Showing titles in Physics

With all the passion, curiosity, and precise yet lyrical prose that have marked his previous books, Alan Lightman here explores the emotional and philosophical questions raised by discoveries in science, focusing most intently on the human condition and the needs of humankind. He looks at the difficult dialogue between science and religion, the conflict between our human desire for permanence and the impermanence of nature, the possibility that our universe is simply an accident, the manner in which modern technology has separated us from direct experience of the world, and our resistance to the view that our bodies and minds can be explained by scientific logic and laws.

Big History, the field that studies the entire known past of our universe to give context to human existence, has so far been the domain of historians. Geologist Walter Alvarez - best known for his Impact Theory explaining dinosaur extinction - makes a compelling case for a new, science-first approach to Big History.

We all know that we depend on elements for survival - from oxygen in the air we breathe to carbon in the molecular structures of all living things. But we seldom appreciate how, say, phosphorus holds our DNA together or how potassium powers our optic nerves enabling us to see.

Our scientists might be armed with giant telescopes and powerful particle accelerators, yet their goal is the same one that has impelled the human imagination since ancient times: to show us our place in the universe. The result of their collective efforts is a complex story. At times it stretches the imagination just as much as the old creation myths. But its building blocks give us the power to work marvels our predecessors could scarcely comprehend. In Genesis, Guido Tonelli sets out 'to do justice to the great origin story that modern science gives us'.

In an age of unprecedented exploration and innovation, our oceans remain largely unknown, and endlessly fascinating: full of mystery, danger, beauty, and inspiration. Bill Streever - a longtime deep-sea diver himself - has masterfully woven together the science and history of Earth's last remaining frontier: the sea.

This internationally known physicist has developed a theory of quantum physics which addresses the totality of existence, including matter and consciousness, as an unbroken whole. The late Bohm's concept of "implicate order" provides a basis for bridging science to the realm of spirit. For two decades he explored this possibility with J. Krishnamurti, the famed religious teacher.

Medicine in the early 1800s was a brutal business. Operations were performed without anaesthesia while conventional treatment relied on leeches, cupping and toxic potions. It was said of one surgeon, 'His surgical acquirements were very small, his operations generally very badly performed and accompanied with much bungling, if not worse.' It was lucky, for the doctor at least, that his deafness made him immune to his patients' dying groans. Into this milieu came John Elliotson, the dazzling new hope of the medical world.

True life accounts and heartfelt testimonies from people who have had near-death experiences which have changed their lives forever

One of the biggest discoveries in physics, the quest for the Higgs boson demonstrates the value of a good theory. In July 2012, a Higgs-like particle was found near the energies scientists predicted. Now, armed with better evidence and better questions, the scientific process continues. In this audiobook, we’ve gathered our best reporting to explain that process - the theories, the search, the discovery, and the ongoing questions.

The purpose of this audiobook was to explain something beautiful that doesn't exist yet. It explores time travel as precognitive dreaming, dematerialization with secret time machine technology and through consciousness travel, lucid dreaming, and remote viewing. It also examines various reports of time slips, dimensional doorways, claims of time travel, the physics of time travel, and the nature of timelessness and non-linear causality.

Despite the overwhelming diversity of life on Earth, one theme has dominated its evolution: the apparently simple act of moving from one place to another. Restless Creatures is the first book for a general audience telling the incredible story of locomotion in human and animal evolution.

An engrossing history of the science of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism, right up to the latest indications that the poles are soon to reverse and destroy the world's power grids and electronic communications. A cataclysmic planetary phenomenon is gathering force deep within the Earth. The magnetic North Pole will eventually trade places with the South Pole. Satellite evidence suggests to some scientists that the move has already begun, but most still think it won't happen for many decades.

Let There Be Light presents a simple, beautiful, and elegant view of the oneness of all life, subjective and objective. It demonstrates the unity of the physical world with conscious experience of the physical world. Consciousness is not inside space and time, space and time are within consciousness; they are a special structure of the perceptual portion of consciousness.

We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. Not even some of the greatest geniuses in history, as Mario Livio tells us in this marvelous story of scientific error and breakthrough. Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein were all brilliant scientists. Each made groundbreaking contributions to his field - but each also stumbled badly. These five scientists expanded our knowledge of life on Earth, the evolution of the Earth itself, and the evolution of the universe, despite and because of their errors. As Mario Livio luminously explains, the scientific process advances through error.

How seeing Earth through the eyes of an astronaut brings new wonder and meaning to life on our planet.

An accessible look at the mysteries that lurk at the edge of the known universe and beyond. The observable universe, the part we can see with telescopes, is incredibly vast. Yet recent theories suggest that there is far more to the universe than what our instruments record - in fact, it could be infinite. Colossal flows of galaxies, large empty regions called voids, and other unexplained phenomena offer clues that our own "bubble universe" could be part of a greater realm called the multiverse.

Green belts are part of the landscape and psyche of post-war Britain, but have led to conflicts at every level of society - between conservationists and developers, town and country, politicians and people, nimbys and the forces of progress. Growing up on 'the last road in London' on an estate at the edge of the woods, John Grindrod had a childhood that mirrored these tensions. His family, too, seemed caught between two worlds: his wheelchair-bound mother and soft hearted father had moved from the inner city and had trouble adjusting.  

How would you like to experience your life? It's an intriguing question, and yet we've been conditioned to believe our life visions and goals are often unattainable - until now. With The Possibility Principle, psychotherapist Mel Schwartz offers a revolutionary approach to living the life we choose. Though science has vastly expanded our knowledge, it has also led us to adopt a worldview where we see ourselves as insignificant specks living in a mechanical universe.

Developed by experienced professors and professionally narrated for easy listening, this course is a great way to explore the subject of college-level physics. The audio is focused and high-yield, covering the most important topics you might expect to learn in a typical undergraduate physics course. The material is accurate, up-to-date, and broken down into bite-size sections. There are quizzes and key takeaways following each section to review questions commonly tested and drive home key points.  

The question of how falling cats land on their feet has intrigued humans since at least the middle of the 19th century. In this playful and eye-opening history, physicist, and cat parent Gregory Gbur explores how attempts to understand the cat-righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathematics, geophysics, neuroscience, and human space exploration....