POSTMODERN ENCOUNTERS
Einstenin and the Birth of Big Science
PETER COLES
POSTMODERN ENCOUNTERS
Einstein and the Birth of Big Science Peter Coles
Series editor: Richard Appignanesi
ICON BOOKS UK TOTEM BOOKS USA
Published in the UK in 2000 by Icon Books Ltd., Grange Road, Duxford, Cambridge CB2 4QF email:
[email protected] www.iconbooks.co.uk
Published in the USA in 2001 by Totem Books Inquiries to: Icon Books Ltd., Grange Road, Duxford, Cambridge CB2 4QF, UK
Distributed in the UK, Europe, Canada, South Africa and Asia by the Penguin Group: Penguin Books Ltd., 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ
In the United States, distributed to the trade by National Book Network Inc., 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706
Published in Australia in 2001 by Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., PO Box 8500, 9 Atchison Street, St. Leonards, NSW 2065
Library of Congress catalog card number applied for
Text copyright © 2000 Peter Coles The author has asserted his moral rights. Series editor: Richard Appignanesi No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 1 84046 183 7 Typesetting by Wayzgoose Printed and bound in the UK by Cox & Wyman Ltd., Reading
The Age of Big Science Science has developed at an astonishing rate over the past hundred years. All of the major scientific disciplines – physics, chemistry and biology – are now unrecognisable compared to what they were in 1900. Applications of the new scientific ideas, for example in technology and medicine, have altered everyday life to an equally remarkable