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originalhal's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
A good, lengthy but not unwieldy book that manages the difficult and critical task of making advanced science accessible to the layman. I’d recommend it to anyone with at least a passing interest in science!
angelescibilsb's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved it!
If you're interested in the future of physics, this is the book for you.
If you're interested in the future of physics, this is the book for you.
kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
4.0
Of all the expository discoveries of theoretical physics, I find neutrinos the hardest to conceptualize. Imagine, if you can, a particle that has calculable mass and yet can pass directly through entire planets unhindered and (mostly) unaffected. Neutrinos are so elusive, so hard to detect, that scientists have placed incrediblyy expensive arrays of electronic equipment in the most inhospitable places on earth (e.g. the bottom of the ocean, beneath polar ice, etc.) just to capture minuscule traces of their passing; and yet, about 100 trillion neutrinos pass through your body every second of every day.
The Neutrino Hunters, first published in 2014, is so well written that it should have done for theoretical and experimental physicists what “Indiana Jones” did for archeologists. It didn’t. Unfortunately for science, that was the same year Kanye West and Kim Kardashian got married. Americans, true to form, had other priorities.
“Two things are infinite, as far as we know – the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”*
___________________________________
*NOTE: that quote is commonly attributed to Albert Einstein but it was probably Fritz Perls, a German psychiatrist, who first said it.
The Neutrino Hunters, first published in 2014, is so well written that it should have done for theoretical and experimental physicists what “Indiana Jones” did for archeologists. It didn’t. Unfortunately for science, that was the same year Kanye West and Kim Kardashian got married. Americans, true to form, had other priorities.
“Two things are infinite, as far as we know – the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”*
___________________________________
*NOTE: that quote is commonly attributed to Albert Einstein but it was probably Fritz Perls, a German psychiatrist, who first said it.
iceeckos12's review against another edition
5.0
Giving it five stars because I didn't have any complaints about this book. I found it an enjoyable read.
realreads's review against another edition
5.0
great overview of neutrino science, complete with bits about different scientists throughout the ages.
the glossary in the back is alone worth the price of this book!!
the glossary in the back is alone worth the price of this book!!
kayeofswords's review against another edition
5.0
Having read both Neutrino Hunters by Jayawardhana and Neutrino by Frank Close, I can definitely say that the former is a much better work. The author succinctly discusses the neutrino field, and unlike Close's prose, the text flows well and makes a lot of consistent narrative sense. I thought that the overview of the projects in neutrino physics was very interesting, and I really enjoyed reading this. The science descriptions in either work are good, but again, the reading experience has to be good, too.
madetofly's review against another edition
4.0
This book is essentially the story of our understanding of neutrinos. Various people who were important in helping make new discoveries and learning new things are all included. I think the best way to describe it is that this book is a history of sorts of how we've come to understand what we do about neutrinos. Then there's some science mixed in to help you understand what exactly it is they're discovering as well. That being said, the science in the book is always written about in easy to understand ways. I imagine most people wouldn't have trouble grasping what's in the book, and I'd label the book a history of these discoveries before I would label it a scientific explanation of neutrinos.
I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those things that left me in amazement of the universe, and I love stuff like that. While I had enough of an understanding of neutrinos before that I don't think I learned a ton on the science front in this book (although I'd say I learned some), I had no knowledge of most of the scientists written about in this book. Of the events written about in the book, the only ones that I knew about at all really were the ones that I've lived through. It's fascinating to me to see how we managed to make it to where we are today in our understanding.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the history neutrino hunting and what we still have to learn today. This book is written in a very engaging way, and I think anyone with an interest in the subject would enjoy it.
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
http://hmweasley-blog.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-neutrino-hunters-by-ray.html
I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those things that left me in amazement of the universe, and I love stuff like that. While I had enough of an understanding of neutrinos before that I don't think I learned a ton on the science front in this book (although I'd say I learned some), I had no knowledge of most of the scientists written about in this book. Of the events written about in the book, the only ones that I knew about at all really were the ones that I've lived through. It's fascinating to me to see how we managed to make it to where we are today in our understanding.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the history neutrino hunting and what we still have to learn today. This book is written in a very engaging way, and I think anyone with an interest in the subject would enjoy it.
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
http://hmweasley-blog.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-neutrino-hunters-by-ray.html