the universe and the equation. It was a great book
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gary A.
- 25-01-23
Amazing book.
I highly recommend this book for those with a curious mind. It makes sense of a subject some may think out of reach to non physicists.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SB
- 13-10-22
Landmark achievement of twentieth century
Apparently Einstein Theory of General Relativity remains a subject quite complex and difficult to understand but this book makes a bold attempt to present the subject in a beautifully simple way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-10-19
best book about special relativity
Galileo's equivalence principle and Light speed should be the same to everyone are the most important keys.
I learned a lot from this book much more than other books. The author reads this audiobook by himself very well!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Xtr33me
- 28-09-18
Absolutely incredible read!
Truly one of my favorite non fictional reads! Bit tough at times math-wise when listening as an audio book but I'll just be revisiting the principles on my PC. Must read for anyone interested in this space!
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