Albert Einstein is the undisputed genius whose mathematical insights revolutionised cosmology. Einstein is a pop totem, the Marilyn Monroe of science. How did this happen? What could possibly make Einstein a universal icon when his ideas remain in the abstruse domain of a few specialists? The answer lies in a cultural phenomenon, the birth of Big Science.
The search for knowledge in the 20th century has taken scientists into regions remote from everyday experience, accessible only to those with expensive experimental equipment. These farthest reaches of scientific study are the domain of Big Science.
This book provides a simple introduction to Einstein's key ideas, offering fascinating insights into the sociological conflicts between Big Science and popular culture that are as real today as they were in Einstein's day.
