David Lindley (physicist)
David Lindley (born 1956) is a theoretical physicist and author. He holds a PhD from the University of Sussex and has worked at Cambridge University and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He was an editor at Nature, Science, and Science News.
Lindley is known for writing entertaining scientific texts that show not only great knowledge of physics, but also a wit and understanding of what the layman can grasp. Most of his books explain the scientific theories through the use of a scientist's biography or an historical account of disagreement amongst scientists.
In The End of Physics, Lindley challenged the assumption that string theorists might achieve a unified theory. He contended that particle physics was in danger of becoming a branch of aesthetics, since these theories could be validated only by subjective criteria, such as elegance and beauty, rather than through experimentation.[1]
Selected books
- Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science, Doubleday (2007), ISBN 0-385-51506-5
- Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy, Joseph Henry Press (2005), ISBN 0-309-09073-3
- Boltzmann's Atom: The Great Debate That Launched A Revolution In Physics, Free Press (2001), ISBN 0-684-85186-5
- Where Does the Weirdness Go: Why Quantum Mechanics is Strange, But not as Strange as You Think, Basic Books (1996), ISBN 0-465-06785-9
- The End of Physics: The Myth of a Unified Theory, Basic Books (1993), ISBN 0-465-01548-4
References
- ↑ John Horgan, The End of Science (1996) p. 70
External links
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