Showing titles in Physics

In the summer of 1964, a reclusive young professor at the University of Edinburgh wrote two scientific papers which have come to change our understanding of the most fundamental building blocks of matter and the nature of the universe. Peter Higgs posited the existence an almost infinitely tiny particle—today known as the Higgs boson—which is the key to understanding why particles have mass, and but for which atoms and molecules could not exist.

The Element in the Room will take you on a rib-tickling, experiment-fuelled adventure to explain everyday science that is staring you in the face. If you are sci-curious, pi-curious or just the-end-is-nigh-curious then this is the book for you. Steve Mould and Helen Arney are two thirds of science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd.

Time One tackles mankind's most baffling question: How did the world begin? After challenging old thinking about forty-seven crucial scientific problems, Time One author Colin Gillespie solves forty-five of them and comes up with a strikingly simple answer to the most perplexing question of them all: How did the world begin?

Time One takes an iconoclastic look at contemporary physics, notably relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory.

Philosophy of Physics is concerned with the deepest theories of modern physics - notably quantum theory, our theories of space, time and symmetry, and thermal physics - and their strange, even bizarre conceptual implications. A deeper understanding of these theories helps both physics, through pointing the way to new theories and new applications, and philosophy, through seeing how our worldview has to change in the light of what we learn from physics.

At last, science and the soul shake hands. Writing in a style that is both lucid and charming, mischievous and profound, Dr. Amit Goswami uses the language and concepts of quantum physics to explore and scientifically prove metaphysical theories of reincarnation and immortality. In Physics of the Soul, Goswami helps listeners understand the perplexities of the quantum physics model of reality and the perennial beliefs of spiritual and religious traditions.

We understand the stars at a much deeper level, not as legendary figures connected with constellations, but as engines of matter, energy, and the raw material of life itself. The Life and Death of Stars introduces you to this story in 24 half-hour lectures that lead you through the essential ideas of astrophysics - the science of stars. Your guide is Professor Stassun, an award-winning teacher and noted astrophysicist. He provides lively, eloquent, and authoritative explanations at a level suitable for science novices as well as for those who already know their way around the starry sky.

This book will appeal to foodies & those who are deprived of cookbooks in the audio format. Molecular Gastronomy documents the sensory phenomena of eating and uses basic physics to put to bed many culinary myths. This audiobook presents pieces conventional wisdom - such as whether it is better to make a stock by placing meat in already boiling water, or water before it is boiled - and gives its history before making scientific pronouncements.

From adrenaline to dopamine, most of us are familiar with the chemicals that control us. They are the hormones and neurotransmitters that our brains run on, and Overloaded looks at the role they play in every aspect of our lives, from what we remember, how we make decisions and who we love to basic survival drives such as hunger, fear and sleep.

A little over a century ago, a young Albert Einstein presented his general theory of relativity to the world and utterly transformed our understanding of the universe. His theory changed the way we think about space and time, revealed how our universe has been expanding from a hot, dense state called the big bang and predicted black holes. Where the Universe Came From is a 13.8 billiion-year journey through the cosmos.

A Degree in a Book: Cosmology is the perfect introduction to cosmology, astronomy, and astrophysics, written by one of NASA's leading astronomers and educators. Filled with helpful diagrams, suggestions for further reading and easily digestible history sections, this audiobook makes it easier than ever to understand the workings of the Universe. Featuring the most important ideas in the field, including the theory of relativity, the standard model, loop quantum gravity, and supersymmetry, it covers the whole breadth of cosmology.

A Nobel Prize-winning physicist explains what happened at the very beginning of the universe, and how we know “Science writing at its best.” ―New York Review of Books Our universe has been growing for nearly fourteen billion years. But almost everything about it can be traced back to what...

Ours is the age of global warming. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, forest fires. Climate scientist Peter Stott reveals the bitter fight to get international recognition for what, among scientists, has been known for decades: human activity causes climate change. Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn't a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change.

Physicist and popular science author Simon Singh explores the numbers and concepts that lie at the heart of some of the trickiest problems in mathematics, revealing their history, significance and unique qualities. Beginning with zero - which, amazingly, wasn't invented until 400 BC and then took thousands of years to catch on - he goes on to serve up a slice of pi, uncover the hidden beauty of the Golden Ratio, reveal the reality behind the imaginary number and explain why some infinities are bigger than others.

Whether your interest lies in alternative cosmology, spiritual philosophy, or the intersection of science and metaphysics, this volume bridges those worlds. Walter Russell’s unified model demonstrates how mind and matter are inseparable aspects of one creative intelligence—revealing fresh insights for modern listeners.

Humanity has long looked to the sky and marveled at the world around us. We've wondered why the world is the way it is and whether it has to be that way. And we dream of a time when we have developed a theory of everything—a theory that answers all questions. Einstein's Unfinished Dream explores the cutting-edge research of modern particle physicists that pushes us slowly towards a theory of everything....

If looking at today’s headlines makes you wonder about the fate of our planet, here is some news that may surprise you: from an evolutionary standpoint, we are exactly where we need to be. According to eminent biologist Bruce H. Lipton and political and cultural commentator Steve Bhaerman, we...

In this audiobook, astrophysicist Janna Levin blends memoir and visionary science to provide a groundbreaking personal account of her life and ideas.

In This Explains Everything, John Brockman, founder and publisher of Edge.org, asked experts in numerous fields and disciplines to come up with their favorite explanations for everyday occurrences. Why do we recognize patterns? Is there such a thing as positive stress? Are we genetically programmed to be in conflict with each other? Those are just some of the 150 questions that the world's best scientific minds answer with elegant simplicity.

In this 1972 treatise, Isaac Asimov takes the listener on an historic journey through the development of man's understanding of electricity, chemistry, and - ultimately - nuclear energy. Asimov's incomparable ability to simplify the complex is apparent as he guides you through the milestones of scientific thought that connected ideas about electricity and magnetism to the nature of matter, and led to the advances in discovery through the first half of the 20th century that resulted in the harnessing of previously unknown energy directly from the heart of the atom.

In 2003, Russian physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov found a way to produce graphene the thinnest substance in the world by using sticky tape to separate an atom-thick layer from a block of graphite. Their efforts would win the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics, and now the applications of graphene and other two-dimensional substances form a worldwide industry.