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Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines
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290 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Jim Al-Khalili
35books694followersJameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. He is a regular broadcaster and presenter of science programmes on BBC radio and television, and a frequent commentator about science in other British media.
In 2014, Al-Khalili was named as a RISE (Recognising Inspirational Scientists and Engineers) leader by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). He was President of Humanists UK between January 2013 and January 2016.
In 2014, Al-Khalili was named as a RISE (Recognising Inspirational Scientists and Engineers) leader by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). He was President of Humanists UK between January 2013 and January 2016.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 21, 2021
So exciting to read!! I read it in two days bc I was just so hyped about it. It’s an easy read. Even if you don’t understand anything about physics you’ll understand this book. Plus the author has a really funny way of explaining things so I absolutely loved it.
September 7, 2008
I actually read the digital version of this book while sitting in my College Library (Yay! Big Olive!). Which might tell you how good it is, since I read the whole book in two sittings while in the painful computer lab! Best introduction to Cosmic-Super-Physics you can get. And it's great to get you started down the path of reading more and more complex books on this subject.
May 7, 2008
opened my eyes on physics.
August 18, 2018
Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines by Jim Al-Khalili is a book popularizing some of the results of Einstein’s Relativity Equations. If you read about this sort of thing a lot as I do, this might not be anything new to you. This might especially be the case since the book was printed in 1999 so most of the work is current to 1998.
The book itself describes the phenomena in question with skill and grace, remembering that this book is meant for laypeople and others unfamiliar with the subject. It describes the bending of spacetime being the cause of gravity, the experiments that proved Einstein to be correct and made him a household name and so on. The book talks about Olber’s Paradox, the Cosmic Background Radiation and other things related to the Big Bang and the expansion of the universe.
As I mentioned, this book is meant for the common man or woman as the case may be. In that sense, the author avoids using too much scientific jargon and describes things in a manner that is easy to understand. With the “fabric” of reality and how it is warped by gravity, they use the rubber sheet analogy taking care to note that this is occurring in more dimensions than those occupied by a rubber sheet.
It is somewhat amusing to me to read about people that don’t believe that the Speed of Light is as fast as anything can possibly go, but I suppose if you were never exposed to the equations I can’t really expect one to get it from everyday life. I mean, Special Relativity is only applicable when an object is going at an appreciable fraction of the Speed of Light. The fastest man-made vehicle is probably a rocket, but I doubt that many people will have the opportunity to even ride such a thing. Even in the case of a rocket, we are only talking about something barely capable of escaping Earth’s Gravity. Now 40,000 km/h or 25,000 mph might seem fast and it is. However, that is nothing to the Speed of Light. At an appreciable fraction of the speed of light time itself slows down. Due to the Mass-Energy Equivalence equation that Einstein is known for, you will begin to gain mass as you get closer to light-speed.
In any case, this book was very good. It was a bit reminiscent of Paul Davies’ About Time which I think I still own somewhere. It covers a great deal of material in a thin package and has a bibliography if you are curious about any of the subjects and ideas covered.
The book itself describes the phenomena in question with skill and grace, remembering that this book is meant for laypeople and others unfamiliar with the subject. It describes the bending of spacetime being the cause of gravity, the experiments that proved Einstein to be correct and made him a household name and so on. The book talks about Olber’s Paradox, the Cosmic Background Radiation and other things related to the Big Bang and the expansion of the universe.
As I mentioned, this book is meant for the common man or woman as the case may be. In that sense, the author avoids using too much scientific jargon and describes things in a manner that is easy to understand. With the “fabric” of reality and how it is warped by gravity, they use the rubber sheet analogy taking care to note that this is occurring in more dimensions than those occupied by a rubber sheet.
It is somewhat amusing to me to read about people that don’t believe that the Speed of Light is as fast as anything can possibly go, but I suppose if you were never exposed to the equations I can’t really expect one to get it from everyday life. I mean, Special Relativity is only applicable when an object is going at an appreciable fraction of the Speed of Light. The fastest man-made vehicle is probably a rocket, but I doubt that many people will have the opportunity to even ride such a thing. Even in the case of a rocket, we are only talking about something barely capable of escaping Earth’s Gravity. Now 40,000 km/h or 25,000 mph might seem fast and it is. However, that is nothing to the Speed of Light. At an appreciable fraction of the speed of light time itself slows down. Due to the Mass-Energy Equivalence equation that Einstein is known for, you will begin to gain mass as you get closer to light-speed.
