- Paperback: 202 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press; Revised Edition with Foreword edition (26 Mar 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521447712
- ISBN-13: 978-0521447713
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
325,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #69 in Books > Science & Nature > Education > Higher Education > Physics > Atomic & Molecular
- See Complete Table of Contents
Mr Tompkins in Paperback
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Not only entertaining; the ordinary reader can learn from it a great deal about sub-atomic particles, electrons, neutrons and the rest, and the strange rules which govern their behaviour.' The Observer
'Will vastly fascinate the whimsical, and is also entirely scientific.' Scientific American
'Enthusiastically recommended to both scientific and general readers.' The Guardian
'Will vastly fascinate the whimsical, and is also entirely scientific.' Scientific American
'Enthusiastically recommended to both scientific and general readers.' The Guardian
Product Description
Mr Tompkins has become known and loved by many thousands of readers (since his first appearance over fifty years ago) as the bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. George Gamow's classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, from atomic structure to relativity, and quantum theory to fusion and fission. Roger Penrose's new foreword introduces Mr Tompkins to a new generation of readers, and reviews his adventures in the light of current developments in physics today.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
It was a bank holiday, and Mr Tompkins, the little clerk of a big city bank, slept late and had a leisurely breakfast. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was a bank holiday, and Mr Tompkins, the little clerk of a big city bank, slept late and had a leisurely breakfast. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic returns,
By nick@kclweb.com (Poole Dorset) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mr Tompkins in Paperback (Canto) (Paperback)
I read this first while doing a Physics degree in the 70's. I was impressed that such a great scientist as George Gamow could translate the complex and inside out worlds of relativity and quantum mechanics to Joe Public in such a clear and humorous way. By slowing down the speed of light to about 100 mph, he shows what would happen to the travellers and viewers of people who ride bikes and trains, and how that by living in such a weird place the uncommon becomes a way of life. Moving on to tunnelling ( a field in which Gamow achieve Nobel status) he agian shows that the seemingly impossible only remains so to those who refuse to see. Thanks George!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A popular science classic,
By Cito "Dr. Cito" (Seville, Spain) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mr Tompkins in Paperback (Canto) (Paperback)
Gamow wrote this book out of some articles he published over 50 years ago. The basic facts of modern physics are presented through the explanations that an Einstein-looking old professor gives to a bank clerk. The dreams, nightmares and reveries of this clerk introduce you in the realms of the relativity or take you to a wild journey among quantum creatures.There is also a revised version (The New World of Mr Tompkins) that incorporates discoveries made since the original work was published. Easily readable by the general public this though-provoking book remains fresh and enjoyable.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pearl!,
By Palle E T Jorgensen "Palle Jorgensen" (Iowa City, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Mr Tompkins in Paperback (Canto) (Paperback)
A lovely reprinted edition of a peral from Gamow. The original edition has been out of print for a number of years. This 1993 edition has added commentary and a fascinating bio of Gamow. He was born in Odessa, in what was then Russia, --before the Soviet Union. The story of his escape to the West is straight out of a thriller. Only it is real! Gamow was referred to by a journalist, some time during the Cold War, as "the only scientist in America with a real sense of humor". He can take the most technical stuff and make it simple. Fun too! The book:--Intellectual treats, whimsy, but deep. Illustrated with lovely drawings by Gamow himself. Much of it can be understood by a child, and other parts might require a little concentration. All of it is great fun. The author Gamow started in nuclear physics, during the Golden Age of Physics, worked with Niels Bohr, then later in the US, on the Manhattan Project during WWII, and after the war, he was professor in Boulder Colorado. He has a building on campus named after him! The books he wrote are pearls, and they have been equally popular with my parent's generation as with mine. Luckely some have been reprinted! Other Gamow titles: Biography of Physics, Atomic Energy [dedicated to the hope of lasting peace], Physics of the Strapless Evning Gown,...We are lucky that Dover has reprinted some of them. Gamow's list of scientific accomplishments includes a 1948 landmark paper on the origin of chemical elements, the Big Bang model, and later work with F. Crick on DNA and genetic coding.-- Do more Gamow editions, Dover!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
