Download or read book Probable Impossibilities written by Alan Lightman and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams tackles "big questions like the origin of the universe and the nature of consciousness ... in an entertaining and easily digestible way” (Wall Street Journal) with a collection of meditative essays on the possibilities—and impossibilities—of nothingness and infinity, and how our place in the cosmos falls somewhere in between. Can space be divided into smaller and smaller units, ad infinitum? Does space extend to larger and larger regions, on and on to infinity? Is consciousness reducible to the material brain and its neurons? What was the origin of life, and can biologists create life from scratch in the lab? Physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, whom The Washington Post has called “the poet laureate of science writers,” explores these questions and more—from the anatomy of a smile to the capriciousness of memory to the specialness of life in the universe to what came before the Big Bang. Probable Impossibilities is a deeply engaged consideration of what we know of the universe, of life and the mind, and of things vastly larger and smaller than ourselves.

Download or read book The End of Everything written by Katie Mack and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mack looks at five ways the universe could end, and the lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology. --From publisher description.

Download or read book A Universe from Nothing written by Lawrence M. Krauss and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-01-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author and acclaimed physicist Lawrence Krauss offers a paradigm-shifting view of how everything that exists came to be in the first place. “Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?” One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end. Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.

Download or read book Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe written by Brian Clegg and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How patterns--from diagrams of spacetime to particle trails revealed by supercolliders--offer clues to the fundamental workings of the physical world. Our universe might appear chaotic, but deep down it's simply a myriad of rules working independently to create patterns of action, force, and consequence. In Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe, Brian Clegg explores the phenomena that make up the very fabric of our world by examining ten essential sequenced systems. From diagrams that show the deep relationships between space and time to the quantum behaviors that rule the way that matter and light interact, Clegg shows how these patterns provide a unique view of the physical world and its fundamental workings. Guiding readers on a tour of our world and the universe beyond, Clegg describes the cosmic microwave background, sometimes called the "echo of the big bang," and how it offers clues to the universe's beginnings; the diagrams that illustrate Einstein's revelation of the intertwined nature of space and time; the particle trail patterns revealed by the Large Hadron Collider and other accelerators; and the simple-looking patterns that predict quantum behavior (and decorated Richard Feynman's van). Clegg explains how the periodic table reflects the underlying pattern of the configuration of atoms, discusses the power of the number line, demonstrates the explanatory uses of tree diagrams, and more.

Download or read book Life the Universe and Everything written by Douglas Adams and published by Gollancz. This book was released on 2017-04-20 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arthur Dent finds himself enlisted to prevent a galactic war. In consequence of a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. However, just as he thinks that things cannot get possibly worse, they suddenly do. He discovers that the Galaxy is not only mind-boggingly big and bewildering but also that most of the things that happen in it are staggeringly unfair.

Download or read book The Illustrated Theory of Everything written by Stephen W. Hawking and published by Phoenix Books. This book was released on 2011-05-03 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stephen W. Hawking, widely believed to have been one of be one of the world’s greatest minds, presents a series of seven lectures— covering everything from big bang to black holes to string theory—. These lectures not only capture the brilliance of Hawking’'s mind, but his characteristic wit as well. In The Illustrated Theory of Everything, Hawking begins with a history of ideas about the universe, from Aristotle’s determination that the Earth is round to Hubble’s discovery, more than 2,000 years later, that the universe is expanding. Using that as a launching pad, he explores the reaches of modern physics, including theories on the origin of the universe (e.g., the Big Bang), the nature of black holes, and space-time. Finally, he poses the questions left unanswered by modern physics, especially how to combine all the partial theories into a “unified theory of everything.” “If we find the answer to that,” he claims, “it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason.” A great popularizer of science as well as a brilliant scientist, Hawking believes that advances in theoretical science should be “understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists.” In this book, he offers a fascinating voyage of discovery about the cosmos and our place in it. It is a book for anyone who has ever gazed at the night sky and wondered what was up there and how it came to be.