In any case, this book was very good. It was a bit reminiscent of Paul Davies’ About Time which I think I still own somewhere. It covers a great deal of material in a thin package and has a bibliography if you are curious about any of the subjects and ideas covered.
September 22, 2015
The title's pretty accurate. The book covers the standard popular-physics-book basics of relativity, then goes into more detail about the ways that relativity allows time travel, especially involving wormholes. It developed from a lecture that the author gave to high-schoolers to recruit them to study physics. At one point he says that it "was written with a teenage audience in mind," which could have put me off, but I'm glad it didn't. It is indeed a book that you could start without ever having heard of relativity, and it avoids math completely, but still manages to go into more detail than you might expect. It explains the difference between rotating (Kerr) black holes and non-rotating (Schwarzchild) ones, which I don't remember learning anywhere before. It was also interesting to read how Carl Sagan's request for help withContactled to the discovery that macroscopic wormholes are theoretically possible.
June 8, 2021
Explained so well even I understood it. An enjoyable scientific book if you are interested in that area of science.
June 23, 2021
Good for beginners. Quite a lot packed in.
November 10, 2022
I enjoyed this a lot.
December 14, 2022
Very interesting but at times hard to understand without a proper background..
May 1, 2023
Newtonian mechanics/basic physics isn’t that hard to understand. In fact, the dumber you are, the quicker you learn about it, as you’re likely to have some kind accident involving gravity and acceleration. Experimental physics is a little harder, but it is something you can still touch (or at least see) to the extent you can watch an experiment being performed. With a little effort, a starter kit, and a YouTube tutorial you can even perform some minor experiments at home. And heck, if you find a way to get your hands on twenty-eight kilometers of magnetized toroidal metal, you can build your own supercollider.
Once you get down to the subatomic, though, things start getting confusing. Things exist as potentials, or don’t exist unless you look at them, or something (even the biggest brains disagree on this stuff.) Go one step further into the purely theoretical and you’ll be dragged from being asked to thinking about a fourth dimension (spacetime) to being asked to countenance at least eleven dimensions.
At this point, unless you have many years of training in the field, or are some sort of prodigal savant with an IQ of 200, you are screwed. The closest you can get to understanding this stuff is having someone who is big-brained to hold your hand.
Dr. Jim Al-Khalili proves to be an especially efficient and able cosmic psychopomp. Thanks to his lucid and straightforward style, I rarely had to overly furrow my simian brow in frustration. His easy but informative method always condenses where necessary and slows down where a layperson might get lost. This ensured that I never became so confused that I yearned to defecate onto my non-opposable digits and fling my feces at him. Illustrations and diagrams are employed, as are metaphors that make all the stuff less intimidating. A good sense of humor also helps put the insecure among us at ease, bracing, as we all are, for the moment where it sails far over our heads.
There’s some basic math, but it thankfully only involves letters from the Roman alphabet, rather than the Mus and Deltas of Attic antiquity. I did algebra and geometry in secondary school and managed to limp through college courses employing the same kind of math, before escaping into the adult daycare center of the humanities, so this part also was easy enough for me to grok.
Subjects covered include everything from black holes to wormholes and time machines. Various dimensions (both spatial and temporal) are also explained so that even the nonvisual-minded can get an accurate enough picture to understand the theory. Al-Khalili is careful to never stray from the possible and theoretical into the wholly speculative, except to make a point about the gulf between science fact and fiction. That said, he is not churlish, and understands that some of us come to the book with a certain set of expectations (to say nothing of rubber Vulcan ears and man-boobs.) He is careful to never lie and give false hopes to those of us who hope to take our DeLorean to the past, but neither does he pour cold water on a nerd’s dreams needlessly.
This is a great book, that I can’t recommend highly enough, for fans of science and yes, fans of SF.
Once you get down to the subatomic, though, things start getting confusing. Things exist as potentials, or don’t exist unless you look at them, or something (even the biggest brains disagree on this stuff.) Go one step further into the purely theoretical and you’ll be dragged from being asked to thinking about a fourth dimension (spacetime) to being asked to countenance at least eleven dimensions.
At this point, unless you have many years of training in the field, or are some sort of prodigal savant with an IQ of 200, you are screwed. The closest you can get to understanding this stuff is having someone who is big-brained to hold your hand.
