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First among equals

Oct 10, 2004

While writing A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking was told that each equation he included in the book would halve the sales. After resolving not to include any equations, Hawking decided to make an exception for E = mc², and went on to sell millions of books. Physics World tries to keep equations to a minimum, and to maximize reader numbers as well, but this issue is an exception. On pages 14 to 15 Robert Crease reports on the results of his poll to find "the greatest equations ever". Although the exercise cannot be described as rigorous or comprehensive, more than 100 readers responded, and for once Einstein didn't win.

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