Download or read book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Universe written by Professor Andrew Newsam and published by Elliott & Thompson. This book was released on 2022-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everything you ever wanted to know about the universe - and our place within it - in one mind-expanding and highly accessible book. What happens inside black holes? Is dark matter real? Could we do anything to prevent being wiped out by an approaching asteroid? Will our explorations of our neighboring planets reveal life or a new place to settle? What can observations of stars reveal about our origins - and our future? Professor Andrew Newsam draws on his vast expertise to show us what's going on beyond the limits of our planet, from our solar system to distant galaxies - and what this tells us about our own place in this vast expanse called 'the Universe'. From glowing nebulae to the sweeping majesty of the Milky Way, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Universe will spark your curiosity and help you make sense of the amazing discoveries and fascinating mysteries of the cosmos. "Unpatronizing, direct and comprehensible." --BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Download or read book Don t Know Much About the Universe written by Kenneth C. Davis and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-12-29 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who dug those canals on Mars? What was the biblical Star of Bethlehem? Were the pyramids built by extraterrestrials? From the ancients who charted the heavens to Star Trek, The X-Files, and Apollo 13, outer space has intrigued people through the ages. Yet most of us look up at the night sky and feel totally in the dark when it comes to the basic facts about the universe. Kenneth C. Davis steps into that void with a lively and readable guide to the discoveries, theories, and real people who have shed light on the mysteries and wonders of the cosmos. Discover why Einstein was such a genius, the truth behind a blue moon or two, the amazing secrets of Stonehenge, and even how one great astronomer lost his nose. With the fun question-and-answer format that has appealed to the millions of readers of his bestselling Don't Much About® series, you'll be taking off on an exciting armchair exploration of the solar system, the Milky Way, and beyond.

Download or read book The Zoomable Universe written by Caleb Scharf and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic, full-color visual journey through all scales of the universe In The Zoomable Universe, the award-winning astrobiologist Caleb Scharf and the acclaimed artist Ron Miller take us on an epic tour through all known scales of reality, from the largest possible magnitude to the smallest. Drawing on cutting-edge science, they begin at the limits of the observable universe, a scale spanning 10^27 meters—about 93 billion light-years. And they end in the subatomic realm, at 10^-35 meters, where the fabric of space-time itself confounds all known rules of physics. In between are galaxies, stars and planets, oceans and continents, plants and animals, microorganisms, atoms, and much, much more. Stops along the way—all enlivened by Scharf’s sparkling prose and his original insights into the nature of our universe—include the brilliant core of the Milky Way, the surface of a rogue planet, the back of an elephant, and a sea of jostling quarks. The Zoomable Universe is packed with more than 100 original illustrations and infographics that will captivate readers of every age. It is a whimsical celebration of discovery, a testament to our astounding ability to see beyond our own vantage point and chart a course from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to its subatomic depths—in short, a must-have for the shelves of all explorers.

Download or read book Everything Else in the Universe written by Tracy Holczer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the midst of the Vietnam War, a young girl struggles to embrace change in this tender family story for fans of Cynthia Lord and Wendy Maas Lucy is a practical, orderly person--just like her dad. He taught her to appreciate reason and good sense, instilling in her the same values he learned at medical school. But when he's sent to Vietnam to serve as an Army doctor, Lucy and her mother are forced to move to San Jose, California, to be near their relatives--the Rossis--people known for their superstitions and all around quirky ways. Lucy can't wait for life to go back to normal, so she's over the moon when she learns her father is coming home early. It doesn't even matter that he's coming back "different." That she can't ask too many questions or use the word "amputation." It just matters that he'll be home. But Lucy quickly realizes there's something very wrong when her mother sends her to spend the summer with the Rossis to give her father some space. Lucy's beside herself, but what's a twelve-year-old to do? It's a curious boy named Milo, a mysterious packet of photographs and an eye-opening mission that makes Lucy see there's more to life than schedules and plans, and helps to heal her broken family. The latest from critically-acclaimed author Tracy Holczer is a pitch-perfect middle grade tale of family and friendship that's sure to delight fans of One for the Murphys and Rules.

Download or read book The Biggest Ideas in the Universe written by Sean Carroll and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.

Download or read book The Theory of Raikons Know Everything about the universe through the Raikons written by Prem Om Raika and published by Blue Rose Publishers. This book was released on 2024-03-28 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Raikons: Unraveling the Universe’s Secrets and Beyond” by Prem Om Raika is a groundbreaking exploration of the cosmos through the lens of ‘Raikons,’ a proposed fundamental particle. This book offering fresh perspectives on the universe’s origin, the nature of time, and the enigma of consciousness, god, death, quantum interpretation, secrets of wave particle duality and many more. It ventures into the realm of dark matter and energy, and even beyond our universe, to speculate on other dimensions and realities. Aimed at scientists, philosophers, and anyone with a thirst for knowledge, it promises to ignite imaginations and provoke thought. While rooted in complex concepts, the theory is presented with simplicity, making it accessible to all curious minds. This is not just a book; it’s an invitation to embark on an intellectual odyssey that could alter our grasp of reality. Prepare for a transformative experience that may change how you perceive the universe.

