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Resonance

August 2004
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Book Reviews

Books by and about Werner Heisenberg

N Mukunda

	Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics: essays and lectures from 1932 to 1948 Ox Bow Press, 1979.		Physics and Philosophy – the Revolution in Modern Science: the 1956 Gifford Lectures at the University of St.Andrews Harper & Row, 1958.
	Across the Frontiers: essays and lectures from 1948 to 1973 Ox Bow Press, 1990.		Physics and Beyond – Encounters and Conversations George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
		Encounters with Einstein And Other Essays on People, Places, and Particles: essays and lectures from 1972 to 1976 Princeton University Press, 1983

The three principal creators of quantum mechanics made their landmark contri-butions to the subject in very quick succession between July 1925 and January 1926 in the sequence: Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrödinger. They received their Nobel Prizes together in December 1933 – Heisenberg for 1932, Dirac and Schrödinger for 1933. The February 1999 and August 2003 issues of Resonance were devoted respectively to Schrödinger and Dirac. The present one celebrates Heisenberg.

The purpose of this article is to present to a younger generation of readers (students and teachers alike) a very brief account of some of Heisenberg’s general writings of a historical and philosophical nature. These are accessible both to scientists, even in areas other than physics, and to educated and interested nonscientists. In reading this article, at relevant places one may look at Virendra Singh’s Article-in-a-Box on page 3, and Jochen Heisenberg’s Personal Reflections on page 90.

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Address for Correspondence
N Mukunda,
Centre for Theoretical Studies,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
Email: nmukunda@cts.iisc.ernet.in

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Random Harvest: An Anthology of Editorials

Rasoul Sorkhabi

Random Harvest: An Anthology of Editorials B P Radhakrishna Geological Society of India, Post Box 1922, Gagipuram, Bangalore 560019. ISBN 81-85867-53-4. 2003. 444 pages

Whenever a copy of Journal of Geological Society of India reaches my hand, the first thing I do is read the editorial. No matter what their topics are, these essays are never dull but lively and precise presentations of various earth science issues in India (and oftentimes in the world as well). Coming from the pen of B P Radhakrishna, a doyen of Indian geology, these editorials introduce profound matters in a plain language; therefore, the professional as well as the novice in geoscience benefits from them.

Random Harvest comprises a selection of the editorials published from 1984 through 2002. What is the value of geoscience if it does not help a part of the humanity and a part of this planet? Is there a bright future for geoscience if it does not discipline, standardize, and strengthen its community, its research practices and its services? These appear to be the fundamental questions that give impetus to Radhakrishna's choice and writing of the editorials, whether he is discussing philo-sophical issues (essays such as ‘creativity in geoscience’, and ‘earth system science’), archaeological/historical issues (for example, ‘Holocene chronology and Indian pre-history’, ‘River Saraswati in Rig Veda’, and ‘Ancient geography of India’), and geoscience community issues (‘Indian palaeontology under a cloud’, ‘In defence of field-work and mapping’, ‘What is rationale in withholding geological maps?’, ‘Whither Earth science research in India?’, and ‘Declining interest in geology’), or introducing new books (‘The Awakening Earth’ by Peter Russel, 1983; ‘The Great Arc’ by John Keay, 2000; ‘Undeworld’ by Graham Hancock, 2000) and evaluating institutions (for instance, ‘Twenty-five years of service (of Geological Society of India)’ which happens to be the first essay in the volume).
Radhakrishna's writings on groundwater and

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