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| a world beyond physics: A World Beyond Physics Stuart A. Kauffman, 2019-04-01 How did life start? Is the evolution of life describable by any physics-like laws? Stuart Kauffman's latest book offers an explanation-beyond what the laws of physics can explain-of the progression from a complex chemical environment to molecular reproduction, metabolism and to early protocells, and further evolution to what we recognize as life. Among the estimated one hundred billion solar systems in the known universe, evolving life is surely abundant. That evolution is a process of becoming in each case. Since Newton, we have turned to physics to assess reality. But physics alone cannot tell us where we came from, how we arrived, and why our world has evolved past the point of unicellular organisms to an extremely complex biosphere. Building on concepts from his work as a complex systems researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, Kauffman focuses in particular on the idea of cells constructing themselves and introduces concepts such as constraint closure. Living systems are defined by the concept of organization which has not been focused on in enough in previous works. Cells are autopoetic systems that build themselves: they literally construct their own constraints on the release of energy into a few degrees of freedom that constitutes the very thermodynamic work by which they build their own self creating constraints. Living cells are machines that construct and assemble their own working parts. The emergence of such systems-the origin of life problem-was probably a spontaneous phase transition to self-reproduction in complex enough prebiotic systems. The resulting protocells were capable of Darwin's heritable variation, hence open-ended evolution by natural selection. Evolution propagates this burgeoning organization. Evolving living creatures, by existing, create new niches into which yet further new creatures can emerge. If life is abundant in the universe, this self-constructing, propagating, exploding diversity takes us beyond physics to biospheres everywhere. |
| a world beyond physics: At Home in the Universe Stuart Kauffman, 1996-11-21 A major scientific revolution has begun, a new paradigm that rivals Darwin's theory in importance. At its heart is the discovery of the order that lies deep within the most complex of systems, from the origin of life, to the workings of giant corporations, to the rise and fall of great civilizations. And more than anyone else, this revolution is the work of one man, Stuart Kauffman, a MacArthur Fellow and visionary pioneer of the new science of complexity. Now, in At Home in the Universe, Kauffman brilliantly weaves together the excitement of intellectual discovery and a fertile mix of insights to give the general reader a fascinating look at this new science--and at the forces for order that lie at the edge of chaos. We all know of instances of spontaneous order in nature--an oil droplet in water forms a sphere, snowflakes have a six-fold symmetry. What we are only now discovering, Kauffman says, is that the range of spontaneous order is enormously greater than we had supposed. Indeed, self-organization is a great undiscovered principle of nature. But how does this spontaneous order arise? Kauffman contends that complexity itself triggers self-organization, or what he calls order for free, that if enough different molecules pass a certain threshold of complexity, they begin to self-organize into a new entity--a living cell. Kauffman uses the analogy of a thousand buttons on a rug--join two buttons randomly with thread, then another two, and so on. At first, you have isolated pairs; later, small clusters; but suddenly at around the 500th repetition, a remarkable transformation occurs--much like the phase transition when water abruptly turns to ice--and the buttons link up in one giant network. Likewise, life may have originated when the mix of different molecules in the primordial soup passed a certain level of complexity and self-organized into living entities (if so, then life is not a highly improbable chance event, but almost inevitable). Kauffman uses the basic insight of order for free to illuminate a staggering range of phenomena. We see how a single-celled embryo can grow to a highly complex organism with over two hundred different cell types. We learn how the science of complexity extends Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection: that self-organization, selection, and chance are the engines of the biosphere. And we gain insights into biotechnology, the stunning magic of the new frontier of genetic engineering--generating trillions of novel molecules to find new drugs, vaccines, enzymes, biosensors, and more. Indeed, Kauffman shows that ecosystems, economic systems, and even cultural systems may all evolve according to similar general laws, that tissues and terra cotta evolve in similar ways. And finally, there is a profoundly spiritual element to Kauffman's thought. If, as he argues, life were bound to arise, not as an incalculably improbable accident, but as an expected fulfillment of the natural order, then we truly are at home in the universe. Kauffman's earlier volume, The Origins of Order, written for specialists, received lavish praise. Stephen Jay Gould called it a landmark and a classic. And Nobel Laureate Philip Anderson wrote that there are few people in this world who ever ask the right questions of science, and they are the ones who affect its future most profoundly. Stuart Kauffman is one of these. In At Home in the Universe, this visionary thinker takes you along as he explores new insights into the nature of life. |
