Great ideas in physics / Alan Lightman.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1 The conservation of energy: conservation laws; gravitational energy; kinetic energy; units of length; conservation and human freedom; heat energy; the conservation of energy and limited lifetime of the world; reactions to possible violations of the conservation of energy. Part 2 The second law of thermodynamics: reversible and irreversible phenomena; states of a system and probabilty of configurations; mechanical energy and heat; the irrevesible flow of heat; doing work with heat; entropy and order; resistance to the implications of the second law; the second law applied to human society; the second law used to refute the theory of evolution. Part 3 The relativity of time: relativity in brief; science leading to the theory of relativity; the theory of relativity; abolition of absolute space and time; Einstein's approach to science; the influence of the theory of relativity on literature; relativity and sculpture. Part 4 The wave-particle duality of nature (quantum theory): waves; the photoelectric effect; the double-slit expermiment; the role of the observer and the nature of reality; quantum physics and language; the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the demise of determinism in science; determinism, causality and choice in the quantum world.