Imprint
- Abacus
- Little, Brown
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity
Pedro G. Ferreira
Prose: non-fiction, History of science, Popular science, Astrophysics
An engaging popular history of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, taking in the sheer magnificence of its discovery, as well as the infighting that the theory sparked across a century.
Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is possibly the most perfect intellectual achievement in modern physics. Anything that involves gravity, the force that powers everything on the largest, hottest or densest of scales, can be explained by it.
From the moment Einstein first proposed the theory in 1915, it was received with enthusiasm yet also with tremendous resistance, and for the following ninety years was the source of a series of feuds, vendettas, ideological battles and persecutions featuring a colourful cast of characters.
A gripping, vividly told story, A PERFECT THEORY entangles itself with the flashpoints of modern history and is the first complete popular history of the theory, showing how it has informed our understanding of exactly what the universe is made of and how much is still undiscovered: from the work of the giant telescopes in the deserts of Chile to our newest ideas about black holes and the Large Hadron Collider deep under French and Swiss soil.
Praise for The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity
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You couldn't ask for a better guide to the outer reaches of the universe and the inner workings of the minds of those who've navigated it. - Marcus du Sautoy, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford and author of The Music of the Primes
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Einstein's beautiful theory is almost a century old, and its ramifications have stimulated a crescendo of discovery ever since. It is now, more than ever, one of the liveliest frontiers of science. Pedro G. Ferreira describes, accessibly and non-technically, how the key breakthroughs have been made, and the personalities who made them. Even readers with zero scientific background will enjoy this finely written survey of one of the greatest of recent scientific endeavours, and get a real feel for the social and human aspects of science. - Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
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Pedro G. Ferreira's The Perfect Theory is especially welcome. It provides us with an enthralling account of the ideas and personalities of those who were involved. - Sir Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College
Pedro G. Ferreira
Raised in Portugal and Britain, Pedro G. Ferreira arrived at Oxford University in 2000, by way of London, Berkeley and CERN. For over twenty-five years he has worked on the frontline of general relativity and cosmology research. Now forty-five, he is Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University.
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