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Richard P. Feynman
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The Character of Physical Law (Modern Library) Hardcover – November 8, 1994

by Richard Feynman (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 353 ratings
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Like any set of oral reflections, The Character of Physical Law has special value as a demonstration of the mind in action. The reader is particularly lucky in Richard Feynman - one of the most eminent and imaginative modern physicists.

In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not ''how clever we are to have found it out - but . . . how clever nature is to pay attention to it'' and steers his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws. Rather than an essay on the most significant achievements in modern science, The Character of Physical Law is a statement of what is most remarkable in nature. Feynman's enlightened approach, his wit, and his enthusiasm make this a memorable exposition of the scientist's craft. The law of gravitation is the author's principal example. Relating the details of its discovery and stressing its mathematical character, he uses it to demonstrate the essential interaction of mathematics and physics. He views mathematics as the key to any system of scientific laws, suggesting that if it were possible to fill out the structure of scientific theory completely, the result would be an integrated set of mathematical axioms. The principles of conservation, symmetry, and time irreversibility are then considered in relation to developments in classical and modern physics, and in his final lecture, Feynman develops his own analysis of the process and future of scientific discovery.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Modern Library
  4. Publication date
    November 8, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    4.9 x 0.85 x 7.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0679601279
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679601272
  8. See all details
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About the Author

Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 in Far Rockaway, New York, and attended MIT at the age of 17. In 1939 he was one of the scientists who built the atomic bomb that would end World War II. He received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965 and was a member of the Shuttle Commission in 1986. He died in 1988. The US Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in Dr. Feynman's name in 2005.

James Gleick is our leading chronicler of science and technology, the bestselling author of Chaos: Making a New Science, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, and The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. His books have been translated into 30 languages.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Modern Library (November 8, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679601279
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679601272
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.9 x 0.85 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 353 ratings

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  1. Richard P. Feynman

    Richard P. Feynman

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    Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 and grew up in Far Rockaway, New York. At the age of seventeen he entered MIT and in 1939 went to Princeton, then to Los Alamos, where he joined in the effort to build the atomic bomb. Following World War II he joined the physics faculty at Cornell, then went on to Caltech in 1951, where he taught until his death in 1988. He shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965, and served with distinction on the Shuttle Commission in 1986. A commemorative stamp in his name was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2005.

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  2. Richard Feyman

    Richard Feyman

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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4.7 out of 5 stars
353 global ratings

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Customers find the book's physics content well-presented without high-level math. They appreciate the clear explanations and find it great for science enthusiasts. Many consider it worth the effort and money.

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Physics contentValue for money
15 customers mention "Physics content"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's physics content. They find the explanations clear and the book covers a wide variety of physical laws. It is described as an intelligent text for science enthusiasts who want a genius to explain them exactly. The book reaffirms simple truths in science research that are often forgotten in an age of automated research.

"...Using the author's understanding you can literally intuit physical laws. A remarkable achievement...." Read more

"...It reaffirms simple truths in science research that are often forgotten in an age of automated analysis, that for example one must dig into the..." Read more

"...This is a great text for any science nerds who want a genius to clarify for them exactly what it is about science that is so entrancing, from the..." Read more

"Great explanations!" Read more

3 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money. They say it's worth the effort and has good audio quality.

"...An epic return on the investment. And when we see the ideas they come up with, well it just doesn't get any better than that." Read more

