One, Two, Three...Infinity  (English, Paperback, Gamow George)

One Two Three…Infinity: Facts And Speculations Of Science is a book that throws light on several crucial concepts in the fields of mathematics and science in a simple manner by using several illustrations.

Summary Of The Book

One Two Three…Infinity: Facts And Speculations Of Science is a book that provides in-depth insights into certain interesting facts in mathematics and science. Certain concepts pertaining to biology are also included in this book. In the beginning of the book, the readers are provided with a great deal of information on large numbers, along with few examples on the power of exponential growth. The author tells the readers about the vizier who invented chess. He further explains that the vizier requested the king to give him one grain of wheat for the first block, two for the second, and so on. The king eventually realized that the total amount of wheat required to cover the board would exceed the total wheat production of two thousand years.

Gamow also explains the Towers of Hanoi, which contains 64 disks, and would spell the end of the world on completion. However, at one move per second, it would take longer than the estimated age of the universe. One Two Three…Infinity: Facts And Speculations Of Science is loaded with several other similar stories, which are illustrated by a number of whimsical line drawings. Gamow also throws light on the concept of infinities, and ways to compare their sizes. He also deals with topology, and discuses the map coloring problem.

Through the course of One Two Three…Infinity: Facts And Speculations Of Science, the readers are also given insights into the atomic structure, explaining classic experiments that are used to find the size of the molecule. He also talks about the discoveries of electrons, neutrons, and protons. Gamow also explains a number of other topics, which include relativity, atomic chemistry, the fourth dimension, DNA, cosmology, entropy, and evolution. Even though this book was published in the first half of the 20th century, the content is of relevance even today.

About George Gamow

George Gamow was an author, cosmologist, and theoretical physicist.

Apart from this book, Gamow has written Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story Of Quantum Theory, Atomic Energy in Cosmic and Human Life, A Planet Called Earth, Theory Of Atomic Nucleus And Nuclear Energy Sources, and Structure Of Atomic Nuclei And Nuclear Transformations.

Gamow was born on the 4th of March, 1904, in Odessa, Russian Empire. He completed his degrees from the University of Leningrad and Novorossiya University, Odessa. After he finished his graduation, Gamow began working on the quantum theory. He later joined the Theoretical Physics Institute, which was a part of the University of Copenhagen. He was one of the founding members of the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC). He worked at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1956 till the end of his career. Gamow passed away on the 19th of August, 1968, in Boulder, Colorado. The physics department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is named after him.