Dr. Jim Al-Khalili proves to be an especially efficient and able cosmic psychopomp. Thanks to his lucid and straightforward style, I rarely had to overly furrow my simian brow in frustration. His easy but informative method always condenses where necessary and slows down where a layperson might get lost. This ensured that I never became so confused that I yearned to defecate onto my non-opposable digits and fling my feces at him. Illustrations and diagrams are employed, as are metaphors that make all the stuff less intimidating. A good sense of humor also helps put the insecure among us at ease, bracing, as we all are, for the moment where it sails far over our heads.
There’s some basic math, but it thankfully only involves letters from the Roman alphabet, rather than the Mus and Deltas of Attic antiquity. I did algebra and geometry in secondary school and managed to limp through college courses employing the same kind of math, before escaping into the adult daycare center of the humanities, so this part also was easy enough for me to grok.
Subjects covered include everything from black holes to wormholes and time machines. Various dimensions (both spatial and temporal) are also explained so that even the nonvisual-minded can get an accurate enough picture to understand the theory. Al-Khalili is careful to never stray from the possible and theoretical into the wholly speculative, except to make a point about the gulf between science fact and fiction. That said, he is not churlish, and understands that some of us come to the book with a certain set of expectations (to say nothing of rubber Vulcan ears and man-boobs.) He is careful to never lie and give false hopes to those of us who hope to take our DeLorean to the past, but neither does he pour cold water on a nerd’s dreams needlessly.
This is a great book, that I can’t recommend highly enough, for fans of science and yes, fans of SF.
October 6, 2021
"Buchi neri, wormholes e macchine del tempo”; di Jim Al-Khalili; titolo originale: “Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines”; traduzione di Elisabetta Maurutto, edizioni Dedalo, Isbn 9788822062673.
Avevo già letto altri libri del medesimo Autore ( “La fisica dei Perplessi”, isbn 9788833925158 e la “Fisica del Diavolo”, isbn 9788833923123) e mi ero trovato benissimo con il suo stile veramente accessibile a tutti; quindi, sono andato a “colpo sicuro” e, anche questa volta, sono stato pienamente soddisfatto nelle mie aspettative.
Il Saggio parla, ovviamente della fisica moderna e del suo status quo (anche se ormai ci sono sicuramente pubblicazioni più recenti sull’argomento), soffermandosi sulle meraviglie e sui paradossi che ancora emergono considerando le tre grandi teorie che si cerca di far convergere insieme nella cosiddetta “Teoria del Tutto”: le due teorie di Einstein sulla relatività (generale e ristretta) e gli studi sulla fisica quantistica.
In specifico però, con una strizzatina d’occhio a “Flatlandia”, si parla dello “Spazio” (prima parte), della sua bizzarra natura, delle sue molteplici dimensioni (fino alle 11 previste nella “Teoria delle Stringhe”... ma pare che non bastino!), della sua origine, insieme a tutto il resto dell’Universo e delle strane caratteristiche di alcuni suoi “corpi” e/o “luoghi” (un buco nero è un corpo, un luogo... oppure un “non” luogo?). Una seconda parte è dedicata al “Tempo” e alla sua relatività e direzionalità, infine, nella terza parte ci si avventura nel tema dei viaggi nel Tempo. Potremo un giorno viaggiare nel tempo?... come si viene a capo dei tanti paradossi che questa possibilità renderebbe manifesti?... cos’è, come si trova o come si “crea” un “Tunnel temporale” o “Wormhole”?
Buona lettura!
Avevo già letto altri libri del medesimo Autore ( “La fisica dei Perplessi”, isbn 9788833925158 e la “Fisica del Diavolo”, isbn 9788833923123) e mi ero trovato benissimo con il suo stile veramente accessibile a tutti; quindi, sono andato a “colpo sicuro” e, anche questa volta, sono stato pienamente soddisfatto nelle mie aspettative.
Il Saggio parla, ovviamente della fisica moderna e del suo status quo (anche se ormai ci sono sicuramente pubblicazioni più recenti sull’argomento), soffermandosi sulle meraviglie e sui paradossi che ancora emergono considerando le tre grandi teorie che si cerca di far convergere insieme nella cosiddetta “Teoria del Tutto”: le due teorie di Einstein sulla relatività (generale e ristretta) e gli studi sulla fisica quantistica.
