Gravity: Cracking the Cosmic Code - Rilegato

Mee, Nicholas

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1901579484 ISBN 13: 9781901579482

Casa editrice: Virtual Image, 2014

Riassunto

Gravity: Cracking the Cosmic Code is the story of gravity and the heroic efforts to make sense of this mysterious feature of all our lives. The book takes a historical approach beginning with early attempts to understand astronomy leading up to Newton's theory of gravity and its publication in his masterpiece the Principia, the book that launched the modern scientific age. The book describes how Newton's theory ruled for over two hundred years until it was superseded by Einstein's very different theory based on the curvature of space and time. One mind-bending result of Einstein's theory is that there are regions of space that operate like one-way trapdoors from which nothing can escape, not even light. These objects are known as black holes. The book looks at their properties and the ideas of Stephen Hawking who showed that they might not be totally black after all. The puzzle that physicists now face is how to marry gravity and quantum mechanics. Many believe that success in this endeavour will bring about the ultimate Theory of Everything. The final chapter of the book presents the dramatic recent discovery of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.

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Recensione

Mee's colourful depictions of scientific minds at work and the interplay of philosophical ideas, theoretical conundrums and observational evidence encourage deep thought about how we understand the physical world. --Sky at Night magazine

To sum-up, it's a great book that details not only a fascinating cosmological concept but also its place in our own history. Written with a very engaging style it's suitable for a wide ranging audience - the only prerequisite is an interest in the subject matter! --Blogstronomy: http://blogstronomy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/book-review-gravity-by-nicholas-mee.html

The story is well told, nicely illustrated and helpfully enriched by a series of short puzzles (with answers), which encourage the reader to engage more actively with the content. Nicholas Mee s book should be accessible to anyone with a basic understanding of science, and would be good background reading for bright school pupils. --Bookwitch: http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/gravity-cracking-the-cosmic-code/

Having read Higgs Force by Nicholas Mee last year I knew I was in for a carefully crafted explanation of gravity from his new book. I found Mee's book informative and entertaining. My attention was held throughout by the interesting accounts of the lives of the physicists and by Mee's creative use of analogies to explain complex concepts. --Astronomy Now - December 2014

The story is well told, nicely illustrated and helpfully enriched by a series of short puzzles (with answers), which encourage the reader to engage more actively with the content. Nicholas Mee s book should be accessible to anyone with a basic understanding of science, and would be good background reading for bright school pupils. --Bookwitch: http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/gravity-cracking-the-cosmic-code/

L'autore

Nicholas Mee is the author of the award-winning book Higgs Force: Cosmic Symmetry Shattered. He received his PhD in theoretical particle physics from the University of Cambridge. Dr Mee is the director of software company Virtual Image and the author of many maths and science multimedia CD-ROMs. He is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. More information can be found at www.nicholasmee.com.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Virtual Image
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1901579484
• ISBN 13: 9781901579482
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 295
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile