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A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty
Answers to science's most enduring questions from "Can I break the light-speed barrier like on Star Trek?" and "Is there life on other planets?" to "What is empty space made of?" This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics will also find their nagging questions addressed, like whether the universe can expand faster than light, and for that matter, what the universe is expanding into anyway. Gives a one-stop tour of all the big questions that capture the public imagination including string theory, quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the beginning of time Explains serious science in an entertaining, conversational, and easy-to-understand way Includes dozens of delightfully groan-worthy cartoons that explain everything from special relativity to Dark Matter Filled with fascinating information and insights, this book will both deepen and transform your understanding of the universe.
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A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty
Answers to science's most enduring questions from "Can I break the light-speed barrier like on Star Trek?" and "Is there life on other planets?" to "What is empty space made of?" This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics will also find their nagging questions addressed, like whether the universe can expand faster than light, and for that matter, what the universe is expanding into anyway. Gives a one-stop tour of all the big questions that capture the public imagination including string theory, quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the beginning of time Explains serious science in an entertaining, conversational, and easy-to-understand way Includes dozens of delightfully groan-worthy cartoons that explain everything from special relativity to Dark Matter Filled with fascinating information and insights, this book will both deepen and transform your understanding of the universe.
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A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty

A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty

A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty
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A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty

A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty

Overview

Answers to science's most enduring questions from "Can I break the light-speed barrier like on Star Trek?" and "Is there life on other planets?" to "What is empty space made of?" This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics will also find their nagging questions addressed, like whether the universe can expand faster than light, and for that matter, what the universe is expanding into anyway. Gives a one-stop tour of all the big questions that capture the public imagination including string theory, quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the beginning of time Explains serious science in an entertaining, conversational, and easy-to-understand way Includes dozens of delightfully groan-worthy cartoons that explain everything from special relativity to Dark Matter Filled with fascinating information and insights, this book will both deepen and transform your understanding of the universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781630260217
Publisher: TURNER PUB CO
Publication date: 02/28/2010
Pages: 306
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dave Goldberg is a professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Physics at Drexel University. He earned a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Princeton University, and currently works on issues in theoretical cosmology, especially on how gravity can distort our view of the universe. Dr. Goldberg is very interested in the interface between science and pop culture and is especially prone to nerdly excess of sci-fi references. He writes an "Ask a Physicist" column for io9.com, has been featured on NPR's Studio 360, and has contributed to Slate.com and the L.A. Times. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughters.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

"So, what do you do?"

1 Special Relativity 7

"What happens if I'm traveling at the speed of light, and I try to look at myself in a mirror?"

Why can't you tell how fast a ship is moving through fog? 11

How fast does a light beam go if you're running beside it? 16

If you head off in a spaceship traveling at nearly the speed of light, what horrors await you when you return? 20

Can you reach the speed of light (and look at yourself in a mirror)? 23

Isn't relativity supposed to be about turning atoms into limitless power? 26

2 Quantum Weirdness 33

"Is Schr?dinger's Cat Dead or Alive?"

Is light made of tiny particles, or a big wave? 38

Can you change reality just by looking at it? 43

If you look at them closely enough, what are electrons, really? 47

Is there some way I can blame quantum mechanics for all those times I lose things? 50

Can I build a transporter, like on Star Trek? 56

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? 59

3 Randomness 67

"Does God play dice with the universe?"

If the physical world is so unpredictable, why doesn't it always seem that way? 70

How does carbon dating work? 76

Does God play dice with the universe? 80

4 The Standard Model 89

"Why didn't the Large Hadron Collider destroy Earth?"

What do we need a multibillion-dollar accelerator for, anyway? 93

How do we discover subatomic particles? 99

Why are there so many different rules for different particles? 103

Where do the forces really come from? 108

Why can't I lose weight (or mass)-all of it? 114

How could little ol' LHC possibly destroy the great big world? 118

If we discover the Higgs, can physicists just call it a day? 122

5 Time Travel 131

"Can I build a time machine?"

Can I build a perpetual motion machine? 133

Are black holes real, or are they just made up by bored physicists? 137

What happens if you fall into a black hole? 142

Can you go back in time and buy stock in Microsoft? 145

Who does time travel right? 151

How can I build a practical time machine? 154

What are my prospects for changing the past? 161

6 The Expanding Universe 165

"If the universe is expanding, what's it expanding into?"

Where is the center of the universe? 170

What's at the edge of the universe? 173

What is empty space made of? 176

How empty is space? 181

Where's all of the stuff? 185

Why is the universe accelerating? 188

What is the shape of the universe? 192

What's the universe expanding into? 195

7 The Big Bang 199

"What happened before the Big Bang?"

Why can't we see all the way back to the Big Bang? 205

Shouldn't the universe be (half) filled with antimatter? 208

Where do atoms come from? 211

How did particles gain all that weight? 216

Is there an exact duplicate of you somewhere else in time and space? 218

Why is there matter? 225

What happened at the very beginning of time? 227

What was before the beginning? 228

8 Extraterrestrials 235

"Is there life on other planets?"

Where is everybody? 237

How many habitable planets are there? 241

How long do intelligent civilizations last? 245

What are the odds against our own existence? 248

9 The Future 253

"What don't we know?"

What is Dark Matter? 256

How long do protons last? 264

How massive or nuetinos? 267

What won't we know anytime soon? 274

Further Reading 281

Technical Reading 283

Index 291

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