In specifico però, con una strizzatina d’occhio a “Flatlandia”, si parla dello “Spazio” (prima parte), della sua bizzarra natura, delle sue molteplici dimensioni (fino alle 11 previste nella “Teoria delle Stringhe”... ma pare che non bastino!), della sua origine, insieme a tutto il resto dell’Universo e delle strane caratteristiche di alcuni suoi “corpi” e/o “luoghi” (un buco nero è un corpo, un luogo... oppure un “non” luogo?). Una seconda parte è dedicata al “Tempo” e alla sua relatività e direzionalità, infine, nella terza parte ci si avventura nel tema dei viaggi nel Tempo. Potremo un giorno viaggiare nel tempo?... come si viene a capo dei tanti paradossi che questa possibilità renderebbe manifesti?... cos’è, come si trova o come si “crea” un “Tunnel temporale” o “Wormhole”?
Buona lettura!
May 29, 2022
Come nel libro di Davis (Come costruire una macchina del tempo) il titolo su temi legati alla SF è in realtà un viatico per parlare di fisica seria pur disquisendo anche di tematiche (wormholes etc) che i fisici teorici puri considererebbero borderline. Ma del resto Kip Thorne se Stephen Hawking ci hanno insegnato che si può essere top e fare ospitate a The Big Bang Theory e fare da consulenti per film com Interstellar.
Questo detto, il libro ci porta nel reame della Relatività e della Quantistica mentre si parla dei concetti pro e contro la fattibilità teorica di viaggiare nel tempo e di tutto quello che ne consegue (paradossi, etc). Un viaggio accessibile per chi ha una minima base scientifica; non semplicissimo ma accessibile a tutti.
Il problema semmai è che avendo oramai quasi dieci anni, alcuni temi sono stati superati (ad esempio la teoria delle stringhe è meno in auge di un tempo) e l'esistenza delle onde gravitazionali provata.
Una frase salvata dal libro riassume bene la necessità di apertura mentale ma tenendo sempre a portata di meno il sano giudizio critico
“Allarga le tue vedute, ma non tanto da lasciar scappare il cervello".
James Chrisley
Questo detto, il libro ci porta nel reame della Relatività e della Quantistica mentre si parla dei concetti pro e contro la fattibilità teorica di viaggiare nel tempo e di tutto quello che ne consegue (paradossi, etc). Un viaggio accessibile per chi ha una minima base scientifica; non semplicissimo ma accessibile a tutti.
Il problema semmai è che avendo oramai quasi dieci anni, alcuni temi sono stati superati (ad esempio la teoria delle stringhe è meno in auge di un tempo) e l'esistenza delle onde gravitazionali provata.
Una frase salvata dal libro riassume bene la necessità di apertura mentale ma tenendo sempre a portata di meno il sano giudizio critico
“Allarga le tue vedute, ma non tanto da lasciar scappare il cervello".
James Chrisley
April 14, 2022
O lectura introductiva asupra gaurilor negre, gaurile de vierme, calatoriile in timp ( trecut - viitor), teoria relativitatii a lui Einstein (generala si speciala), teoria gravitationala a lui Newton, mecanica cuantica, Big Bang, viteza sunetului, unde, expansiunea universului, dimensiuni, multivers, bosonul Higgs („particula Dumnezeu”, 2013), a carui descoperire este anticipata de autor la CERN (Geneva), prin acceleratorul de particule (un tunel de 23 km cu particule ale caror viteze sunt apropiate de viteza luminii) etc. Autorul a incercat sa stocheze foarte sumar cat mai multe notiuni despre univers, intr-un limbaj simplificat, comun, insa nu mi se pare edificator in explicatii. Acesta subliniaza ca stiinta progreseaza intr-un ritm accelerat, insa raman anumite enigme: daca acest univers e inchis/deschis, daca exista multivers, cum poate fi combinata mecanica cuantica cu teoria relativitatii, cum se poate construi o masina a timpului, cum sa depasesti viteza luminii etc. Nu se stie daca vor putea fi demonstrate empiric aceste teorii.
Einstein, in 1915, prin faimoasa ecuatie E = mc², a schimbat si revolutionat intelegerea noastra despre univers, iar autorul, prin aceasta carte, nu ezita sa-i elogieze meritele.
Sa afli ca suntem doar niste entitati organice microscopice in acest univers, un punct in marele plan cosmic, o magaldeata in oceanul infinit, ca exista si altceva in afara acestei planete... Te invata sa apreciezi mai mult acest patos energetic al vietii, ca nimic nu e garantat, ca egocentrismul nostru este insignifiant si lamentabil in fata universului necrutator. As fi vrut ca aceste notiuni sa fie predate in scoli, ca curiozitatea elevilor sa fie stimulata prin misterele nebanuite ale universului.
