What's Eating the Universe?

Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022681632X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Book Description
Combining the latest scientific advances with storytelling skills unmatched in the cosmos, an award-winning astrophysicist and popular writer leads us on a tour of some of the greatest mysteries of our universe. In the constellation of Eridanus, there lurks a cosmic mystery: It’s as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe. But what is the culprit? The hole in the universe is just one of many puzzles keeping cosmologists busy. Supermassive black holes, bubbles of nothingness gobbling up space, monster universes swallowing others—these and many other bizarre ideas are being pursued by scientists. Due to breathtaking progress in astronomy, the history of our universe is now better understood than the history of our own planet. But these advances have uncovered some startling riddles. In this electrifying new book, renowned cosmologist and author Paul Davies lucidly explains what we know about the cosmos and its enigmas, exploring the tantalizing—and sometimes terrifying—possibilities that lie before us. As Davies guides us through the audacious research offering mind-bending solutions to these and other mysteries, he leads us up to the greatest outstanding conundrum of all: Why does the universe even exist in the first place? And how did a system of mindless, purposeless particles manage to bring forth conscious, thinking beings? Filled with wit and wonder, What’s Eating the Universe? is a dazzling tour of cosmic questions, sure to entertain, enchant, and inspire us all.

What's Eating the Universe?

Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022681629X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Book Description
Journey from the edge of time -- The search for the key to the universe -- Why is it dark at night? -- The big bang -- Where is the centre of the universe? -- Why the cosmos is actually fairly simple -- What is the speed of space? -- What is the shape of space? -- Explaining the cosmic big fix -- Most of our universe is missing -- What is dark energy? -- Where does matter come from? -- Gravity conquers all -- Warped time and black holes -- Is time travel possible? -- What is the source of time's puzzling arrow? -- The black hole paradox -- A theory of everything? -- Fossils from the cosmic dawn -- Can the universe come from nothing? -- How many universes are there? -- The Goldilocks enigma -- What's eating the universe? -- Is the universe actually a botched job? -- Are we alone? -- ET in our backyard -- Why am I living now? -- The fate of the universe -- Is there a meaning to it all? -- What's new on the cosmic horizon?

What's Eating the Universe?

Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141993731
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
'Brilliant. You won't find a clearer, more engaging guide to what we know (or would like to know) about the universe and how it is put together' Bill Bryson Celebrated physicist and global bestselling author Paul Davies tells the story of the universe in thirty cosmological conundrums In the constellation of Eridanus there lurks a cosmic mystery. It's as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe, leaving a super-void. What could be the culprit? A super massive black hole? Another, bigger universe? Or an expanding vacuum bubble, destined to envelop and annihilate everything in existence? Scientists now understand the history of our universe better than the history of our own planet, but they continue to uncover startling new riddles-the hole in the universe being just one. In this electrifying book, award-winning physicist Paul Davies walks us through the puzzles and paradoxes that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day. Laying bare the audacious research that has led us to mind-bending solutions, Davies reveals how we might begin to approach the greatest outstanding enigmas of all.

The Demon in the Machine

Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241309603
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
'A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of Oxford When Darwin set out to explain the origin of species, he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question. Life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. And yet, huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery. So can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new? In this penetrating and wide-ranging new analysis, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name, a domain where computing, chemistry, quantum physics and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity with the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and even to illuminate the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe. From life's murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine is a breath-taking journey across the landscape of physics, biology, logic and computing. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window on the secret of life itself.

What's Eating the Universe?

Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226823873
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0262542862
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
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.

There Was a Black Hole that Swallowed the Universe

Author: Chris Ferrie
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1728216125
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

Book Description
Spark your child's imagination through science and learning with this captivating astronomy book for toddlers. When it comes to kids books about black holes nothing else can compare to this clever science parody from the #1 science author for kids, Chris Ferrie! PLUS, use a black light to reveal secret, invisible text and artwork that reverses the story from nothing to the scientific creation of everything! Using the familiar rhythm of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," follow along as the black hole swallows up the universe and everything that exists in it, from the biggest to the smallest pieces of matter. The silly, vibrant artwork is sure to make stargazers of all ages smile and start a love of science in your baby. There was a black hole that swallowed the universe. I don't know why it swallowed the universe—oh well, it couldn't get worse. There was a black hole that swallowed a galaxy. It left quite a cavity after swallowing that galaxy. It swallowed the galaxies that filled universe. I don't know why it swallowed the universe—oh well, it couldn't get worse.

The Cosmic Web

Author: J. Richard Gott
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691181179
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Semi-autobiographical discussion of astronomy and astronomers, and history of astronomy and cosmology.--

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Enhanced Edition)

Author: Charles Yu
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0307379884
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
This enhanced eBook includes video, audio, photographic, and linked content, as well as a bonus short story. Hear TAMMY talk. Learn the origins of Minor Universe 31. See the TM-31. Take a trip in it. Photos and illustrations appear as hyperlinked endnotes. Video and audio are embedded directly in text. *Video and audio may not play on all readers. Check your user manual for details. National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award winner Charles Yu delivers his debut novel, a razor-sharp, ridiculously funny, and utterly touching story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space–time. Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor, part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life. Wildly new and adventurous, Yu’s debut is certain to send shock waves of wonder through literary space–time.

The Smartest Kid in the Universe, Book 1

Author: Chris Grabenstein
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 0525647813
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
"Chris Grabenstein just might be the smartest writer for kids in the universe." --James Patterson What if you could learn everything just by eating jellybeans?! Meet the Smartest Kid in the Universe and find out in this fun-packed new series from the Bestselling Author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and coauthor of Max Einstein! 12 year old Jake's middle school is about to be shut down--unless Jake and his friends can figure out how to save it. When Jake spies a bowl of jellybeans at the hotel where his mom works, he eats them. But those weren't just jellybeans, one of the scientists at his mom's conference is developing the world's first ingestible information pills. And THAT'S what Jake ate. Before long, Jake is the smartest kid in the universe. But the pills haven't been tested yet. And when word gets out about this new genius, people want him. The government. The mega corporations. Not all of them are good people! Can Jake navigate the ins and outs of his newfound geniusdom (not to mention the ins and outs of middle school) and use his smarts to save his school? BONUS! Includes extra brainteasers to test your smarts! Don't miss the next Smartest Kid in the Universe—Genius Camp!