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Adult Books - Nonfiction - Science
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Galileo’s Pendulum: From the Rhythm of Time to the Making of Matter.
Newton, Roger G. (author).
Mar. 2004. 160p. Harvard, hardcover, $22.95 (0-674-01331-X). 529.
REVIEW.
First published March 1, 2004 (Booklist).
Physicist Newton, editor of the Journal of Mathematical Physics , here addresses nonexperts on the subject of time--specifically, the measurement of its passage. The range of things that measure time, from living creatures to atomic clocks, brackets Newton’s intriguing narrative of time’s connections, in the middle of which stands Galileo’s famous discovery about pendulums. They exhibit isochronism, that is, a fixed period of oscillation, which is important, as Newton explains, because it offered a principle for accurately measuring the duration of a unit of time. The ensuing search for precise oscillators, from mechanical pendulums to vibrating atoms of quartz, drives his story forward. En route, Newton touches on both the greatest names in physics and clockmakers, such as John Harrison, inventor of the seagoing chronometer and the star of Dava Sobel’s Longitude (1995), thus fruitfully entwining the fundamental discoveries of science with the progress of timekeeping technology. Science buffs will delight in the links Newton makes in this readable tour of how humanity marks time. — Gilbert Taylor
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