The Many Voices of Modern Physics: Written Communication Practices of Key Discoveries

The Many Voices of Modern Physics explores how physicists communicate with each other and the general public, focusing on thought experiments, analogies, visuals, and equations to convince others of their discoveries' significance. The book includes a chorus of voices from celebrated physicists, science journalists, and philosophers, paying tribute to the communicative practices of physicists who have convinced their peers and the public that the universe is more bizarre and interesting than imagined.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 07 March 2023
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

The Many Voices of Modern Physics delves into a transformative era that commenced in 1905, with the publication of groundbreaking papers by Albert Einstein on special relativity and quantum theory. This revolutionary physics, in stark contrast to Newtonian physics, frequently strays far from common sense, presenting a distinct communication challenge for physicists when writing for fellow physicists, the general public, journalists, and popular science writers alike. Throughout their illustrious careers, Joseph Harmon and the late Alan Gross have extensively explored the dynamics of scientific communication, focusing specifically on the realm of modern physics. Rather than dwelling on the historical aspects of modern physics, they center their attention on the art of communication itself. In their comprehensive survey of physics communications and related persuasive practices, Harmon and Gross traverse the peaks of scientific achievement, reminiscing about the ways in which physicists employ various communicative tools, including thought experiments, analogies, visualizations, and equations, to persuade others of the truth and significance of their discoveries. Each chapter resonates with a chorus of voices, encompassing esteemed physicists who have dedicated considerable time and ingenuity to disseminating their findings, science journalists who have made those discoveries accessible to the broader public, as well as philosophers, sociologists, historians, an opera composer, and a patent lawyer. Through their final collaboration, Harmon and Gross pay tribute to the communicative practices of physicists who have successfully convinced their peers and the general public that the universe is a far more enigmatic and captivating realm than its nineteenth-century predecessors could have imagined.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780822947585