| a world beyond physics: Quantum Reality Nick Herbert, 1987-02-20 This clearly explained layman's introduction to quantum physics is an accessible excursion into metaphysics and the meaning of reality. Herbert exposes the quantum world and the scientific and philosophical controversy about its interpretation. |
| a world beyond physics: Beyond the Dynamical Universe Michael Silberstein, W. M. Stuckey, Timothy McDevitt, 2018-02-02 Theoretical physics and foundations of physics have not made much progress in the last few decades. Whether we are talking about unifying general relativity and quantum field theory (quantum gravity), explaining so-called dark energy and dark matter (cosmology), or the interpretation and implications of quantum mechanics and relativity, there is no consensus in sight. In addition, both enterprises are deeply puzzled about various facets of time including above all, time as experienced. The authors argue that, across the board, this impasse is the result of the dynamical universe paradigm, the idea that reality is fundamentally made up of physical entities that evolve in time from some initial state according to dynamical laws. Thus, in the dynamical universe, the initial conditions plus the dynamical laws explain everything else going exclusively forward in time. In cosmology, for example, the initial conditions reside in the Big Bang and the dynamical law is supplied by general relativity. Accordingly, the present state of the universe is explained exclusively by its past. This book offers a completely new paradigm (called Relational Blockworld), whereby the past, present and future co-determine each other via adynamical global constraints, such as the least action principle. Accordingly, the future is just as important for explaining the present as is the past. Most of the book is devoted to showing how Relational Blockworld resolves many of the current conundrums of both theoretical physics and foundations of physics, including the mystery of time as experienced and how that experience relates to the block universe. |
| a world beyond physics: Beyond Weird Philip Ball, 2020-10-14 “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Since Niels Bohr said this many years ago, quantum mechanics has only been getting more shocking. We now realize that it’s not really telling us that “weird” things happen out of sight, on the tiniest level, in the atomic world: rather, everything is quantum. But if quantum mechanics is correct, what seems obvious and right in our everyday world is built on foundations that don’t seem obvious or right at all—or even possible. An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means—and what it doesn’t. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience. Over the past decade it has become clear that quantum physics is less a theory about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information and knowledge—about what can be known, and how we can know it. Discoveries and experiments over the past few decades have called into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and, ultimately, of knowledge itself. The quantum world Ball shows us isn’t a different world. It is our world, and if anything deserves to be called “weird,” it’s us. |
| a world beyond physics: The Physics Of The Standard Model And Beyond Chong-sa Lim, Toshiyuki Morii, Shankar Nath Mukherjee, 2004-04-22 This book provides a unified description of elementary particle interactions and the underlying theories, namely the Standard Model and beyond. The authors have aimed at a concise presentation but have taken care that all the basic concepts are clearly described. Written primarily for graduate students in theoretical and experimental particle physics, The Physics of the Standard Model and Beyond conveys the excitement of particle physics, centering upon experimental observations (new and old) and a variety of ideas for their interpretation. |
| a world beyond physics: Humanity in a Creative Universe Stuart A. Kauffman, 2016-02-02 In the hard sciences, which can often feel out of grasp for many lay readers, there are great thinkers who go far beyond the equations, formulas, and research. Minds such as Stephen Hawking philosophize about the functions and nature of the universe, the implications of our existence, and other impossibly fascinating, yet difficult questions. Stuart A. Kauffman is one of those great thinkers. He has dedicated his lifetime to researching complex systems at prestigious institutions and now writes his treatise on the most complex system of all: our universe. A recent Scientific American article claims that philosophy begins where physics ends, and physics begins where philosophy ends, and perhaps no better quote sums up what Kauffman's latest book offers. Grounded in his rigorous training and research background, Kauffman is inter-disciplinary in every sense of the word, sorting through the major questions and theories in biology, physics, and philosophy. Best known for his philosophy of evolutionary biology, Kauffman coined the term prestatability to call into question whether science can ever accurately and precisely predict the future development of biological features in organisms. As evidenced by the title's mention of creativity, the book refreshingly argues that our preoccupation to explain all things with scientific law has deadened our creative natures. In this fascinating read, Kauffman concludes that the development of life on earth is not entirely predictable, because no theory could ever fully account for the limitless variations of evolution. Sure to cause a stir, this book will be discussed for years to come and may even set the tone for the next great thinker. |