"...It's well worth the effort though." Read more

"Worth every penny. Good audio quality too...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • David Francis Nuytten
    5.0 out of 5 stars A work that achieves a higher level of teaching.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I've read this book about 10 times. I buy them used and give them to my physics students.. In some ways, the author has written a book that transcends the usual level of discussing modern physics. When he says the character of physical he is not exaggerating. Using the author's understanding you can literally intuit physical laws. A remarkable achievement. Some of the other teacher's ask me why I spend my own money for books that I give to students I may never see again. It is because I want to see the ideas this book inspires in those fresh minds. I also give copies. to some students, of Feynman's lectures on physics that he gave to all the incoming physics students a Cal Tech. I get feedback on that to the effect that those students then got straight 'A' grades at Cal Tech. An epic return on the investment. And when we see the ideas they come up with, well it just doesn't get any better than that.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well narrated.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2024
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    The product was delivered in impeccable condition. thank you!
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  • Karen J.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Feynman Delivers
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    This is yet another book that attempts to convey the essence of physics to common people. After explaining exactly why it can't be done, arguing that you'll never get it, Feynman goes right ahead and does it anyway.
    For each topic, you get a feel for his goal in covering a topic. He explains gravity, yes, to explain gravity, but also because by explaining it he can also convey what essential properties gravity has that other laws have.
    He also explains the difference between fundamental laws and the consequences of those laws. That the individual laws are reversible, but that probability is responsible for the arrow of time. He spends a lot of time showing the difficult relationship between the basic laws (which are reversible) and the irreversibility of events. Both are characteristics of the physical universe but the latter is not a fundamental law. The latter is a logical outcome of them.
    So there's a hierarchy, which goes; fundamental laws like gravity at the ground level, consequences of them like irreversibility and surface tension at one level up, organic chemistry further up, then eventually concepts like tree, frog, man, pain, beauty, good and evil - each at a higher level, but based upon the levels below them, and difficult to fully predict using only the laws of the lower levels. The levels can be extended up and down. Below gravity is the unification theory of everything. Above good and evil are love, politics, etc.
    And then he asks, of the extremes on this hierarchy, the fundamental laws and the most abstract concepts, which is closest to God? After asking for patience with his religious reference, he spends little time before revealing his belief that the question is flawed. To understand God is to understand how the levels interrelate; how the fundamental laws were "chosen" so that they would lead to the unfolding of all the beautiful complexity that we see around us.
    Is this what you want to learn? Why else do we read these books than to attempt to gain a bit more insight into the eternal questions. Most authors that tackle the nature of the universe have a theological axe to grind (the need for God or not) and can't hide it. This book did more on this topic, with fewer pages, while offending me the least because of any theological bias (either way), than anything I've read before.
    81 people found this helpful
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  • Steven Silz-Carson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Classical Feynman at his Best
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This lecture series from Cornell are considered classics. Richard Feynman is "always on," even if his sometimes folksy 1960s language isn't.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Nino
    5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Look at how Physics Works
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    As a practicing physicist, having read and enjoyed Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" and Weinberg's "Lake Views", this Richard Feynman lecture series on the "Character of Physical Law" is even more enjoyable. It reaffirms simple truths in science research that are often forgotten in an age of automated analysis, that for example one must dig into the details of an experiment or observation with as little bias as possible to uncover the next aha moment and what is worth pursuing next (in my experience, one always finds something worthwhile if one digs, even if it is just explaining what went wrong) that arriving at the same answer by using different sets of equations (working in energy vs force space is a favorite example of mine) is anything but a waste of time, as different calculational paths lead on to connections to different phenomena. Despite being almost 50 years old, this series of lectures remains fresh (contrasting with books on Information Technology where one can get bored reading about predictions in technology advancement that have come true already 10 years later (for example, Bill Gates' late 1990's "Business at the Speed of Thought").
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Chris Mason
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Feynman you want
    Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I've been on a bit of a pop-physics bender recently and came across a few Feynman lectures on YouTube. I've tried reading a couple of other Feynman books (eg the 6 easy/not-so-easy pieces) and felt disappointed they weren't the complete series of lectures. This series on the character of physical law is a wonderfully clear description of how physics sat in the 1960s that still feels fresh today. That all of the lectures are present means that complex ideas can be developed properly and delivered over a few chapters. This is a great text for any science nerds who want a genius to clarify for them exactly what it is about science that is so entrancing, from the perspective of physics.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • C D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great explanation for all the things I didn’t learn in high school or college physics.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2022
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    Great explanations!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Paul
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, only thing better is watching the actual lectures
    Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    As good as you can get with the exception of seeing the original lectures.
    This is a transcript.
    He did not write any lecture, but had notes. He did not like writing.
    I don't think a single book with him credited as author was actually written by him, but a transcript or someone quoting his words.
    And when you hear him tell of all these things you realize this guy truly knows what he is talking about. and the tiny errors he makes in the lecture actually make you realize how Intelligent he is, and how much he loves physics.
    18 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Reader-718
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Master!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    There’s only one ‘R.F!’, and he really was one in ten billion!

    The intellectualism & character of the man was truly unique. His style of lecture/instruction/delivery was outstanding in so many different ways. Watch YT & you’ll see what I mean. It’s easy to learn from him.
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  • Lynda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great product.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Great product, exactly as described, packed well shipped lightening fast and arrived safely; Thank you!!!
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  • Rama
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 23, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    O Feynman trata desse assunto com a maestria e clareza de sempre. O tema é dos mais interessantes. O livro versa sobre o conhecimento mais profundo que temos da natureza. Todos que gostam e buscam o conhecimento científico devem ter contato com essa obra. A abordagem e a linguagem são relativamente simples permitindo uma boa compreensão por parte daqueles que já tiveram um contato escolar com a Física.
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  • A7
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Orator with a deep understanding of the subject
    Reviewed in France on July 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Really Good book. As Always Feyman as an iconoclast to a whole generation of Physics Students. A must read book. However, if you already possess the book on six easy and six not-so-easy pieces, you’ll find that the chapters are similar.
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    A7
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Brilliant Orator with a deep understanding of the subject

    Reviewed in France on July 7, 2019
    Really Good book. As Always Feyman as an iconoclast to a whole generation of Physics Students. A must read book. However, if you already possess the book on six easy and six not-so-easy pieces, you’ll find that the chapters are similar.
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  • Anil Kadam
    5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest explainar of all time!
    Reviewed in India on January 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing book! I'm not worthy enough to describe the book! But it's just a masterpiece by Mr. Feynman. He explains Law of gravitation, conservation principals and other topics very clearly! He's really the greatest explainar of all time! The price of book is high coz it is bounded and printed in United Kingdom
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