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Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime

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Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime

By: Benjamin Schumacher, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Benjamin Schumacher
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About this listen

It all started with Newton’s apple. Or did it? Gravity controls everything from the falling of an apple to the rising of ocean’s tides to the motions of the heavens above. If you’ve ever wondered how this most puzzling force works across our entire universe, you will be delighted by this 24-part course that is accessible to any curious person, regardless of your science education. No other product on the market presents the subject of gravity in as much detail as this course, which will follow the past 400 years of research and experimentation in the field.

Your guide is Professor Schumacher, an award-winning educator, prominent theoretical physicist, and protégé of John Archibald Wheeler, the distinguished gravity theorist who first coined the term “black hole”.

• Explore the intriguing features of gravity, including: why a hammer does not fall faster than a feather (neglecting air resistance, of course!); how astronauts float in space when they are still within reach of Earth’s gravitational pull; and how gravity shapes the four-dimensional fabric of the universe.

• Become immersed in the fascinating study of gravity, experiencing the scientific breakthroughs alongside the great minds of physics: Galileo, Newton, Cavendish, Einstein, Hubble, Hawking, and more.

• Examine a recent discovery: that the expansion of our universe is accelerating due to an as-yet-unexplained cosmic antigravity known as dark energy.

• Delve into the Holy Grail of contemporary physics: the search for a theory that encompasses both gravity, which extends its reach across the cosmos, and quantum mechanics, which governs events at the smallest possible scale.

In Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime, you will travel to the very edges of modern physics to explore several revolutionary theories and discover that physics is just as exciting today as it was when Newton sat by that fateful apple tree.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 The Great Courses (P)2013 The Teaching Company, LLC
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What listeners say about Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime

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A brilliant introduction to difficult concepts

Professor Schumacher is an excellent communicator and his love of science comes across front and centre in this wonderful course. I had to replay certain chapters a few times but I can definitely say that my knowledge of the world and my respect for the innovative scientists of the past few centuries have massively expanded. I completely recommend this to anyone that is interested in broadening their knowledge of what can be a difficult and esoteric subject. I’ve read a couple of popular science physics books so I am not a complete layman but I wish I’d found this course first as it would have been a solid foundation for more difficult works.

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gravitational reservations

great lectures. well articulated and full of fact, theory, conjecture, questions and information on what is known about many unknowns. however, the curvature of my understanding doesn't sit comfortably with a comprehensive portrait of gravity as an explained phenomenon. something doesn't add up yet as a roadmap these lectures can be thoroughly recommended if only to chart relative levels of uncertainty in current explanatory theory.

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Good listening

Fascinating tales of gravity. A bit hard to follow in some passages but still really enjoyable

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Very very good!!

Everything is so captivating. Between the grabbing narration, the content tailored to laypeople, and the occasional historical references, this is such a good book!

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The most enjoyable course I’ve done to date.

Ben is very good at bringing the subject to life. Everything is explained in a manner that any layman can follow, with a bit of thought. The maths is enlightening, and easy to follow if you a have the accompanying pdf. Would advise anyone to read each chapter first and get to grip with where it is going regarding the maths, since it is explained quite quickly. The story brings out the science beautifully.

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Perfect course for any physics enthusiast

Thoroughly enjoyed this series, perfectly summed up the past and present of physics. Prof. Schumacher clearly knows how to keep the listener glued to the topic. The only downside of the audio version is that you are unable to see when he’s giving visual explanations. Although, the pdf helps a bit but it’s not the same as a video version.

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Fascinating!

The course starts very gently and builds up pace as it goes (but never too complex). It is well structured, comprehensive and nicely presented. Works as an audio only course.
Loved it!

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I Found It Very Interesting

This is an enlightening set of lectures, especially for the layman interested in expanding knowledge and understanding of the subject. Very well presented with clear explanations and intriguing insight into the historical development of ideas.

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The best introduction to black holes and gravitation

Professor Schumacher has succeeded in producing a course on gravity, black holes, Cosmology that a novice could understand and a professional can learn from. I have a PhD in theoretical physics and still found hundreds on new things out about gravity, black holes and the Universe.
I love the way Prof Schumacher assumes the listener knows nothing! It means the explanations are thorough with lots of analogies and examples. He explains pressure, magnetism, photons, quantum effects... as he goes along so that it doesn’t stop the flow of the course.
This is really an outstanding course. It must have been a monumental undertaking... Well done to all involved.

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