| a world beyond physics: There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness Carlo Rovelli, 2020-11-05 'A joy of a book - enriching, illuminating, eclectic and far from a conventional science read' Richard Webb, New Scientist Books of the Year 'Carlo Rovelli's imaginative rigour, his lively humour and his beautiful writing are inspiring' Erica Wagner One of the most inspiring thinkers of our age, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics transforms the way we think about the world with his reflections on science, history and humanity In this collection of writings, the logbook of an intelligence always on the move, Carlo Rovelli follows his curiosity and invites us on a voyage through science, history, philosophy and politics. Written with his usual clarity and wit, these pieces range widely across time and space: from Newton's alchemy to Einstein's mistakes, from Nabokov's butterflies to Dante's cosmology, from travels in Africa to the consciousness of an octopus, from mind-altering psychedelic substances to the meaning of atheism. Charming, pithy and elegant, this book is the perfect gateway to the universe of one of the most influential scientists of our age. |
| a world beyond physics: Physics of the Impossible Michio Kaku, 2009 'Physics of the Impossible' takes us on a journey to the frontiers of science and beyond, giving us an insight into what we can really hope to achieve in the future. |
| a world beyond physics: The Landscape of Theoretical Physics: A Global View M. Pavsic, 2001-11-30 Today many important directions of research are being pursued more or less independently of each other. These are, for instance, strings and mem branes, induced gravity, embedding of spacetime into a higher dimensional space, the brane world scenario, the quantum theory in curved spaces, Fock Schwinger proper time formalism, parametrized relativistic quantum the ory, quantum gravity, wormholes and the problem of “time machines”, spin and supersymmetry, geometric calculus based on Clifford algebra, various interpretations of quantum mechanics including the Everett interpretation, and the recent important approach known as “decoherence”. A big problem, as I see it, is that various people thoroughly investigate their narrow field without being aware of certain very close relations to other fields of research. What we need now is not only to see the trees but also the forest. In the present book I intend to do just that: to carry out a first approximation to a synthesis of the related fundamental theories of physics. I sincerely hope that such a book will be useful to physicists. From a certain viewpoint the book could be considered as a course in the oretical physics in which the foundations of all those relevant fundamental theories and concepts are attempted to be thoroughly reviewed. Unsolved problems and paradoxes are pointed out. I show that most of those ap proaches have a common basis in the theory of unconstrained membranes. The very interesting and important concept of membrane space, the tensor calculus in and functional transformations in are discussed. |
| a world beyond physics: What Is Real? Adam Becker, 2018-03-20 A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science. --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. An excellent, accessible account. --Wall Street Journal Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists. --Washington Post |
| a world beyond physics: Physics of the Future Michio Kaku, 2011-05-05 The international bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible gives us a stunning and provocative vision of the future Based on interviews with over three hundred of the world's top scientists, who are already inventing the future in their labs, Kaku-in a lucid and engaging fashion-presents the revolutionary developments in medicine, computers, quantum physics, and space travel that will forever change our way of life and alter the course of civilization itself. His astonishing revelations include: The Internet will be in your contact lens. It will recognize people's faces, display their biographies, and even translate their words into subtitles. You will control computers and appliances via tiny sensors that pick up your brain scans. You will be able to rearrange the shape of objects. Sensors in your clothing, bathroom, and appliances will monitor your vitals, and nanobots will scan your DNA and cells for signs of danger, allowing life expectancy to increase dramatically. Radically new spaceships, using laser propulsion, may replace the expensive chemical rockets of today. You may be able to take an elevator hundreds of miles into space by simply pushing the up button. Like Physics of the Impossible and Visions before it, Physics of the Future is an exhilarating, wondrous ride through the next one hundred years of breathtaking scientific revolution. Internationally acclaimed physicist Dr Michio Kaku holds the Henry Semat Chair in Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York. He is also an international bestselling author, his books including Hyperspace and Parallel Worlds, and a distinguished writer, having featured in Time, the Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times and the New Scientist to name but a few. Dr Kaku also hosts his own radio show, 'Science Fantastic', and recently presented the BBC's popular series 'Time'. |
| a world beyond physics: God and the New Physics Paul Davies, 2006-09-28 An explanation of how recent discoveries of the new physics are revolutionizing our view of the world and, in particular, throwing light on many of the questions formerly posed by religion |
| a world beyond physics: The World According to Physics Jim Al-Khalili, 2020-03-10 Scale -- Space and time -- Energy and matter -- The quantum world -- Thermodynamics and the arrow of time -- Unification -- The future of physics -- The usefulness of physics -- Thinking like a physicist. |
