BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory Paperback - 1985

by George Gamow

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

"Dr. Gamow, physicist and gifted writer, has sketched an intriguing portrait of the scientists and clashing ideas that made the quantum revolution." -- Christian Science Monitor
In 1900, German physicist Max Planck postulated that light, or radiant energy, can exist only in the form of discrete packages or quanta. This profound insight, along with Einstein's equally momentous theories of relativity, completely revolutionized man's view of matter, energy, and the nature of physics itself.
In this lucid layman's introduction to quantum theory, an eminent physicist and noted popularizer of science traces the development of quantum theory from the turn of the century to about 1930 -- from Planck's seminal concept (still developing) to anti-particles, mesons, and Enrico Fermi's nuclear research. Gamow was not just a spectator at the theoretical breakthroughs which fundamentally altered our view of the universe, he was an active participant who made important contributions of his own. This "insider's" vantage point lends special validity to his careful, accessible explanations of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, Niels Bohr's model of the atom, the pilot waves of Louis de Broglie and other path-breaking ideas.
In addition, Gamow recounts a wealth of revealing personal anecdotes which give a warm human dimension to many giants of 20th-century physics. He ends the book with the Blegdamsvej Faust, a delightful play written in 1932 by Niels Bohr's students and colleagues to satirize the epochal developments that were revolutionizing physics. This celebrated play is available only in this volume.
Written in a clear, lively style, and enhanced by 12 photographs (including candid shots of Rutherford, Bohr, Pauli, Heisenberg, Fermi, and others), Thirty Years that Shook Physics offers both scientists and laymen a highly readable introduction to the brilliant conceptions that helped unlock many secrets of energy and matter and laid the groundwork for future discoveries.

Details

  • Title Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
  • Author George Gamow
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 272
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dover Publications, New York
  • Publication date 1985-07-01
  • ISBN 9780486248950 / 048624895X
  • Weight 0.65 lbs (0.29 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.48 x 5.42 x 0.54 in (21.54 x 13.77 x 1.37 cm)
  • Category Science
  • Library of Congress subjects Quantum theory, Physics - History
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 85006797
  • Dewey Decimal Code 530.120

About the author

Modern Science Made Easy
By one of the leading physicists of the twentieth century, George Gamow's One, Two, Three...Infinity is one of the most memorable popular books on physics, mathematics, and science generally ever written, famous for having, directly or indirectly, launched the academic and/or scientific careers of many young people whose first real encounter with the wonders and mysteries of mathematics and science was through reading this book as a teenager. Untypically for popular science books, this one is enhanced by the author's own delightful sketches. Reviewers were enthusiastic when One, Two, Three...Infinity was published in 1947.

In the Author's Own Words:
"If and when all the laws governing physical phenomena are finally discovered, and all the empirical constants occurring in these laws are finally expressed through the four independent basic constants, we will be able to say that physical science has reached its end, that no excitement is left in further explorations, and that all that remains to a physicist is either tedious work on minor details or the self-educational study and adoration of the magnificence of the completed system. At that stage physical science will enter from the epoch of Columbus and Magellan into the epoch of the National Geographic Magazine!" -- George Gamow

Critical Acclaim for One, Two, Three...Infinity:
"This skillful presentation is for the non-professional and professional scientist. It will broaden the knowledge of each and give the imagination wide play." -- Chemistry and Engineering News

"A stimulating and provocative book for the science-minded layman." -- Kirkus Reviews

"This is a layman's book as readable as a historical novel, but every chapter bears the solid imprint of authoritative research." -- San Francisco Chronice

"George Gamow succeeds where others fail because of his remarkable ability to combine technical accuracy, choice of material, dignity of expression, and readability." -- Saturday Review of Literature

Back to top↑

More Copies for Sale

Show all copies
Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

by Gamow, George

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895x
Quantity available
1
Seller
More Than Words Inc.
Item price
A$3.65
A$4.38 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications. Used - Good. . . All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$3.65
A$4.38 Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of the Quantum Theory. [paperback].
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of the Quantum Theory. [paperback].

by Gamow, George.

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
VG. Former high school library copy Discard. Covers have library markings but text is clean/tight/crisp. NO names or writings. A
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
Booktopia
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$7.30
A$7.30 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
New York. Dover. Copyright 1966 (1985). PAPERBACK. (5.25 x 8.5 inches).. VG. Former high school library copy Discard. Covers have library markings but text is clean/tight/crisp. NO names or writings. A VG+ reading/study copy. Small Octavo. Illustrated in b&w: photographs, formulas, graphs, figures. Line drawings by the author. xiv. + 224 pages + Dover book catalog. Index. Unabridged REPRINT of the 1966 Doubleday edition.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$7.30
A$7.30 Delivery to USA
Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Very Good - Cash
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
The Book Garden
Item price
A$8.03
A$8.39 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, July 1985. Trade Paperback. Very Good - Cash. Minor rubbing and edge wear to cover, with light reader wear to pages. Still great condition. Stock photos may not look exactly like the book.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$8.03
A$8.39 Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
4
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, Incorporated, 1985. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, Incorporated, 1985. Paperback. Acceptable. Disclaimer:A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. An ex-library book and may have standard library stamps and/or stickers. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, Incorporated, 1985. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.47
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

by George Gamow

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
8
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.52
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, Incorporated, 1985. Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.52
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

by Gamow, George

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used
Edition
Reprint
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
Ergodebooks
Item price
A$13.44
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover, 1985-07-01. Reprint. paperback. Used: Good. 5.25x0.50x8.75. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$13.44
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

by Gamow, George

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895X
Quantity available
1
Seller
Ausvora INC
Item price
A$14.96
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications. paperback. Good. 9.5X6.5X1.5. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$14.96
Free Delivery to USA
Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory
Stock photo: cover may vary

Thirty Years That Shook Physics : The Story of Quantum Theory

by Gamow, George

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780486248950 / 048624895x
Quantity available
2
Seller
Better World Books
Item price
A$17.96
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Dover Publications, Incorporated. Used - Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$17.96
Free Delivery to USA
Show all copies
Back to top↑

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.