Johnson, George 1952 Jan. 20-

The ten most beautiful experiments by George Johnson ( Book )
11 editions published between 2008 and 2011 in 4 languages and held by 1,776 libraries worldwide
The ten most fascinating experiments in the history of science--moments when a curious soul posed a particularly eloquent question to nature and received a crisp, unambiguous reply. Johnson takes us to those times when the world seemed filled with mysterious forces, when scientists were dazzled by light, by electricity, and by the beating of the hearts they laid bare on the dissecting table. For all of them, diligence was rewarded. In an instant, confusion was swept aside and something new about nature leaped into view. In bringing us these stories, Johnson restores some of the romance to science, reminding us of the existential excitement of a single soul staring down the unknown.--From publisher description.

A shortcut through time : the path to the quantum computer by George Johnson ( Book )
12 editions published between 2003 and 2004 in English and held by 1,670 libraries worldwide
Publisher's description: The first book to prepare us for the next big--perhaps the biggest--breakthrough in the short history of the cyberworld: the development of the quantum computer. The newest Pentium chip driving personal computers packs 40 million electronic switches onto a piece of silicon the size of a thumbnail. It is dramatically smaller and more powerful than anything that has come before it. If this incredible shrinking act continues, the logical culmination is a computer in which each switch is composed of a single atom. And at that point the miraculous--the actualization of quantum mechanics--becomes real. If atoms can be harnessed, society will be transformed: problems that could take forever to be solved on the supercomputers available today would be dispatched with ease. Quantum computing promises nothing less astonishing than a shortcut through time. In this book, the award-winning New York Times science writer George Johnson first takes us back to the original idea of a computer--almost simple enough to be made of Tinkertoys--and then leads us through increasing levels of complexity to the soul of this remarkable new machine. He shows us how, in laboratories around the world, the revolution has already begun. Writing with a brilliant clarity, Johnson makes sophisticated material on (and even beyond) the frontiers of science both graspable and utterly fascinating, affording us a front-row seat at one of the most galvanizing scientific dramas of the new century.

Miss Leavitt's stars : the untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe by George Johnson ( Book )
4 editions published between 2005 and 2006 in English and held by 1,417 libraries worldwide
How big is the universe? In the early twentieth century, scientists took sides. One held that the entire universe was contained in the Milky Way galaxy; their champion was the strong-willed astronomer Harlow Shapley. Another camp believed that the universe was so vast that the Milky Way was just one galaxy among billions--the view that would prevail, proven by the equally headstrong Edwin Hubble. Almost forgotten is the Harvard Observatory Computer--a human number cruncher hired to calculate the positions and luminosities of stars in astronomical photographs--who found the key to the mystery. Radcliffe-educated Henrietta Swan Leavitt, fighting ill health and progressive deafness, stumbled upon a new law that allowed astronomers to use variable stars--those whose brightness rhythmically changes--as a cosmic yardstick. This book is both an account of how we measure the universe, and the moving story of a neglected genius.--From publisher description.

Fire in the mind : science, faith, and the search for order by George Johnson ( Book )
16 editions published between 1995 and 1997 in English and held by 1,350 libraries worldwide
Set among the mountains and canyonlands of northern New Mexico, George Johnson explores the human hunger for pattern, the innate drive to find (or impose) order in our capricious world. In this land of strange juxtapositions where magic and science, religion and reason, constantly bump up against each other, Johnson introduces us to an amazing diversity of people who see the world through varied lenses, who find vastly different pictures in the night sky. In the dizzying heights of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains, the faithful flock to an old Catholic church for samples of holy soil said to cure all ills. Descending from this land of miracles to the foothills around Santa Fe, we visit a revolutionary think tank called the Santa Fe Institute. Here scientists are focusing their research on questions that seem to hover within the penumbra between science and religion: How, from the random jostling of molecules, did life arise and evolve to the point where it can contemplate its own beginnings? Are we accidents of the universe - miracles - or is there a reason for us to be here?

In the palaces of memory : how we build the worlds inside our heads by George Johnson ( Book )
5 editions published between 1991 and 1992 in English and held by 1,286 libraries worldwide
A distillation of three researchers' inquiries into the processes that enable us to recognize a face that has aged ten years or remember a melody for decades.

Strange beauty : Murray Gell-Mann and the revolution in twentieth-century physics by George Johnson ( Book )
7 editions published between 1999 and 2001 in English and held by 1,258 libraries worldwide

Machinery of the mind : inside the new science of artificial intelligence by George Johnson ( Book )
5 editions published between 1986 and 1987 in English and held by 1,227 libraries worldwide

Architects of fear : conspiracy theories and paranoia in American politics by George Johnson ( Book )
3 editions published in 1983 in English and held by 745 libraries worldwide

A shortcut through time : the path to a quantum computer by George Johnson ( Book )
3 editions published between 2003 and 2004 in English and held by 68 libraries worldwide
The author combines the latest advances in mathematics and physics with groundbreaking computer science to examine the possibility for the development of the quantum computer, a breakthrough that could allow a shortcut through time.

In the palaces of memory : how we build the world inside our heads by George Johnson ( Book )
1 edition published in 1992 in English and held by 35 libraries worldwide