| a world beyond physics: Investigations Stuart A. Kauffman, 2002-09-19 It may be that I have stumbled upon an adequate description of life itself. These modest yet profound words trumpet an imminent paradigm shift in scientific, economic, and technological thinking. In the tradition of Schrödinger's classic What Is Life?, Kauffman's Investigations is a tour-de-force exploration of the very essence of life itself, with conclusions that radically undermine the scientific approaches on which modern science rests--the approaches of Newton, Boltzman, Bohr, and Einstein. Building on his pivotal ideas about order and evolution in complex life systems, Kauffman finds that classical science does not take into account that physical systems--such as people in a biosphere--effect their dynamic environments in addition to being affected by them. These systems act on their own behalf as autonomous agents, but what defines them as such? In other words, what is life? Kauffman supplies a novel answer that goes beyond traditional scientific thinking by defining and explaining autonomous agents and work in the contexts of thermodynamics and of information theory. Much of Investigations unpacks the progressively surprising implications of his definition. Significantly, he sets the stages for a technological revolution in the coming decades. Scientists and engineers may soon seek to create autonomous agents--both organic and mechanical--that can not only construct things and work, but also reproduce themselves! Kauffman also lays out a foundation for a new concept of organization, and explores the requirements for the emergence of a general biology that will transcend terrestrial biology to seek laws governing biospheres anywhere in the cosmos. Moreover, he presents four candidate laws to explain how autonomous agents co-create their biosphere and the startling idea of a co-creating cosmos. A showcase of Kauffman's most fundamental and significant ideas, Investigations presents a new way of thinking about the fundamentals of general biology that will change the way we understand life itself--on this planet and anywhere else in the cosmos. |
| a world beyond physics: A World Beyond Politics? Pierre Manent, 2006 Pierre Manent's A World beyond Politics? is at once a reflection on modern political philosophy from Rousseau to Tocqueville to Weber and an interpretation of the modern democratic state. Manent is one of the best--maybe the best--minds on the current French scene. His thought is always alive, original, and provocative. It would not surprise me if quite a few political philosophers began to revise their introductory courses to address the themes and problems articulated in this book.--Steven B. Smith, Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science, Yale University |
| a world beyond physics: Physics, Fun, and Beyond Eduardo de Campos Valadares, 2005-08-02 “The best magic is that which involves absolutely no sleight-of-hand, only the unexpected yet natural workings of nature. Physics, Fun, and Beyond is chock full of just this kind of magic–simple yet fascinating experiments, easy to follow and colorful drawings, and fun facts. Simply wonderful!” –Roald Hoffmann, 1981 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry Pure Fun, Pure Excitement: You’;ve Never Learned Physics Like This Before! Physics is pure excitement: nothing’;s more fun than discovering how the world works and exploring its many possibilities! With Physics, Fun, and Beyond, you’;ll grab the universe in your own two hands as you build more than 110 projects that uncover the physics beneath everyday life! Most of these projects are amazingly easy to build: all you’;ll need are your everyday household tools and cheap (sometimes even free) materials. From wind tunnels to flying saucers, you’;ll learn exactly how to safely build these experiments, why they work, and what they mean. Learn about all this, and more: Step on eggs without breaking them...and understand the principles of material strength Build the “Magic Can” that teaches you about the different kinds of energy Discover why the Earth isn’;t exactly round Learn more about gravity, with the “Astronaut in the Elevator” experiment Use pendulums to visualize radio/TV frequencies and broadcasting Feel pressure by sitting on a bed of nails Build hydraulic robots to discover how you can transmit and amplify forces Construct wings and wind tunnels that show why airplanes fly Learn about optics by making bottles invisible Recreate the sun and sky to realize why the sky is blue Demonstrate the “greenhouse effect” with a homemade solar heater Get water to climb walls–as you understand cohesion and adhesion Build “wireless phones” that capture sound and make acoustics fun Create simple motors that display the basics of electromagnetism Physics, Fun, and Beyond is for kids, teenagers, teachers, parents, homeschoolers...everyone from 10 to 100 with curiosity and a passion for discovery and new challenges! © Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved |
| a world beyond physics: Sensory Exotica Howard C. Hughes, 2001-02-23 An entertaining guide to the exotic sensory abilities of the Earth's nonhuman creatures. Certain insects and animals such as bees, birds, bats, fish, and dolphins possess senses that lie far beyond the realm of human experience. Examples include echolocation, internal navigation systems, and systems based on bioelectricity. In this book Howard C. Hughes tells the story of these exotic senses. He tells not only what has been discovered but how it was discovered—including historical misinterpretations of animal perception that we now view with amusement. The book is divided into four parts: biosonar, biological compasses, electroperception, and chemical communication. Although it is filled with fascinating descriptions of animal sensitivities—the sonar system of a bat, for example, rivals that of the most sophisticated human-made devices—the author's goal is to explain the anatomical and physiological principles that underlie them. Knowledge of these mechanisms has practical applications in areas as diverse as marine navigation, the biomedical sciences, and nontoxic pest control. It can also help us to obtain a deeper understanding of more familiar sensory systems and the brain in general. Written in an entertaining, accessible style, the book recounts a tale of wonder that continues today—for who knows what sensory marvels still await discovery or what kind of creatures will provide the insights? |
| a world beyond physics: The End of Everything Katie Mack, 2020-08-04 A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * AN NPR SCIENCE FRIDAY BOOK CLUB SELECTION* NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST, THE ECONOMIST, NEW SCIENTIST, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, and THE GUARDIAN From the cohost of the podcast The Universe with John Green and one of the most dynamic stars in astrophysics, an “engrossing, elegant” (The New York Times) look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology. We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now? Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student, when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment, in an instant. This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know. |
| a world beyond physics: The Demon in the Machine Paul Davies, 2019-01-31 'A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of Oxford When Darwin set out to explain the origin of species, he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question. Life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. And yet, huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery. So can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new? In this penetrating and wide-ranging new analysis, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name, a domain where computing, chemistry, quantum physics and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity with the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and even to illuminate the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe. From life's murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine is a breath-taking journey across the landscape of physics, biology, logic and computing. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window on the secret of life itself. |
| a world beyond physics: The Origin and Nature of Life on Earth Eric Smith, Harold J. Morowitz, 2016-03-31 Uniting the foundations of physics and biology, this groundbreaking multidisciplinary and integrative book explores life as a planetary process. |
| a world beyond physics: Particle Physics Frank Close, 2023-10-24 Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Following the discovery of the Higgs boson, Frank Close has produced this major revision to his classic and compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe. Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino, and explains the key role and significance of the Higgs boson. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in particle physics have actually been made, and discusses how our picture of the world has been radically revised in the light of these developments. He concludes by looking ahead to new ideas about the mystery of antimatter and massive neutrinos, and to what the next 50 years of research might reveal about the nature of the Higgs field which moulds the fundamental particles and forces. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
| a world beyond physics: Goldilocks and the Water Bears Louisa Preston, 2016-06-16 'Highly recommended' Financial Times Today we know of only a single planet that hosts life: the Earth. But across a Universe of at least 100 billion possibly habitable worlds, surely our planet isn't the only one which, like the porridge Goldilocks sought, is just right for life? Astrobiologists search the galaxy for conditions that are suitable for life to exist, focusing on similar worlds located at the perfect distance from their Sun, within the aptly named 'Goldilocks Zone'. Such a place might have liquid water on its surface, and may therefore support a thriving biosphere. What might life look like on other worlds? It is possible to make best-guesses using facts rooted in science, and by studying 'extremophiles' – organisms such as the near-indestructible water bears, which can survive in the harshest conditions that Earth, and even space, can offer. Goldilocks and the Water Bears is a tale of the origins and evolution of life, and the quest to find it on other planets, on moons, in other galaxies, and throughout the Universe. |
| a world beyond physics: Physics and Beyond Werner Heisenberg, 1971 |
