Jennifer Ouellette

Black Bodies and Quantum Cats

Physics is sometimes thought to be a subject which is remote from everyday life, only to be followed by experts. In this book, based on a monthly column in APS news, Jennifer Ouellette shows that this is not the case. The book takes various episodes in the history of physics and describes them in terms which the non-technical reader will understand. - with plenty of references to modern novels and films providing metaphors for the underlying physics. Thus Jurassic Park is used in the explanation of Chaos Theory and Blade Runner in the discussion of Artificial Intelligence. Its a well written book and although the chapters are in chronological order they are independent of each other so its perfectly suited to dipping into whan you feel like a bit of light reading.

On the other hand I don't feel that the book is likely to inspire many people to take up physics - its has more of the flavour of interesting facts about inventions rather than discussion of the physical principles. Also some people might not be that keen on a series of historical anecdotes. But I found plenty to keep my interest, and I felt that Ouelette does well to deal with diverse areas of physics but still maintain the chronological thread - from Leonardo da Vinci in 1509 to the state of string theory in 2003 - without it seeming forced.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 336 pages
ISBN: 0143036033
Salesrank: 99666
Weight:0.6 lbs

Published: 2005 Penguin (Non-Classics)

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 336 pages
ISBN: 0143036033
Salesrank: 813876
Weight:0.6 lbs

Published: 2005 Penguin Books

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 336 pages
ISBN: 0143036033
Salesrank: 333414
Weight:0.6 lbs

Published: 2005 Penguin Paperbacks

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Product Description
Physics, once known as “natural philosophy,” is the most basic science, explaining the world we live in, from the largest scale down to the very, very, very smallest, and our understanding of it has changed over many centuries. In Black Bodies and Quantum Cats, science writer Jennifer Ouellette traces key developments in the field, setting descriptions of the fundamentals of physics in their historical context as well as against a broad cultural backdrop. Newton’s laws are illustrated via the film Addams Family Values, while Back to the Future demonstrates the finer points of special relativity. Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” serves to illuminate the mysterious nature of neutrinos, and Jeanette Winterson’s novel Gut Symmetries provides an elegant metaphorical framework for string theory. An enchanting and edifying read, Black Bodies and Quantum Cats shows that physics is not an arcane field of study but a profoundly human endeavor—and a fundamental part of our everyday world.

Product Description

Physics, once known as “natural philosophy,” is the most basic science, explaining the world we live in, from the largest scale down to the very, very, very smallest, and our understanding of it has changed over many centuries. In Black Bodies and Quantum Cats, science writer Jennifer Ouellette traces key developments in the field, setting descriptions of the fundamentals of physics in their historical context as well as against a broad cultural backdrop. Newton’s laws are illustrated via the film Addams Family Values, while Back to the Future demonstrates the finer points of special relativity. Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” serves to illuminate the mysterious nature of neutrinos, and Jeanette Winterson’s novel Gut Symmetries provides an elegant metaphorical framework for string theory.

An enchanting and edifying read, Black Bodies and Quantum Cats shows that physics is not an arcane field of study but a profoundly human endeavor—and a fundamental part of our everyday world.

Easy read for the average Joe, still interesting for physics buffs! *****
This is a great book that skims the surface of a number of physics topics. The author does a great job explaining each topic in an easy to understand manner, then continues to go more in depth, while still being understandable for the average reader. Being somewhat of a physics buff myself, I found the light heartedness of the book refreshing. Far different than reading Hawking or Greene, but equally as interesting. Don't miss Jen's blog!

Easy read for the average Joe, still interesting for physics buffs! *****

This is a great book that skims the surface of a number of physics topics. The author does a great job explaining each topic in an easy to understand manner, then continues to go more in depth, while still being understandable for the average reader. Being somewhat of a physics buff myself, I found the light heartedness of the book refreshing. Far different than reading Hawking or Greene, but equally as interesting. Don't miss Jen's blog!

