Popular Science Review

Home Authors Books Subjects Events Software Features Links Newsletter Gifts Blog Write Review What's New

Review - QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Richard Feynman

Quite simply a great book, this is Feynman's populist description of his masterwork, Quantum Electrodynamics, the theory of how light and matter interact.

It takes the form of a transcription of a number of open lectures (like the famous 'red books' this is the way to see Feynman at his best, unless you count the wonderful tales he narrated in biographical titles like Surely You are Joking, Mister Feynman). He is quite frank with his audience. 'What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in the third or fourth year of graduate school - and you think I'm going to explain it so you can understand it? No, you're not going to be able to understand it. Why, then, am I going to bother you will all this? Why are you going to sit here all this time when you won't be able to understand what I am going to say? It is my task to persuade you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see, my physics students don't understand it either. That is because I don't understand it. Nobody does.'

Despite this warning, it is remarkably approachable, but even so - and this is the sole reason it has been awarded three stars instead of five - the fact is that the way it comes across is simply too complex to truly be popular science. It's worth sticking with it, if only to see genius in action, but even more so than the famous Hawking book this is one that is unlikely to really deliver on popular science's promise of making the complexities of science understandable to everyone.

However - and it's a big however - with Feynman in the driving seat it's impossible not to be aware of the joy of exploring how the world works at such a fundamental level. To be touched with a spark of genius. Isn't that worth a little hard work?

Also in hardback:

Reviewed by Brian Clegg

See more about the author in the Richard Feynman biography

DISCLAIMERS

This site has no connection with Popular Science magazine or other sites and publications with a similar name.

Much of the content of this site is written by popular science writers or friends of popular science writers. Inevitably many of the reviews in such a small community are written by or about someone we know. We always aim to be impartial in our reviews, but there is a connection which we need make clear, as there is no intention to deceive. The content of any review or article is solely the opinion of the author and should not be read or understood on any other basis. The site exists to promote popular science writing and popular science authors and for this reason should be considered promotional material, just as the editorial reviews in an online bookshop or the blurb on the back of a book should be considered promotional.

The website should not be eaten or used where it can come into contact with water.

Disagree with our review? Want to comment on a feature? Contact us at info@ popularscience.co.uk - have your say!

Part of the site