About this item

Riddled with jealousy, rivalry, missed opportunities and moments of genius, the history of the atom's discovery is as bizarre, as capricious, and as weird as the atom itself.John Dalton gave us the first picture of the atom in the early 1800s. Almost 100 years later the young misfit New Zealander, Ernest Rutherford, showed the atom consisted mostly of space, and in doing so overturned centuries of classical science. It was a brilliant Dane, Neils Bohr, who made the next great leap - into the incredible world of quantum theory. Yet, he and a handful of other revolutionary young scientists weren't prepared for the shocks Nature had up her sleeve.This 'insightful, compelling' book (New Scientist) reveals the mind-bending discoveries that were destined to upset everything we thought we knew about reality and unleash a dangerous new force upon the world.



About the Author

Piers Bizony

PIERS BIZONY is an established author, documentary film maker and media producer based in the UK. His book Starman, a biography of Yuri Gagarin (co-authored with Jamie Doran) revealed controversial and often harrowing details of the early Soviet space effort. Atom, a tie-in for a BBC TV series, told the dramatic story of the rivalries and passions behind the discovery of quantum physics, while The Rivers of Mars, a critically acclaimed analysis of the life on Mars debate, was shortlisted for NASA's Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Writing.Bizony also created a major publishing project on the theme of digital special effects, based on the work of Digital Domain, the company founded by James Cameron, while Space: 50 was a similarly ambitious joint venture between the publishers HarperCollins Worldwide and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., marking the 50th anniversary of Sputnik. Another space-based book, The Man Who Ran the Moon, picked up rave reviews for its account of Apollo-era Washington politics.Working with an independent TV company near London, Bizony co-produced the world's only TV documentary charting the production of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey for Channel 4. Narrated by Jim Cameron, and now featured on a Warner Brothers DVD, this documentary was based on Bizony's award-winning books on the making of that landmark movie.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.