Not what i was looking for. *
I have read many scientific publications in my life so when I do read book with a scientific focus I have many standards that I like to have fulfilled(in other words im very anal lol). The only reason that I rate this book as low as I did is only because I was completely expecting a book like Stephen Hawking's, A Breif History of Time (great book by the way!!!) I have taken physics in highschool and in college and I felt that her delivery of many physics concepts were too dumbed down and many fruitful aspects of them were left out for the sake of either complexity or any other reason(cannot think of why else they would be left out lol). I also found that many of the ways she tried to deliver the physics topics were rather questionable and left me with a bitter tase in my mouth. Overall I was dissapointed because I bought the book without doing any backround research on it beforehand. If you are looking for a Physics book like those written by Stephen Hawkings then this isn't the book for you. If you are interested in Physics and have no prior knowlege of the subject then this is the book for you. Sorry for any misspelled words, names, ect.. Ps.. Because i am a biology major I had to add this in...at the end of the second chapter she states that "some textbooks in Alabama still contain a disclaimer stating that evolution is just a "theory""...but i mean evolution IS a theory...its not neccesarily considered a fact even though there is overwhelming evidence in support of it. I believe evolution is true but maybe i'm just misinterpreting what she ment by this statement. To me I thought that it implied that evolution is a fact when in reality it isn't. Evolution as I see it is the best way to decribe life and how it came to be AS OF NOW, (maybe there will be a better theory in the future?)because fact is too strong a word it doesnt leave room for the grey areas....but thats just my opinion. and if I have misunderstood this statement i am truely sorry i just think there is nothing wrong with being a theory lol.

Not what i was looking for. *

I have read many scientific publications in my life so when I do read book with a scientific focus I have many standards that I like to have fulfilled(in other words im very anal lol). The only reason that I rate this book as low as I did is only because I was completely expecting a book like Stephen Hawking's, A Breif History of Time (great book by the way!!!) I have taken physics in highschool and in college and I felt that her delivery of many physics concepts were too dumbed down and many fruitful aspects of them were left out for the sake of either complexity or any other reason(cannot think of why else they would be left out lol). I also found that many of the ways she tried to deliver the physics topics were rather questionable and left me with a bitter tase in my mouth. Overall I was dissapointed because I bought the book without doing any backround research on it beforehand. If you are looking for a Physics book like those written by Stephen Hawkings then this isn't the book for you. If you are interested in Physics and have no prior knowlege of the subject then this is the book for you. Sorry for any misspelled words, names, ect..

Ps.. Because i am a biology major I had to add this in...at the end of the second chapter she states that "some textbooks in Alabama still contain a disclaimer stating that evolution is just a "theory""...but i mean evolution IS a theory...its not neccesarily considered a fact even though there is overwhelming evidence in support of it. I believe evolution is true but maybe i'm just misinterpreting what she ment by this statement. To me I thought that it implied that evolution is a fact when in reality it isn't. Evolution as I see it is the best way to decribe life and how it came to be AS OF NOW, (maybe there will be a better theory in the future?)because fact is too strong a word it doesnt leave room for the grey areas....but thats just my opinion. and if I have misunderstood this statement i am truely sorry i just think there is nothing wrong with being a theory lol.

like sjg, she entices you into an amusing essay *****
Real science made fun.In easy bites, she starts with an anecdote, like SJ Gould and teases you into understanding principles of physics you never thought you coud learn. In an antiscience age, in an antirational age, this is to be cherished Marvin Thalenberg MD

like sjg, she entices you into an amusing essay *****

Real science made fun.In easy bites, she starts with an anecdote, like SJ Gould and teases you into understanding principles of physics you never thought you coud learn. In an antiscience age, in an antirational age, this is to be cherished

