Truth and Beauty
Aesthetics and Motivations in Science
9780226100876
9780226162775
Truth and Beauty
Aesthetics and Motivations in Science
"What a splendid book! Reading it is a joy, and for me, at least, continuing reading it became compulsive. . . . Chandrasekhar is a distinguished astrophysicist and every one of the lectures bears the hallmark of all his work: precision, thoroughness, lucidity."—Sir Hermann Bondi, Nature
The late S. Chandrasekhar was best known for his discovery of the upper
limit to the mass of a white dwarf star, for which he received the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 1983. He was the author of many books, including
The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes and, most recently,
Newton’s Principia for the Common Reader.
The late S. Chandrasekhar was best known for his discovery of the upper
limit to the mass of a white dwarf star, for which he received the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 1983. He was the author of many books, including
The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes and, most recently,
Newton’s Principia for the Common Reader.
180 pages | 6 halftones, 8 line drawings, 2 tables | 6 x 9 | © 1987
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Scientist [1946]
2. The Pursuit of Science: Its Motivations [1985]
3. THE NORA AND EDWARD RYERSON LECTURE
Shakespeare, Newton, and Beethoven, or Patterns of Creativity [1975]
4. Beauty and the Quest for Beauty in Science [1979]
5. MILNE LECTURE
Edward Arthur Milne: His Part in the Development of Modern Astrophysics [1979]
6. ARTHUR STANLEY EDDINGTON CENTENARY LECTURES [1982]
Eddington: The Most Distinguished Astrophysicist of His Time
Eddington: The Expositor and the Exponent of General Relativity
7. KARL SCHWARZSCHILD LECTURE
The Aesthetic Base of the General Theory of Relativity [1986]
1. The Scientist [1946]
2. The Pursuit of Science: Its Motivations [1985]
3. THE NORA AND EDWARD RYERSON LECTURE
Shakespeare, Newton, and Beethoven, or Patterns of Creativity [1975]
4. Beauty and the Quest for Beauty in Science [1979]
5. MILNE LECTURE
Edward Arthur Milne: His Part in the Development of Modern Astrophysics [1979]
6. ARTHUR STANLEY EDDINGTON CENTENARY LECTURES [1982]
Eddington: The Most Distinguished Astrophysicist of His Time
Eddington: The Expositor and the Exponent of General Relativity
7. KARL SCHWARZSCHILD LECTURE
The Aesthetic Base of the General Theory of Relativity [1986]