14 results for "Science"

The end of eternity

Asimov, Isaac
A spellbinding novel set in the universe of Isaac Asimov's classic Galactic Empire series and Foundation series. Due to circumstances within our control ... tomorrow will be canceled. The Eternals, the ruling class of the Future, had the power of life and death not only over every human being but over the very centuries into which they were born. Past, Present, and Future could be created or destroyed at will. You had to be special to become an Eternal. Andrew Harlan was special. Until he committed the one unforgivable sin -- falling in love. Eternals weren't supposed to have feelings. But Andrew could not deny the sensations that were struggling within him. He knew he could not keep this secret forever. And so he began to plan his escape, a plan that changed his own past ... and threatened Eternity itself.
Del Rey 2020 221 pages

Time reborn: from the crisis in physics to the future of the universe

Smolin, Lee
"From one of our foremost thinkers and public intellectuals, a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos What is time? This deceptively simple question is the single most important problem facing science as we probe more deeply into the fundamentals of the universe. All of the mysteries physicists and cosmologists face--from the Big Bang to the future of the universe, from the puzzles of quantum physics to the unification of forces and particles--come down to the nature of time. The fact that time is real may seem obvious. You experience it passing every day when you watch clocks tick, bread toast, and children grow. But most physicists, from Newton to Einstein to today's quantum theorists, have seen things differently. The scientific case for time being an illusion is formidable. That is why the consequences of adopting the view that time is real are revolutionary. Lee Smolin, author of the controversial bestseller The Trouble with Physics, argues that a limited notion of time is holding physics back. It's time for a major revolution in scientific thought. The reality of time could be the key to the next big breakthrough in theoretical physics. What if the laws of physics themselves were not timeless? What if they could evolve? Time Reborn offers a radical new approach to cosmology that embraces the reality of time and opens up a whole new universe of possibilities. There are few ideas that, like our notion of time, shape our thinking about literally everything, with huge implications for physics and beyond--from climate change to the economic crisis. Smolin explains in lively and lucid prose how the true nature of time impacts our world"--
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2013 319 pages

Hiding in the mirror: the quest for alternate realities, from Plato to string theory (by way of Alice in Wonderland, Einstein, and The twilight zone)

Krauss, Lawrence Maxwell
An exploration of mankind's fascination with worlds beyond our own-by the bestselling author of The Physics of Star Trek Lawrence Krauss -an international leader in physics and cosmology-examines our long and ardent romance with parallel universes, veiled dimensions, and regions of being that may extend tantalizingly beyond the limits of our perception. Krauss examines popular culture's current embrace (and frequent misunderstanding) of such topics as black holes, life in other dimensions, strings, and some of the more extraordinary new theories that propose the existence of vast extra dimensions alongside our own. BACKCOVER: "An astonishing and brilliantly written work of popular science." -Science a GoGo "A brilliant, thrilling book . . . You'll have so much fun reading that you'll hardly notice you're getting a primer on contemporary physics and cosmology." -Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Penguin Books 2006-11-28 277 pages

Big time

Winters, Ben H.
" What if time could be taken from us-the minutes, the hours, the years of our lives, extracted like organs taken for transplant? What would it mean for the world? And what would it do to the person from whom it's taken? Grace Berney is a mid-level bureaucrat in the Food and Drug Administration, a woman who once brimmed with purpose but somehow turned into a middle-aged single mom with a dull government job and a melancholy sense that life has passed her by. Until the night a strange photo comes across her desk, of a young woman in a hospital bed who has been subjected to a mysterious procedure. Against orders and against common sense, Grace sets out to bring the girl to safety, and finds herself risking her job, her future, and her life on whether she can find the missing girl before an obsessive and violent mercenary who's also looking. Big Time is a fast-paced thriller and a metaphysical mystery about the very nature of our lives." -- Amazon.
Mulholland Books/Little, Brown and Company 2024-03 275 pages