Marvin Thalenberg MD

Way more fun than I thought I'd have... *****
I found this a curiously fun sort of read-different from my usual choice of reading entertainment. I don't typically read science books, mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to work at understanding something really technical (many science writers put off the general public by delving too deeply), but hey folks, the author makes the science easy to grasp. And the writing style is witty, light and intelligent. Ouellette has a gift for marrying science, history and storytelling. What's especially appealing is the way the author connects seemingly esoteric science with our everyday life-Reddi-whip (the physics of foam), velcro (biomimicry)-and illuminates the process by which scientists and inventors impact our lives. I loved the references to literature and pop culture that segue into the science or serve as examples of the science in action. There's something for everyone. Science fans will get an enlightening and lively look into the history and people behind the discoveries. Those more interested in history will learn a thing or two about the science (painlessly). And old English majors, like me, will appreciate the storytelling.

Way more fun than I thought I'd have... *****

I found this a curiously fun sort of read-different from my usual choice of reading entertainment. I don't typically read science books, mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to work at understanding something really technical (many science writers put off the general public by delving too deeply), but hey folks, the author makes the science easy to grasp. And the writing style is witty, light and intelligent. Ouellette has a gift for marrying science, history and storytelling.
What's especially appealing is the way the author connects seemingly esoteric science with our everyday life-Reddi-whip (the physics of foam), velcro (biomimicry)-and illuminates the process by which scientists and inventors impact our lives. I loved the references to literature and pop culture that segue into the science or serve as examples of the science in action.
There's something for everyone. Science fans will get an enlightening and lively look into the history and people behind the discoveries. Those more interested in history will learn a thing or two about the science (painlessly). And old English majors, like me, will appreciate the storytelling.

Science Writing for the Masses *****
If Jennifer Ouellette had been writing books like this when I was a kid, she'd have been my favorite explicator of science. Instead, I was reading Isaac Asimov, who was fun and interesting but a scientist himself, with a tendency to focus on minute details that were sometimes a little bewildering to someone just getting her feet wet. Ouellette knows not only how to get her physics-phobic audience's attention, but avoids bogging them down in technicalities. Occasionally, the techniques of writing for a general audience call for the sacrifice of precision in favor of broader generalities, like "rounding off" the technical details of lens grinding, which are best left to a more in-depth discussion of the topic. But as a non-scientist who's been reading science writing for the last 30 years as well as teaching it at the university level, I can truthfully say that very little is lost in this book. In this case, "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," to quote Mary Poppins. Not too many people are eager to read about physics, whether it's cloaked in pop culture or not, but Ouellette slyly draws you in with doses of the Olsen Twins, the Addams Family, and the DaVinci Code. By the end of the book, you'll catch yourself thinking that maybe physics isn't so terrifying, and certainly not boring. And if you're not getting the nitty-gritty details here, well, you can always go read Richard Feynman, or try plowing through Stephen Hawking. And you're not going to read about flying monks in any of their books.

Science Writing for the Masses *****

If Jennifer Ouellette had been writing books like this when I was a kid, she'd have been my favorite explicator of science. Instead, I was reading Isaac Asimov, who was fun and interesting but a scientist himself, with a tendency to focus on minute details that were sometimes a little bewildering to someone just getting her feet wet. Ouellette knows not only how to get her physics-phobic audience's attention, but avoids bogging them down in technicalities.

Occasionally, the techniques of writing for a general audience call for the sacrifice of precision in favor of broader generalities, like "rounding off" the technical details of lens grinding, which are best left to a more in-depth discussion of the topic. But as a non-scientist who's been reading science writing for the last 30 years as well as teaching it at the university level, I can truthfully say that very little is lost in this book. In this case, "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," to quote Mary Poppins. Not too many people are eager to read about physics, whether it's cloaked in pop culture or not, but Ouellette slyly draws you in with doses of the Olsen Twins, the Addams Family, and the DaVinci Code. By the end of the book, you'll catch yourself thinking that maybe physics isn't so terrifying, and certainly not boring. And if you're not getting the nitty-gritty details here, well, you can always go read Richard Feynman, or try plowing through Stephen Hawking.

And you're not going to read about flying monks in any of their books.