The Character of Physical Law

By: Richard P. Feynman

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

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.

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1965 Richard Feynman (P)2013 Blackstone Audio

A nice set of his Stanford lectures.

It’s like the classic Stanford 1965 lectures now available on video. He was a brilliant scientist and a brilliant teacher. Time well spent.

Not a Physicist.

Well explained ideas about physics which demistify the process without being condescending. The role that guesswork plays in conjunction with experimentation, approximations, and limitations on conclusions as well as broader application on a universal scale of reliability testing are all points well made. Almost makes me think physicists are just souped up garage inventor wannabes.

Excellent lecture

Another great lecture by Richard Feynman. Unfortunately some chapter make heavy use of figures which are unavailable as an audiobook. Chapter 6 explains de double slit experiment in all it's glory, which made it all worthwhile for me.
Excellent reading performance with a clear and calm voice.

Great book

Something happened to some of the pdf pages so they are not readable. Other than that this is a great read

difficult to follow without images

Good, but to understand the ideas presented in the book you need to follow graphs, figures and tables...