| a world beyond physics: Ad Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet Dallas Campbell, 2017-10-05 'I could have done with a copy of Ad Astra in December 2015!' –Tim Peake ‘A wonderful, wise and witty guide for space explorers everywhere.' – Richard Osman ‘A must read both for intrepid space explorers and misty-eyed dreamers. Now, to space!’ – Hannah Fry ‘Few people are more knowledgeable, celebratory and witty about space travel than Dallas Campbell.’ – Adam Rutherford Need some space? For almost all human history we’ve been firmly rooted to the Earth. And, sure, it's got some good things going for it: nice views, friendly inhabitants, good coffee. Air. But what if you want to get off? Whether you've got itchy feet and need a bit of a break, or you’re looking for a complete change of scene, this book has all the information you'll need to leave, with FREE expert advice from the men and woman who can actually make it happen. Do I need a passport? How do I know if I have the right stuff? Can I take my dog? What spacesuit do I need? Where am I going to go? What am I going to eat? As well as being a deeply impractical guide to getting off the planet, this is an eclectic and beautifully illustrated mix-tape of space travel stories – both real and imagined. From the migrating lunar geese that flew us to the moon in the 1600’s, to Elon Musk’s wild plan to get humans to Mars en masse in the future; from the history of early rocket science to the Soviet tortoises that secretly won the space race. A collection for anyone who has looked up in wonder at the stars... And then wondered how to get there. ‘The next best thing to actually heading off into space.’ – Jim Al-Khalili ‘Few people are more knowledgeable, celebratory and witty about space travel than Dallas Campbell.’ – Adam Rutherford ‘If, like me, you dream of going into space, this is definitely the place to start the journey.’ – Dan Snow ‘A must have volume for astronauts and armchair astronauts alike.’ – Helen Sharman OBE ‘Funny, factual and beautiful.’ – Shaun Keavney ‘Read it, make notes, and be ready when the day comes.’ – Helen Czerski |
| a world beyond physics: Secret Science: The Amazing World Beyond Your Eyes Dara O Briain, 2018-10-04 A brand-new book from the UK and Ireland's best-loved comedian, Dara O Briain! So you think everyday life is boring?! WHAT?! Hoo-ee, are you wrong! No, seriously. There's so much EXTRAORDINARY science going on right from the minute you wake up to when you go to sleep. Actually, while you're asleep, too. Science is a non-stop EVERYWHERE, everything adventure with some incredibly cool stuff going on, too. You've got your incredible brain, which has worked out how to read these words and make playing a video game feel as EXCITING as real life; you've got aeroplanes that can somehow get from the ground into the sky with all those people AND their luggage on board; you've got electricity and artificial intelligence and GPS and buses coming in threes (that's science too) and LOADS more. In Secret Science, Dara O Briain takes you on a journey from the comfort of your favourite chair to the incredible science behind your everyday life and on into the future! |
| a world beyond physics: Deep Down Things Bruce A. Schumm, 2004-10-20 A useful scientific theory, claimed Einstein, must be explicable to any intelligent person. In Deep Down Things, experimental particle physicist Bruce Schumm has taken this dictum to heart, providing in clear, straightforward prose an elucidation of the Standard Model of particle physics -- a theory that stands as one of the crowning achievements of twentieth-century science. In this one-of-a-kind book, the work of many of the past century's most notable physicists, including Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, Feynman, Gell-Mann, and Weinberg, is knit together in a thorough and accessible exposition of the revolutionary notions that underlie our current view of the fundamental nature of the physical world. Schumm, who has spent much of his life emmersed in the subatomic world, goes far beyond a mere presentation of the building blocks of matter, bringing to life the remarkable connection between the ivory tower world of the abstract mathematician and the day-to-day, life-enabling properties of the natural world. Schumm leaves us with an insight into the profound open questions of particle physics, setting the stage for understanding the progress the field is poised to make over the next decade or two. Introducing readers to the world of particle physics, Deep Down Things opens new realms within which are many clues to unraveling the mysteries of the universe. |
| a world beyond physics: Hyperspace Michio Kaku, 1994-03-24 Are there other dimensions beyond our own? Is time travel possible? Can we change the past? Are there gateways to parallel universes? All of us have pondered such questions, but there was a time when scientists dismissed these notions as outlandish speculations. Not any more. Today, they are the focus of the most intense scientific activity in recent memory. In Hyperspace, Michio Kaku, author of the widely acclaimed Beyond Einstein and a leading theoretical physicist, offers the first book-length tour of the most exciting (and perhaps most bizarre) work in modern physics, work which includes research on the tenth dimension, time warps, black holes, and multiple universes. The theory of hyperspace (or higher dimensional space)--and its newest wrinkle, superstring theory--stand at the center of this revolution, with adherents in every major research laboratory in the world, including several Nobel laureates. Beginning where Hawking's Brief History of Time left off, Kaku paints a vivid portrayal of the breakthroughs now rocking the physics establishment. Why all the excitement? As the author points out, for over half a century, scientists have puzzled over why the basic forces of the cosmos--gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces--require markedly different mathematical descriptions. But if we see these forces as vibrations in a higher dimensional space, their field equations suddenly fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, perfectly snug, in an elegant, astonishingly simple form. This may thus be our leading candidate for the Theory of Everything. If so, it would be the crowning achievement of 2,000 years of scientific investigation into matter and its forces. Already, the theory has inspired several thousand research papers, and has been the focus of over 200 international conferences. Michio Kaku is one of the leading pioneers in superstring theory and has been at the forefront of this revolution in modern physics. With Hyperspace, he has produced a book for general readers which conveys the vitality of the field and the excitement as scientists grapple with the meaning of space and time. It is an exhilarating look at physics today and an eye-opening glimpse into the ultimate nature of the universe. |