Download or read book Universe on a T Shirt written by Dan Falk and published by Skyhorse. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No scientific quest is as compelling as the search for the key to understand the universe—the elusive unified “Theory of Everything”—a theory so concise it could fit on a T-shirt. Lively and thought-provoking, Universe on a T-Shirt tells the fascinating story of the search for the Holy Grail of physics. Dan Falk places this intriguing story in its historical context, tracing the quest from ancient Greece to the breakthroughs of Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, to the excitement over string theory and today’s efforts to merge quantum theory with general relativity. With as much emphasis on history as on science, Falk’s accessible approach is ideal for anyone intrigued by the advances in modern physics but still wondering what theoretical physicists are searching for, and why. Today’s physicists use sophisticated methods, but their goal—the search for simplicity—has not changed since the time of the ancient Greeks. Universe on a T-Shirt is filled with quirky personalities, brilliant minds, and bold ideas—high science and high drama. "An admirably concise and comprehensive overview of cosmology . . . [that] offers intriguing insights into the philosophic and personal outlooks motivating the scientists involved, from the ancient Greeks through Newton and Einstein . . . [and] Stephen Hawking and Ed Witten.”—Booklist

Download or read book The Universe Life and Everything written by Ton Baggerman and published by Amsterdam University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: he way we understand the world we live in is changing. Our traditional understanding is being challenged by developments in physics, including quantum mechanics, and our inability to explain certain complex phenomena such as consciousness. In this book, scholars from a variety of backgrounds discuss how our understanding of our world is expanding to include such phenomena.

Download or read book Skippy Dies written by Paul Murray and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2010-08-31 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling and critically acclaimed novel from Paul Murray, Skippy Dies, shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Book Awards, longlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Why does Skippy, a fourteen-year-old boy at Dublin's venerable Seabrook College, end up dead on the floor of the local doughnut shop? Could it have something to do with his friend Ruprecht Van Doren, an overweight genius who is determined to open a portal into a parallel universe using ten-dimensional string theory? Could it involve Carl, the teenage drug dealer and borderline psychotic who is Skippy's rival in love? Or could "the Automator"—the ruthless, smooth-talking headmaster intent on modernizing the school—have something to hide? Why Skippy dies and what happens next is the subject of this dazzling and uproarious novel, unraveling a mystery that links the boys of Seabrook College to their parents and teachers in ways nobody could have imagined. With a cast of characters that ranges from hip-hop-loving fourteen-year-old Eoin "MC Sexecutioner" Flynn to basketball playing midget Philip Kilfether, packed with questions and answers on everything from Ritalin, to M-theory, to bungee jumping, to the hidden meaning of the poetry of Robert Frost, Skippy Dies is a heartfelt, hilarious portrait of the pain, joy, and occasional beauty of adolescence, and a tragic depiction of a world always happy to sacrifice its weakest members. As the twenty-first century enters its teenage years, this is a breathtaking novel from a young writer who will come to define his generation.

Download or read book The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing The Cosmos written by David Dickinson and published by Page Street Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Definitive Resource for Viewing the Night Sky David Dickinson, Earth science teacher and backyard astronomer, and Fraser Cain, publisher of Universe Today, have teamed up to provide expert guidance on observing the night sky. The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing the Cosmos features the best tips and tricks for viewing our solar system and deep sky objects, as well as detailed charts, graphs and tables to find must-see events for years to come. This comprehensive guide is complete with stunning and exclusive photography from top night sky photographers, as well as advice on how to take your own incredible photos. Take your recreational viewing to the next level with activities like: Finding comets and asteroids Tracking variable stars Monitoring meteor showers Following solar activity Tracking satellites Timing lunar and asteroid occultations With star charts, practical background information, technological resources and telescope and astrophotography guides, this is the ultimate resource for any backyard space enthusiast.

Download or read book The Little Book of Big History written by Ian Crofton and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2016-06-23 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Little Book of Big History breaks down the main themes of Big History into highly informative and accessible parts for all readers to enjoy.