'A gripping exploration of one of the most fundamental, but also perplexing aspects of existence.' PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Origins'Such an enjoyable read...full of delightful nuggets that you will want to impress your friends and family with.' PROF. JIM AL-KHALILI, NYT bestselling author of The World According to Physics'This is a lovely, fascinating book. It blends history, geology, chemistry, philosophy and, of course, physics in a way that's del...

A fascinating and comprehensive guide to the sun – our home star – which remains the greatest mystery in the solar system, and why understanding it is pivotal to our future existence here on Earth.In 1869, a great mystery was born. As astronomers observed a total solar eclipse, for the first time they saw the faint glow of the solar corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. Measurements of a previously unknown wavelength that made up this solar light sparked hot debate a...

Uncover the language of our universe - numbers - in this wide-ranging whistle-stop tour of the history and majesty of mathematics.Our world simply wouldn't function if we didn't have numbers. But where do they come from? Why do we cut cake the wrong way? How can there be different sizes of infinity?All these questions and more are answered in this engaging romp through the history of numbers by acclaimed science writer, Colin Stuart. From the mathematicians...

An exploration of space and time and a journey of discovery, through thirteen of the most fascinating Christmas Lectures given at the Royal Institution of Great Britain over the last 200 years. With a foreword by ESA astronaut Tim Peake.Started at the Royal Institution (RI) in 1825 by Michael Faraday, the Christmas Lectures have been broadcast on television since the 1960s and have formed part of the British Christmas tradition for generations. First devised to att...

'A gripping exploration of one of the most fundamental, but also perplexing aspects of existence.' PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Origins'Such an enjoyable read...full of delightful nuggets that you will want to impress your friends and family with.' PROF. JIM AL-KHALILI, NYT bestselling author of The World According to Physics'This is a lovely, fascinating book. It blends history, geology, chemistry, philosophy and, of course, physics in a way that's del...

A fascinating and comprehensive guide to the sun—our home star—and why understanding it is pivotal to our future existence here on Earth.In 1869, a great mystery was born. As astronomers observed a total solar eclipse, for the first time they saw the faint glow of the solar corona, the sun's outer atmosphere. Measurements of a previously unknown wavelength that made up this solar light sparked hot debate among scientists, but it was another sixty years before they ...

Uncover the language of our universe - numbers - in this wide-ranging whistle-stop tour of the history and majesty of mathematics.Our world simply wouldn't function if we didn't have numbers. But where do they come from? Why do we cut cake the wrong way? How can there be different sizes of infinity?All these questions and more are answered in this engaging romp through the history of numbers by acclaimed science writer, Colin Stuart. From the mathematicians...

A Princeton astrophysicist explores whether journeying to the past or future is scientifically possible in this "intriguing" volume (Neil deGrasse Tyson).It was H. G. Wells who coined the term "time machine"—but the concept of time travel, both forward and backward, has always provoked fascination and yearning. It has mostly been dismissed as an impossibility in the world of physics; yet theories posited by Einstein, and advanced by scientists including Stephen Haw...

What is time? The 5th-century philosopher St Augustine famously said that he knew what time was, so long as no one asked him.Is time a fourth dimension similar to space or does it flow in some sense? And if it flows, does it make sense to say how fast? Does the future exist? Is time travel possible? Why does time seem to pass in only one direction?These questions and others are among the deepest and most subtle that one can ask, but Introducing Time ...

A superlative, fascinating graphic account of Albert Einstein's strange world and how his legacy has been built upon since.It is now more than a century since Einstein's theories of Special and General Relativity began to revolutionise our view of the universe. Beginning near the speed of light and proceeding to explorations of space-time and curved spaces, Introducing Relativity plots a visually accessible course through the thought experiments that have g...

From time immemorial, poets and philosophers have looked in awe and wonder at the Universe. Such awe is shared by astrophysicists, too, as they seek to understand its nature, and whether it has any limits. In The Infinite Cosmos, Joseph Silk, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University, cosmologist and well-known science writer, brings together the modern understanding of the Universe, its structure, its evolution, and its possible fate, combining the latest from theory and observ...

This comprehensive guide to astronomy introduces the basic concepts, explaining what, when, and how to observe space, right through to current theories on everything from black holes to microquasars. It helps you to navigate the night sky, identify the constellations and find planets, comets, galaxies and deep-sky objects.Accessible, informative, and fully-illustrated, this is an invaluable practical companion for anyone who loves stargazing.