Six Easy Pieces

Richard P. Feynman (19181988) was widely recognized as the most creative physicist of the postWorld War II period. His career was extraordinarily expansive. From his contributions to the development of the atomic bomb a Los Alamos during World War II to his work in quantum electrodynamics, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965, Feynman was celebrated for his brilliant and irreverent approach to physics.It was Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 19611963, Feynman, at the California Institute of Technology, delivered a series of lectures that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world.Six Easy Pieces,taken from the famousLectures on Physics,represents the most accessible material from this series. In these six chapters, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, the relationship of physics to other topics, energy, gravitation, and quantum force. With his dazzling and inimitable wit, Feynman presents each discussion without equations or technical jargon.Readers will remember howusing ice water and rubberFeynman demonstrated with stunning simplicity to a nationally televised audience the physics of the 1986 Challenger disaster. It is precisely this abilitythe clear and direct illustration of complex theoriesthat made Richard Feynman one of the most distinguished educators in the world. Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations,Six Easy Piecesis the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible scientists of our time.