No wonder the equation turned out to be central to the creation of atom bomb.

However, if a unit of mass is fully converted to energy, there would be massive energy inside that unit of mass. The equation shows that mass and energy are interchangeable.

In the initial chapters, Bodanis deciphers the equation E=mc 2 and the events that led Einstein to it. In the end, he manages to walk the tightrope quite exquisitely. Much to the reader’s satisfaction, not only does Bodanis hit the high spots but he also manages to inhibit himself from dumbing down the technical subject matter. I presume that prior to committing himself to the book, Bodanis must have confronted the thought of running into several knotty problems. Taking on Einstein’s most coveted work is no modest task. By synthesizing the achievements of these and many other scientists, Bodanis manages to build a coherent block called ‘E=mc 2‘. He digs into the annals of history and comes out with short, biographical stories of notable scientists like Michael Faraday, Laurent Lavoisier, James Clerk Maxwell, Ernst Rutherford, Robert Oppenheimer and not to mention, Albert Einstein. Secondly, in addition to educating the readers about the equation, he has turned the spotlight on a host of historical figures and events pivotal to the formation and the subsequent recognition of E=mc 2. Firstly, he makes the equation and its implications far more fathomable for ordinary folks. I mentioned ‘tantalizing’ because this is by any yardstick the easiest equation to remember yet only a few can explain the scale of its ramifications.īodanis successfully achieves a couple of goals through this book. The significance of the equation notwithstanding, there are not many authors who I believe have endeavored to lift the shroud from this equation.ĭavid Bodanis, I must say, has done a commendable job of deciphering the world’s most famous and the most tantalizing equation.

I am glad that I picked up David Bodanis’ “E=mc² – A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation”.

For a long time, I had been trying to break away from the monotony of business literature and venture into something entirely different.

E=mc² by David Bodanis