| a world beyond physics: Fire, Ice, and Physics Rebecca C. Thompson, 2020-11-10 Exploring the science in George R. R. Martin’s fantastical world, from the physics of an ice wall to the genetics of the Targaryens and Lannisters Game of Thrones is a fantasy that features a lot of made-up science—fabricated climatology (when is winter coming?), astronomy, metallurgy, chemistry, and biology. Most fans of George R. R. Martin’s fantastical world accept it all as part of the magic. A trained scientist, watching the fake science in Game of Thrones, might think, “But how would it work?” In Fire, Ice, and Physics, Rebecca Thompson turns a scientist’s eye on Game of Thrones, exploring, among other things, the science of an ice wall, the genetics of the Targaryen and Lannister families, and the biology of beheading. Thompson, a PhD in physics and an enthusiastic Game of Thrones fan, uses the fantasy science of the show as a gateway to some interesting real science, introducing GOT fandom to a new dimension of appreciation. Thompson starts at the beginning, with winter, explaining seasons and the very elliptical orbit of the Earth that might cause winter to come (or not come). She tells us that ice can behave like ketchup, compares regular steel to Valyrian steel, explains that dragons are “bats, but with fire,” and considers Targaryen inbreeding. Finally she offers scientific explanations of the various types of fatal justice meted out, including beheading, hanging, poisoning (reporting that the effects of “the Strangler,” administered to Joffrey at the Purple Wedding, resemble the effects of strychnine), skull crushing, and burning at the stake. Even the most faithful Game of Thrones fans will learn new and interesting things about the show from Thompson’s entertaining and engaging account. Fire, Ice, and Physics is an essential companion for all future bingeing. |
| a world beyond physics: The Physics of Emergence Robert C Bishop, 2019-06-04 A standard view of elementary particles and forces is that they determine everything else in the rest of physics, the whole of chemistry, biology, geology, physiology and perhaps even human behavior. This reductive view of physics is popular among some physicists. Yet, there are other physicists who argue this is an oversimplified and that the relationship of elementary particle physics to these other domains is one of emergence. Several objections have been raised from physics against proposals for emergence (e.g., that genuinely emergent phenomena would violate the standard model of elementary particle physics, or that genuine emergence would disrupt the lawlike order physics has revealed). Many of these objections rightly call into question typical conceptions of emergence found in the philosophy literature. This book explores whether physics points to a reductive or an emergent structure of the world and proposes a physics-motivated conception of emergence that leaves behind many of the problematic intuitions shaping the philosophical conceptions. Examining several detailed case studies reveal that the structure of physics and the practice of physics research are both more interesting than is captured in this reduction/emergence debate. The results point to stability conditions playing a crucial though underappreciated role in the physics of emergence. This contextual emergence has thought-provoking consequences for physics and beyond, and will be of interest to physics students, researchers, as well as those interested in physics. |
| a world beyond physics: Physics, the Human Adventure Gerald James Holton, Stephen G. Brush, 2001 Of Some Trigonometric Relations -- Vector Algebra. |
| a world beyond physics: The Nature of Contingency Alastair Wilson, 2020 This book defends a radical new theory of contingency as a physical phenomenon. Drawing on the many-worlds approach, it argues that quantum theories are best understood as telling us about the space of genuine possibilities, rather than as telling us solely about actuality. |
| a world beyond physics: Unifying the Universe Hasan S. Padamsee, 2002-11-05 Unifying the Universe: The Physics of Heaven and Earth provides a solid background in basic physics. With a humanistic perspective, it shows how science is significant for more than its technological consequences. The book includes clear and well-planned links to the arts and philosophies of relevant historical periods to bring science and the huma |
| a world beyond physics: Exploring the World of Physics John Hudson Tiner, 2006-04-27 Physics is a branch of science that many people consider to be too complicated to understand. In this exciting addition to the 'Exploring' series, John Hudson Tiner puts this myth to rest as he explains the fascinating world of physics in a way that students from elementary to high school can comprehend. Did you know that a feather and a lump of lead will fall at the same rate in a vacuum? Learn about the history of physics from Aristotle to Galileo to Isaac Newton to the latest advances. Discover how the laws of motion and gravity affect everything from the normal activities of everyday life to launching rockets into space. Learn about the effects of inertia firsthand during fun and informative experiments. Exploring the World of Physics is a great tool for students of all ages who want to have a deeper understanding of the important and interesting ways that physics affects our lives and is complete with illustrations, chapter questions, and an index. |