Einstein, in 1915, prin faimoasa ecuatie E = mc², a schimbat si revolutionat intelegerea noastra despre univers, iar autorul, prin aceasta carte, nu ezita sa-i elogieze meritele.
Sa afli ca suntem doar niste entitati organice microscopice in acest univers, un punct in marele plan cosmic, o magaldeata in oceanul infinit, ca exista si altceva in afara acestei planete... Te invata sa apreciezi mai mult acest patos energetic al vietii, ca nimic nu e garantat, ca egocentrismul nostru este insignifiant si lamentabil in fata universului necrutator. As fi vrut ca aceste notiuni sa fie predate in scoli, ca curiozitatea elevilor sa fie stimulata prin misterele nebanuite ale universului.
November 7, 2019
This is my first non-all-out-space physics book. I love Prof Al-Khalili's TV programmes and have bought a few of his books in ebook form (well, apart from this one which is hugely expensive, instead got a PDF of it from Academia.edu). Definitely looking forward to reading the others but thought starting with the first one was as good a place as any.
Not gonna pretend everything in this book lodged itself in my brain, (after all, at school I got Cs from physics and Cs and Ds in maths...and have since forgotten everything), but it pretty much gave me what I expected from it. And hopefully some of the basics are finally gonna stick from now on. (Like that there are two theories of relativity which I either never knew or have forgotten. See, that's my level of idiot right here.)
It's obvious that even 20 years ago Prof. Al-Khalili already had a knack for relating science to idiots. And I actually enjoyed the "attempts at humour", thank you very much.
Not gonna pretend everything in this book lodged itself in my brain, (after all, at school I got Cs from physics and Cs and Ds in maths...and have since forgotten everything), but it pretty much gave me what I expected from it. And hopefully some of the basics are finally gonna stick from now on. (Like that there are two theories of relativity which I either never knew or have forgotten. See, that's my level of idiot right here.)
It's obvious that even 20 years ago Prof. Al-Khalili already had a knack for relating science to idiots. And I actually enjoyed the "attempts at humour", thank you very much.
March 20, 2019
Lettura molto interessante anche per chi, come me, ha solo una scarsa infarinatura della matematica o della fisica. Alcuni capitoli risultano più impegnativi da comprendere ed è necessaria una maggiore attenzione, ma Al-Khalili riesce nel suo intento di rendere comprensibile una tematica tanto affascinante quanto complessa con il suo brillante umorismo da scienziato.
Decisamente consigliato!
Decisamente consigliato!
December 15, 2020
Never has physics felt more understandable! Through all the stephen hawking I've ever read and not retained an iota of, this is the book i was waiting for.
I cant say i understood a 100% but atleast 70%. Ok fine, 60%🤦♀️. 50 atleast.
I cant say i understood a 100% but atleast 70%. Ok fine, 60%🤦♀️. 50 atleast.
September 5, 2017
A crash course into astrophysics, particles physics, quantum mechanics and of course black holes, wormholes and time machines.
June 2, 2018
Amazing!
July 16, 2020
Aπο τα καλύτερα βιβλία για το συγκεκριμένο θέμα!
July 20, 2022
Do you believe time travel is possible, but do not understand the physics of it? Detailed information is provided and there are presented all options.
March 29, 2023
Saggio divulgativo, pur non entrando nei particolari fornisce un attenta analisi sui buchi neri e sulla relatività dello spazio-tempo
January 27, 2024
Very enjoyable!
June 8, 2019
Standard physics book. Educational.
Neutral in explaining how time travel is possible with equal counterpoints on why it's impossible, which I liked.
Could have cut down on the attempted humor, but otherwise a good book.
Neutral in explaining how time travel is possible with equal counterpoints on why it's impossible, which I liked.
Could have cut down on the attempted humor, but otherwise a good book.
November 16, 2008
This was quite an amazing book, even though he actually doesn't believe in the possibility of time travel (he thinks the only way it would work was if the past, present, and future existed all together as one moment, and he believes that would negate free will. Which it doesn't, of course, so he and I disagree there). But overall, I enjoyed it and learned enough to make my brain buzz with all my newly acquired knowledge and ideas.
