Science is an ever-growing, ever-changing field of study. Every principle, every discovery is built on top of a previous discovery. Great scientists have studied life, the environment, and the physical world trying to learn more about why things are the way they are. Readers gain insight to some of the greatest scientific minds history has to offer, from Archimedes to Stephen Hawking.

Short biographies of six persons of renown in the scientific world ranging in time from the latter part of the fifteenth century to the middle of the twentieth.

*Includes pictures *Includes Hawking's own quotes about his life and work *Includes footnotes, online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all." - Stephen Hawking "I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these 'how' and 'why' questions. Occasionally, I find an answer." - Stephen Hawking In the pantheon of great theoretical physicists that includes the names of such historical luminaries as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, it is, perhaps, supremely ironic that the successor to the leading scientific minds of their generations has produced such "groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology," while at the same time battling one of the world's most insidious and relentless diseases. Dr. Stephen William Hawking, British mathematician, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist, is the face of twenty-first century physics, and yet cannot speak directly to his audience. For verbal communication, he relies on the use of an electronically activated vocal synthesizer. The scientist who has most notably carried the ideas of Einstein and his colleagues forward from the early-to-mid 20th century, whether in terms of explanation, rejection, or confirmation of any given question, is no longer able to move his limbs due to the incapacitating effects of ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The affliction is better known in the United States as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," named after the great American baseball player. Since 2009, in fact, Hawking can no longer operate his wheelchair. With a failing body but a world-leading mind that has remained active and keen through the years, Dr. Hawking continues to fight for any means of communication that he or his scientific environment can devise, presently placing much of his attention on systems with which to "translate his brain patterns into switch activations." This desperate struggle to stay connected comes at a time in which the amassing of Hawking's theories, developed over the past half-century, seems poised to discover and affirm new solutions to the mysteries of the universe. Occupying a unique place in the history of physics, Hawking, more than Newton or Einstein, lives in the perfect era from which to stand at the threshold of new possibilities for balancing and synchronizing the theories of General Relativity, put forth by his great predecessors, and the newer field of the quantum world, hinted at in the mid-twentieth century but only more recently brought forward by leading proponents. He has devoted the lion's share of his adult life to "probing the space-time described by general relativity and the singularities where it breaks down," and is, in advancing years, more driven than ever by the urge to uncover all he can about the nature of the larger universe. Stephen Hawking: The Life of the World's Most Famous Scientist examines the life and career of the English physicist. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Stephen Hawking like never before, in no time at all.

DK Eyewitness Great Scientists is an exciting and informative guide to the fascinating lives of the world's most famous thinkers, philosophers, inventors, innovators and pioneers. Stunning photographs offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the ideas and innovations that have changed the way we live today. Your child will discover all about Benjamin Franklin's electrical charges, Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and the many others whose discoveries have shaped our world. Great for projects or just for fun, make sure your child learns everything they need to know about Great Scientists. Find out more and download amazing clipart images at www.dk.com/clipart.

Drawing on the lives of five great scientists, this “scholarly, insightful, and beautifully written book” (Martin Rees, author of From Here to Infinity) illuminates the path to scientific discovery. Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein all made groundbreaking contributions to their fields—but each also stumbled badly. Darwin’s theory of natural selection shouldn’t have worked, according to the prevailing beliefs of his time. Lord Kelvin gravely miscalculated the age of the earth. Linus Pauling, the world’s premier chemist, constructed an erroneous model for DNA in his haste to beat the competition to publication. Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle dismissed the idea of a “Big Bang” origin to the universe (ironically, the caustic name he gave to this event endured long after his erroneous objections were disproven). And Albert Einstein speculated incorrectly about the forces of the universe—and that speculation opened the door to brilliant conceptual leaps. As Mario Livio luminously explains in this “thoughtful meditation on the course of science itself” (The New York Times Book Review), these five scientists expanded our knowledge of life on earth, the evolution of the earth, and the evolution of the universe, despite and because of their errors. “Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written” (The Washington Post), Brilliant Blunders is a wonderfully insightful examination of the psychology of five fascinating scientists—and the mistakes as well as the achievements that made them famous.

Scientists Change Our Lives. Their Imagination, Determination And Hard Work, Has Helped Humanity Progress In Leaps And Bounds. It Is Sad That Millions Of These Creative People Go Unnoticed, Lost In The Chaos Of Time. This Book Explores The Lives Of The Fifteen Scientists Who Dared To Think Different, Explore Innovative Ideas And Create An Invention That Would Change Our Lives Forever.

A New York Journal of Books Notable Children’s Book Funny childhood biographies and cartoon-style illustrations take us inside the lives of 15 scientific legends—when they were kids!—from Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall to Marie Curie and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Every great scientist started out as a kid. Before their experiments, inventions, and discoveries that changed the world, the world’s most celebrated scientists had regular-kid problems just like you. Stephen Hawking hated school and preferred to spend his free time building model airplanes, inventing board games, and even building his own computer. Jane Goodall got in trouble for bringing worms and snails into her house. And Neil deGrasse Tyson had to start a dog-walking business to save up money to buy a telescope. Kid Scientists tells the stories of a diverse and inclusive group, including: • Temple Grandin • Nikola Tesla • Ada Lovelace • Benjamin Franklin • Isaac Newton • Rosalind Franklin • Sally Ride • Rachel Carson • George Washington Carver • Vera Rubin With whimsical illustrations bringing every caper, scrape, and sticky situation to life, this book is a fun, approachable introduction to the giants of the scientific world—and a perfect addition to libraries, classrooms, and kids at-home collections. “ . . . interesting, funny, and, most importantly, relevant to kids today.” —Geek Dad

For James D. Watson, the year 2003 was momentous: The 50th anniversary of the discovery, with Francis Crick, of the DNA double helix; the 35th anniversary of the publication of his best–selling memoir of the discovery, The Double Helix;the 35th anniversary of his appointment as Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an institution he molded into a research and education center of international renown and prestige: and the year in which the sequencing of the human genome was completed, a project of unprecedented international effort and coordination that Watson got off the ground and sustained during its first, critical years. In the course of his 75 years, Watson has achieved a reputation as outspoken, capricious, abrasive, and ruthless in pursuing his visionary goals. Few other scientists have achieved his celebrity status, or enjoyed it so much, without losing professional credibility. Yet behind the public notoriety there is a complexity apparent only to those who know Watson as a colleague, mentor, inspiration, and friend. This book gives voice to 43 of these individuals—people of distinction who have worked with Watson as a scientist, educator, author, administrator, and government official. Their essays cover much of his scientific life and, taken together, create a portrait of a complex man whose originality and force of will have produced extraordinary achievements.