| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
16 Sep 2005 11:18:57 PM |
| Object: |
history of superconductivity books and Amazon.com |
Before I moved out of New England I sold most of my books. Too much
weight to lug around and to store for long time. So I sold most of my
books keeping about 20 books.
Recently I was tired of checking some books from the library that I
frequently refer to such as trees and building with concrete. So I
looked up Amazon.com and was surprized to see books that I wanted but
could never have gotten decades before because they were out of print
and I saw that I could regain those other books at a cheaper price than
what bookstores offered. So I had a buying flurry and got books such as
Dirac's Directions in Physics and DeBroglie's Matter & Light and my old
textbook of Chemistry by Mortimer when I took it in college. I was
surprized to see one of the textbooks that I did not sell before moving
is now worth $176 of Four Pragmatists by Scheffler. I think I paid
about $14 for it new in the 1980s. So it is nice to see some books
appreciate in value.
But I think Amazon has redefined book buying and book selling in that
it is cheaper to just look up on Amazon.com a book that you want and
for the price of shipping matches the taxes on the book if you buy it
from a bookstore. And no bookstore is going to have that range of
selection that Amazon has. So I think the bookstore business has been
redefined by Amazon.com.
I would not have dreamed that when I got rid of my books except 20 of
them in 1999, that in year 2005 I would buy some of them back and buy
other books that are more important via Amazon.com which makes the
buying of books a pleasure and fun. Seems like everyday I go to pick up
my mail, I get a Xmas gift of a book from Amazon.com.
Now I did take a little bit of a gamble on these books for I wanted
some book on Superconductivity and bought Tinkham's Intro.
Superconductivity 2nd edition. I am going to be working on
superconductivity for the remainder of my life and so I need reference
and ideas. But I wonder if there is a book on superconductivity that
charts the accurate history of the subject, especially the recent
findings that doping of superconductors raises its Tc temperature. I
doubt that Tinkham is new enough to talk of doping. I believe the
doping was circa 2001 whereas this book is 1996.
So I am asking if anyone knows of a book that has details of the
history of superconductivity and especially the news of the doping that
increases Tc. A book that is not hype and speculation as to recent
alleged new Tc such as the claim of a room temperature superconductor.
So does anyone know of a book on the recent history of
superconductivity or perhaps a chapter in a chemistry text or physics
text that gives the reader a comprehensive view of the history of
superconductivity and includes the recent doping.
Also, I wish Amazon and publishers would redo the emphasis on acid free
paper that was a trend in the 1990s where books would print on the
first page that the paper is acid free and I wish Amazon would include
in their description whether the book is acid free or not. I wanted to
buy some books but could not tell whether it was acid free paper.
And another thing about Amazon, I wish in their jewelry department that
in their descriptions of gold or platinum ring bands that they always
list a net weight of gold or platinum content. Some of the rings have
that detail but most do not. And when you cannot physically inspect an
item and feel its weight or measure it on the spot, then the case for
the detail of the weight is very important.
Archimedes Plutonium
www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
whole entire Universe is just one big atom
where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: history of superconductivity books and Amazon.com |
18 Sep 2005 02:32:32 AM |
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Now, already I spot an interesting issue in this book of
Superconductivity by Tinkham in that Microwaves affect superconduction.
You see, I believe superconductivity is purely a Classical Physics
phenomenon and has no Quantum explanation. And that BCS theory is
hogwash. And that superconductivity is maximum conduction band theory
plus electronegativity. So if Microwaves affect superconduction would
that not lend support to my theory and dis-support to BCS and other
quantum theories. Anyway it is a big book of about 400 pages, and I
spyed today another book on the history of superconductivity by some
people at Rutgers. I wonder if Tinkham mentions the world recordholder
in his book for his time period. I wonder if the Rutgers authors
mention the doping that increases Tc.
Archimedes Plutonium
www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
whole entire Universe is just one big atom
where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies
.
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