The Hunt for Vulcan: . . . And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe

Fabulously researched and put together. In the late 1800's and early 1900's the planet Vulcan became "settled science" and all the top scientists agreed that it either existed and had been spotted or it existed and would be confirmed. "Vulcan" even appeared in textbooks as a planet between the Sun and Mercury after it was endorsed by successful planet hunters and astronomers claimed "sightings". Amazing story of how confirmation bias creates an environment where scientists, lacking healthy skepticism, are "all in". Einstein provides an explanation (General Relativity) that suggests Vulcan unnecessary and the planet gently faded as a reality and failed to be sighted again on the same eclipse that saw the bending of star light predicted by Einstein. This should be required reading for all scientists as a caution about how the high priests of truth in our western society can be duped into believing in things that are not there and never were.

It's really a fascinating and readable account of an era in science history. And showing the great minds of European science working heroically to find the reason why Mercury's orbit just didn't quite work within Newtonian physics. And not finding the explanation (which the existence of a planet closer to the sun might have fixed), but working heroically and working heroically and ... then just gave up. Einstein came along and resolved the issue a few decades later, but in sort of an unsatisfying deus ex machina way. Goes to show--science doesn't work exactly like they said in high school. One thing I would have liked is some footnotes or a link to the math behind some of these problems. Or maybe they're there, but it's too hard to thumb through a Kindle--possibly the paper book would have been better.

Readable, insightful history of physics / astronomy, telling the story of how our understanding of the solar system developed from Newton to Einstein. How the hypothesis of a planet Vulcan in our solar system came to be invented and then debunked.There are some very insightful thoughts about the nature of scientific thought and method presented in a very readable way. I particularly liked the author's treatment of how stories and scientific thinking relate to each other.Four stars instead of five, because a little too light on the math for my taste, general relativity needing a bit more explanation, and the ending a bit abrupt -- it could have given us a bit more about Einstein's unsuccessful attempts at a unified field theory, which would have added some additional context that I think is a significant part of this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which was suggested to me via Bookbub. I'm a huge fan of my local library and all its hardcopy and digital offerings, but this book sounded so interesting that I purchased it for Kindle. It became almost a nerdy pleasure to sit and read it, but wasn't something that I could just whip out in any waiting room and read. I needed a bit more quiet and controlled atmosphere to be able to wrap my head around what the author was saying. He did a superb job of taking an impossibly complicated topic and making it accessible to the masses. I especially liked all the back history that he started with, which made the meat of the book much more relevant.

Fascinating blend of history and science, told by a writer with the skill of looking through the science to the people doing the work. Told with just the right blend of humor and intelligence and just enough detail so the reader can grasp the concepts

I used to tell an abbreviated story from what I'd culled together to my students as a lesson on the history of the end of Newtonian physics. This book is fantastic. Not surprisingly, Levenson is the head of the science writing department at MIT. I've been touting this book for anyone interested in science.

One of the most inspiring books I have read. Bought multiple copies and sending to some high school students I know hoping to inspire them to pursue science education. Of special interest is the incremental way contributions to scientific knowledge are made by various people in different parts of the world.

Brilliant beautifully written book that is engaging in its own right and even better as a bridge between the author's two previous works Newton and the Counterfeiters and Einstein in Berlin.

This interesting tale is tautly written & developed well in its historical context. Not quite five stars - reluctantly - through my misgivings about ingenious but lightweight treatment of the Special & General theories of Relativity (for example, the infamous twin paradox is mentioned in connection with SR, then not revisited under GR, on which it ultimately depends as one twin accelerates to be younger when they re-meet). Nonetheless this book is well researched & an engrossing read.

I have bought quite a few copies of this book and sent them to our scientific minded friends. Well written and a lovely addition to our library. Well packed and arrived in good time considering they were sent from the USA.

A good book; although it came to an end too rapidly. Lots of information on the search for Vulcan, but only a short section on Einsteins contribution. This was a disappointment

Interesting. I liked the historical approach with the insight on the different mathematicians.

A great read with enough science to make it really interesting but a lovely human element too. If you enjoy reading about the history of science, you will love this. Of

Great story, beautifully written and comprehensively researched.

Book received on time, well packed and as described. Thank you.

I found this to be a delightful history of physics from Newton to Einstein.Newtonian physics upended everyone's understanding of the world and ushered in the age of the scientific revolution. His laws of physics worked so well at explaining the way our universe worked, but with one slight problem - Mercury's orbit wobbled, by just a very tiny, tiny amount and under Newtonian physics that should not happen. You may ask yourself what does it matter if Mercury's orbit is off by a small amount? Well it did matter because it meant either Newton's laws of physics were wrong (which was unthinkable) or something was missing.One theory that neatly reconciled Mercury's misbehaving orbit with Newtonian physics was that something was missing - there was some other planet or body, yet undetected, whose gravitational force was affecting Mercury's orbit. Thus commenced centuries long search for the mythical planet nicknamed Vulcan.Levenson does a very good job of tracing and explaining this scientific history, of bringing to life the personalities of the scientists, as well as the amateur astronomers who contributed to the development of physics and astronomy in the hunt for Vulcan. He captures the genuine excitement of scientific discovery. He shows how the theoretical questions that Mercury posed contributed to Einstein's rethinking of Newton's laws and his upending of conventional understanding of physics (at the time) with his Theory of Relativity.Thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend this book, especially for the general interest reader of science and astronomy.

I had recently come across an article on the planet Vulcan, and was quite surprised that I had not heard of this hypothetical planet before. The article mentioned this book and I got it.Not only was it extremely informative, it was written in a very easy to digest format.

A very fascinating account of how the scientific thought finally came to one of the greatest achievements in science, through the details of a truly unique story that involved a broad range of people, from several top level scientists who wrote important chapters in the history of science all the way to laymen found of astronomy. This story has in itself many possible readings, from the mere historical and scientific content, to how pre-conceived thoughts can affect and misguide the interpretation of the results. The author succeeded in presenting the ebb and flow, the stunning triumphs and frustrations, that the understanding of how gravitation rules the solar system and the entire cosmos required across centuries.

Recommended for all questioning minds!!. A literary work on the process of scientific thought. No wonder that science at its core is akin to philosophy,religion and love - straight from the heart.

A must for all science-students and enthusiasts. The book will lead you to delve deep into Relativity.

Timely delivery of a lovely book.

Nicely presented but VERY thin and light. Half the book is a rehash of many other books on Einstein.The story is not really complex enough to warrant a whole hardback book.Simply not worth the money. Feel faintly ripped off.

Interesting but a bit light.