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1-Page Summary of Seven Brief Lessons On Physics

Overview

The universe is a fascinating place. We can learn about it from the solar system, galaxies and even the world around us at an atomic level. It’s amazing how much we don’t know about both our planet in the universe as well as its building blocks of life.

Through the eyes of a physicist, we can look at both modern physics and quantum mechanics. Carlo Rovelli guides us through the birth of modern physics and explains what general relativity and quantum mechanics have taught us.

Rovelli also explains why there are no things in the world, but only temporary events. He talks about how space is made up of atoms and what those atoms are like. Rovelli also discusses heat and time as they relate to physics.

Big Idea #1: Einstein’s general theory of relativity arose from one simple but revolutionary idea.

In 1905, Albert Einstein submitted three articles to one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.

Einstein’s papers were all revolutionary in their own way. The first paper was the most important, but it wasn’t as well-known as his second article on special relativity. This theory essentially explains that time is relative to the conditions surrounding us; this became known as Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

If you travel fast enough, time slows down. So if you go on a quick trip around the world at the speed of light, your friend who stood still will have aged more than you did while you were gone.

Einstein’s theory of relativity was a huge discovery, but it conflicted with Newton’s laws. This caused problems for the scientific community and Einstein himself because his theory would have to be revised if he wanted it to gain acceptance.

The vacuum left by the ancient Greeks was filled by British physicist Michael Faraday, who theorized about electromagnetic fields. These new fields were able to transport electrical forces in addition to gravity.

Einstein spent ten years working hard to develop his theory of relativity. He eventually came up with a masterpiece that was both beautiful and elegant.

Einstein’s genius was that he wasn’t satisfied with the idea of an electromagnetic field. He theorized that there must be a gravitational field as well, and it would exist in space itself.

This means that space isn’t flat. It curves around massive objects like planets and stars, which causes a gravitational force to pull things in. Einstein’s work offered an excellent platform for further theories about gravity.

Big Idea #2: Quantum mechanics has puzzled the minds of physicists from the twentieth century till this day.

Physics is based on two things: Einstein’s theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics. However, they have very little in common with each other.

Quantum mechanics is also called quantum theory. It helps us understand what happens when we examine the atomic and subatomic level, where atoms and particles reside. Quantum mechanics has led to significant breakthroughs in computing.

Quantum mechanics is a mysterious field of study that most people don’t understand. It got its official start in 1900 when the German physicist Max Planck was trying to simplify an energy calculation. He decided to represent energy as being in small packets with distinct values, rather than moving along a continuous spectrum. Much to his surprise, his calculations started working much better than expected.

Einstein’s theory of light was proven five years later. He discovered that light is made up of tiny energy packets called photons.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Danish physicist Niels Bohr made a game-changing discovery about electrons. He found that there are limited values of energy for an electron to take on. This amount of energy determines where an electron will orbit around the nucleus in an atom.