Reviews

Breakfast with Einstein: The Exotic Physics of Everyday Objects by Chad Orzel

caoimhe9876's review against another edition

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funny informative

5.0

Actually learned a lot from rhisu

cottsy's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.0

thehabro's review against another edition

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informative inspiring

5.0

redpineapple's review against another edition

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5.0

Excellent read.

Admittedly I couldn't understand some of the more complex ideas even though they were presented in simple terms for the layman like me. Nevertheless the book was written in a way that I kept flipping the pages to read the next one.

Very interesting and it gave me a very small idea of what quantum mechanics looks like.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley.

maddox22's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.5

richard052's review

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2.0

better know your chemistry and physics in advance

byrned_x1's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

cisko's review

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5.0

An enjoyable and informative look at the ways in which unintuitive aspects of physics manifest in everyday life. Orzel focuses on consequences of quantum theory, relativity, and the Standard Model - all portions of physics that confound our normal sense of how the world works. But rather than discuss them in the abstract, he ties them to normal aspects of everyday life - everything from the way smoke detectors work to the glow of a heating element on the stove to the reason the table can hold solid objects. This provides an accessible handle for very complicated theory. Along the way, he works in stories of how the theories were developed, with bits about the personalities involved. The result is a book that provides a grounded and generally accessible overview of many confusing physical theories, walking a line between detailed explanation and relaxed storytelling. While Orzel avoids detailed math, he does use graphs and mathematical concepts to explore the theories he covers, and I think some readers may find it more technical than they prefer. But that’s the nature of the theories involved, and the diligent reader is rewarded with a stronger intuition for how (and why) the theories were developed and how they work.
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