I particularly loved this section, on quantum particles:
"If we measure a certain property of an electron...then quantum mechanics will tell us what we are likely to find. However, it tells us nothing about what the electron is doing when it is not observed. This would not be a problem if we could trust electrons (and all other particles) to behave sensibly, but they don't. They will disappear from the place they were last seen and spontaneously reappear somewhere else that should, by rights, be inaccessible to them. They exist in two places at once, they tunnel through impenetrable barriers, travel in two different directions simultaneously, and even have several conflicting properties simultaneously. But the moment you look to see what is going on, the electron will suddenly start behaving itself again and nothing will look out of sorts. However, the unavoidable conclusions we have to draw from the results of our observations is that the electron was most definitely doing something very strange indeed when we weren't looking."
I particularly loved this section, on quantum particles:
"If we measure a certain property of an electron...then quantum mechanics will tell us what we are likely to find. However, it tells us nothing about what the electron is doing when it is not observed. This would not be a problem if we could trust electrons (and all other particles) to behave sensibly, but they don't. They will disappear from the place they were last seen and spontaneously reappear somewhere else that should, by rights, be inaccessible to them. They exist in two places at once, they tunnel through impenetrable barriers, travel in two different directions simultaneously, and even have several conflicting properties simultaneously. But the moment you look to see what is going on, the electron will suddenly start behaving itself again and nothing will look out of sorts. However, the unavoidable conclusions we have to draw from the results of our observations is that the electron was most definitely doing something very strange indeed when we weren't looking."
July 21, 2024
‘Babe you got a shout out in my book’
** WHITE HOLES **
‘Rude’
** WHITE HOLES **
‘Rude’
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2015
actual rating: 4.5
Stay true to its title
This is amazing book for non-scientists new comers to this field.
Why you should read this book?
if you love knowing stuff about universe, black holes etc. The writing is very easy going and concepts are made very easy to understand. If you have read any other book on these topics, I still recommend this book, because it further clarifies some concepts. It's a short book, that's why it doesn't get too dense for not-so-smart guys like me.
Why you shouldn't read this book?
This book is very basic. If you have already read few books on the topic and know about Black Holes, Wormholes, this book won't add anything new.
This book is written a while back. I hope the theories mentioned in this book are still acceptable among scientist.
Stay true to its title
This is amazing book for non-scientists new comers to this field.
Why you should read this book?
if you love knowing stuff about universe, black holes etc. The writing is very easy going and concepts are made very easy to understand. If you have read any other book on these topics, I still recommend this book, because it further clarifies some concepts. It's a short book, that's why it doesn't get too dense for not-so-smart guys like me.
Why you shouldn't read this book?
This book is very basic. If you have already read few books on the topic and know about Black Holes, Wormholes, this book won't add anything new.
This book is written a while back. I hope the theories mentioned in this book are still acceptable among scientist.
February 14, 2010
Excellent book whose purpose is to familiarize the reader with the universe, how it was created, what it is made of, and how time affects everything.
In order to explain how time travel could be possible (At least in theory), we are treated to a history of science, form the precursors of Newton, to the successors of Einstein.
Despite the fact that this book is now 11 years old, it remains a good and compact introduction to physics, astronomy and cosmology.
I particularly appreciated the description of how a 2D world would cope with 3 dimensions. All sorts of weird things would stat happening. It is an interesting analogy when we consider what happens in our 3D world when scientists focus on quantum mechanics.
In order to explain how time travel could be possible (At least in theory), we are treated to a history of science, form the precursors of Newton, to the successors of Einstein.
Despite the fact that this book is now 11 years old, it remains a good and compact introduction to physics, astronomy and cosmology.
I particularly appreciated the description of how a 2D world would cope with 3 dimensions. All sorts of weird things would stat happening. It is an interesting analogy when we consider what happens in our 3D world when scientists focus on quantum mechanics.
December 29, 2014
This is a great book for the layman enthusiast like myself. It got off to a very slow start. I thought I was in for a book written for 12 year-olds. However, as the book added on more and more to the base content, I was damn motivated to continue, just to see if I could wrap my head around each concept.
My biggest fear with this book is that it is now dated by a few years, and new advances have proven or disproved some of the theorems discussed. That's ok though, as I do not need to write my own research paper on the subject of cosmology.:)
My biggest fear with this book is that it is now dated by a few years, and new advances have proven or disproved some of the theorems discussed. That's ok though, as I do not need to write my own research paper on the subject of cosmology.:)
July 9, 2015
The content of this book was not too bad and along the lines of other books I have read on this topic. I like Jim as a writer and a presenter and am generally impressed by his work. My criticism of this book and its low rating are grounded on it being ludicrously overpriced for such a slim volume. I hope that Jim Al-Khalili had no influence over the price and that the blame can be put on a greedy publisher.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews