Quirky Sides of Scientists - D. Topper (Springer, 2007) WW.pdf - Najnowsze ksiazki(4) - walbo48

Quirky Sides of Scientists

True Tales of Ingenuity and Error

From Physics and Astronomy

David R. Topper

David R. Topper

Department of History

University of Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Canada R3B 2E9

d.topper@uwinnipeg.ca

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007925263

ISBN-13: 978-0-387-71018-1

e-ISBN-13: 978-0-387-71019-8

Printed on acid-free paper.

permission of the publisher (Springer Science Business Media, LLC., 233 Spring Street, New York,

NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in

connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software,

or by similar or dissimilar methodology now know or hereafter developed is forbidden.

The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms, even if they

are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are

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987654321

springer.com

To Sylvia

You endured my obsession

with these “old dead friends” of mine

—while you took care of the living.

Acknowledgments

For their assistance and support at various stages of this project I kindly thank

Wayne Choma, James Hanley, Scott Montgomery, and Dwight Vincent. For his

congenial camaraderie spanning more than three decades, I am grateful to my

much-missed late friend and colleague in the history of science, David Dyck. I am

also beholden to all my students who asked (and continue to ask) challenging

questions, forcing me to concede that I don’t know many things—and compelling

me to find them out. And, not the least, I acknowledge the University of Winnipeg,

especially for granting me a research leave to complete this task.

Whatever singular insights may be found in this book, I will be pleased

to accept the accolades for—though fully cognizant that all errors, too, are

mine alone.

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Quirky Sides of Scientists - D. Topper (Springer, 2007) WW.pdf