Of Time and Space and Other Things

Asimov, Isaac
Lucid discussions of man"s attempt to measure time-and control it, gravitation (not the strongest force in the Universe! ), the fascination of Roman numerals, the meanings of planets" names (Why is it correct to speak of "Venerian atmosphere" or even "Cytherean atmosphere-but not "Venusian atmosphere? ", the magic of measures, intriguing speculations on man's mortality, and much more-a breathtaking voyage of discovery in space and time by the man who has revealed the mysteries of science to mill.
Avon 1975-01 205 pages

Einstein's legacy: the unity of space and time

Schwinger, Julian
In this splendidly lucid and profusely illustrated book, a Nobel laureate relates the fascinating story of Einstein, the general and special theories of relativity, and the scientists before and since who influenced relativity's genesis and development. Eschewing technical terms in favor of ordinary language, the book offers a perfect introduction to relativity for readers without specialized knowledge of mathematics and science. The author follows Einstein's own dictum to make explanations "as simple as possible, but not more so." His periodic use of equations as points of clarification involve nothing more than simple algebra; these can be disregarded by math-averse readers. Dr. Schwinger begins with a discussion of the conflict between two principles of electromagnetic theory that are irreconcilable in Newtonian physics, and how Einstein's attempts to resolve this conflict led to the theory of relativity. Readers learn about the meaning of time and the paradoxes of space travel at speeds close to that of light, following the development of Einstein's relativistic thought and his epochal perception that E=mc 2. Further chapters examine gravity and its effect on light; non-Euclidean geometry and the curving of space-time; and the impact of radio astronomy and space-age discoveries upon Einstein's model of the universe. Amusing quotes, suppositions, and illustrative fictions — along with numerous sidebars and boxes explaining physical principles, anomalies, events, and inventions — enhance this accessible introduction, and provide stimulating food for thought. Preface. 189 black-and-white illustrations. Sources of the Illustrations. Index.
Dover Publications 2002-01-01 250 pages

Is future given?

Prigogine, I.
In this book, after discussing the fundamental problems of current science and other philosophic concepts, beginning with controversies between Heraclitus and Parmenides, Ilya Prigogine launches into a message of great hope: the future has not been determined. Contrary to globalisation and the apparent contemporary mass culture society, individual behaviour is beginning to increasingly become the key factor which governs the evolution of both the world and society as a whole. It is a message that challenges existing widespread views, implicitly or explicitly, through mass communication, moreover the importance of the individual's actions implies a reflection of each person on the responsibilities that each one assumes when taking or acting upon a decision. This responsibility is associated with the freedom of thought as well as a critical analysis of fashions, customs, preconceived ideas, and ideologies, externally imposed: exactly contrary to the ideas of those who wish us to be "perfect consumers" in a world dominated only by monetary wealth. Challenging this drive towards the elimination of freedom of though in the individual is now imperative if we are to save man and his planet from catastrophe which seems to be ever imminent and (unfortunately) irreversible. This last book of Ilya Prigogine provides a small, disputable, but nonetheless valuable contribution towards that end.
World Scientific 2003 145 pages

Move

Kostick, Conor
Everything comes with a price ... What if you could live in a universe where you were always the winner? Pushed to his limits by a horrific accident, Liam discovers he has an amazing ability: he can 'move' to parallel universes where things always turn out just the way he wants. But every time he moves the fabric of the metaverse begins to tear. And something evil begins to find its way in ... A gripping fantasy adventure story of the battle between a teenage boy and a terrible demon. It is also the deeper tale of how Liam changes, emerging from the final crisis a much wiser person than the boy for whom the ability to swap universes made the world his toy. A thrilling roller-coaster ride from an award-winning author.
O'Brien Press 2008 221 pages

The briefest history of time: the history of histories of time and the misconstrued association between entropy and time

Ben-Naim, Arieh
"The aim of this book is to explain in simple language what we know about time and about the history of time. It is shown that the briefest (as well as the lengthiest) history of time can be described in one or two pages. The second purpose of the book is to show that neither entropy, nor the Second Law of Thermodynamics has anything to do with time. The third purpose is to educate the lay reader how to read popular sciences books, critically. Towards this goal, detailed reviews of four books on time are presented"--
World Scientific 2016 244 pages