Six Not-So-Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman

'Feynman's lectures are like Mozart's symphonies. The more demanding they are, the more exhilarating the result. Hearing the Master's voice and rereading these magnificent lectures is one of the great rewards for being scientifically literate at the end of the twentieth century.' David L. Goodstein 

These SIX NOT-SO-EASY PIECES are drawn from Feynman's celebrated introductory course of lectures on physics. They delve into the most revolutionary discovery of twentieth-century physics: Einstein's theory of relativity.

'In these lectures everything you've ever heard about Feynman's wit and genius comes true.' John Horgan

Six Not-So-Easy Pieces makes learning physics a joyful experience!

Richard P. Feynman was more than a Nobel Prize-winning physicist; he was a prankster, a wit, and one of the greatest science teachers of all time.

In this second collection of his Caltech lectures, he brings the difficult, anti-intuitive theories of Einstein down to earth for the science student and science-conscious layperson.

When it comes to explaining science, nobody does it better than Feynman. Or the Alleyn's School Physics Department...

About the Author

'This is the stuff of A-level Physics and beyond. Happy, happy days. I'm excited just thinking about it!' Miss Ottey

Richard P. Feynman was one of this century's most brilliant and original thinkers.

He taught at Cornell and the California Institute of Technology and received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in quantum electrodynamics. He was born in 1918 in Brooklyn; in 1942 he received his Ph.D. from Princeton.

Already displaying his brilliance, Feynman played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb through his work in the Manhattan Project.  In 1945 he became a physics teacher at Cornell University, and in 1950 he became a professor at the California Institute of Technology.  He, along with Sin-Itero and Julian Schwinger, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his work in the field of quantum electrodynamics.

Another great achievement of Dr. Feynman’s was the creation of a mathematical theory that accounts for the phenomenon of super fluidity in liquid helium.  Along with Murray Gell-Mann, Feynman did fundamental work with weak interactions like beta decay.  Years later, Dr. Feynman was an important part of the development of quark theory by putting forward his parton model of high-energy proton collision processes. 

Furthermore, Dr. Feynman introduced new computational techniques and notations into physics, most importantly, the Feynman diagrams that perhaps more than any formality in recent scientific history, have altered how basic processes of physics are calculated and conceptualized. Feynman was considered a superb teacher, and received many awards and honors, the one he admired most being the Oersted Medal for Teaching, which was awarded to him in 1972.  Critics and fellow scientists around the world held many of his publications in high esteem, and his some of his works were written for the general public, so that all people might have an opportunity to grasp the basic concepts of physics.  His more advanced writings have become important assets to researchers and students; some of his works have even made their way into textbooks.

Another of his most famous contributions is his work in the Challenger investigation when it crashed in 1986.  His notorious demonstration of the O-rings to cold was during this research, an experiment that required no more than a glass of ice water.  However, less known to the public was Feynman’s efforts on the California State Curriculum Committee in the 1960’s when he fought against the mediocrity of current textbooks. Richard Feynman died on February 15, 1988, in Los Angeles. 

To find out more about the author click here to go to the site dedicated to furthering his work...

In this fun and informative video archive of the BBC television program Horizon, we see physicist Richard Feynman's quick, sharp wit, his devotion to his work, and his unwillingness to bow to social pressure or convention.

Feynman's work lives on in quantum physics, computer design, and nanotechnology; like any great scientist, he asked more questions than he answered, to give future generations the pleasure of finding things out.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (1 of 5) by theobservereffect