| a world beyond physics: Organism and Environment Sonia E. Sultan, 2015 Over the past decade, advances in both molecular developmental biology and evolutionary ecology have made possible a new understanding of organisms as dynamic systems interacting with their environments. This innovative book synthesizes a wealth of recent research findings to examine how environments influence phenotypic expression in individual organisms (ecological development or 'eco-devo'), and how organisms in turn alter their environments (niche construction). A key argument explored throughout the book is that ecological interactions as well as natural selection are shaped by these dual organism-environment effects. This synthesis is particularly timely as biologists seek a unified contemporary framework in which to investigate the developmental outcomes, ecological success, and evolutionary prospects of organisms in rapidly changing environments. Organism and Environment is an advanced text suitable for graduate level students taking seminar courses in ecology, evolution, and developmental biology, as well as academics and researchers in these fields. |
| a world beyond physics: Biocentrism Robert Lanza, Bob Berman, 2010-05-18 Robert Lanza is one of the most respected scientists in the world — a US News & World Report cover story called him a “genius and a “renegade thinker, even likening him to Einstein. Lanza has teamed with Bob Berman, the most widely read astronomer in the world, to produce Biocentrism, a revolutionary new view of the universe. Every now and then a simple yet radical idea shakes the very foundations of knowledge. The startling discovery that the world was not flat challenged and ultimately changed the way people perceived themselves and their relationship with the world. For most humans of the 15th century, the notion of Earth as ball of rock was nonsense. The whole of Western, natural philosophy is undergoing a sea change again, increasingly being forced upon us by the experimental findings of quantum theory, and at the same time, towards doubt and uncertainty in the physical explanations of the universe's genesis and structure. Biocentrism completes this shift in worldview, turning the planet upside down again with the revolutionary view that life creates the universe instead of the other way around. In this paradigm, life is not an accidental byproduct of the laws of physics. Biocetnrism takes the reader on a seemingly improbable but ultimately inescapable journey through a foreign universe—our own—from the viewpoints of an acclaimed biologist and a leading astronomer. Switching perspective from physics to biology unlocks the cages in which Western science has unwittingly managed to confine itself. Biocentrism will shatter the reader's ideas of life--time and space, and even death. At the same time it will release us from the dull worldview of life being merely the activity of an admixture of carbon and a few other elements; it suggests the exhilarating possibility that life is fundamentally immortal. The 21st century is predicted to be the Century of Biology, a shift from the previous century dominated by physics. It seems fitting, then, to begin the century by turning the universe outside-in and unifying the foundations of science with a simple idea discovered by one of the leading life-scientists of our age. Biocentrism awakens in readers a new sense of possibility, and is full of so many shocking new perspectives that the reader will never see reality the same way again. |
| a world beyond physics: Event Universe Leemon B. McHenry, 2015-07-01 Leemon McHenry argues that Whitehead's metaphysics provides a better basis for achieving a unification of physical theory than a traditional substance metaphysics. He investigates the influence of Maxwell's electromagnetic field, Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum mechanics on the development of the ontology of events and compares Whitehead's theory to his contemporaries, C. D. Broad and Bertrand Russell, as well as W. V. Quine. In this way, McHenry defends the naturalised and speculative approach to metaphysics as opposed to analytical and linguistic methods that arose in the 20th century. |
| a world beyond physics: The Beginning of Infinity David Deutsch, 2011-07-21 The New York Times bestseller: A provocative, imaginative exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge “Dazzling.” – Steven Pinker, The Guardian In this groundbreaking book, award-winning physicist David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe—and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. Taking us on a journey through every fundamental field of science, as well as the history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions, Deutsch tracks how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, explaining the conditions under which progress—which he argues is potentially boundless—can and cannot happen. Hugely ambitious and highly original, The Beginning of Infinity explores and establishes deep connections between the laws of nature, the human condition, knowledge, and the possibility for progress. |
| a world beyond physics: Ontogenesis Beyond Complexity Cary Wolfe, Adam Nocek, 2021-12-26 This book is based upon the collaborative efforts of the Ontogenetics Process Group (OPG) – an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, multi-national research group that began meeting in 2017 to explore new and innovative ways of thinking the problem of complexity in living, physical, and social systems outside the algorithmic models that have dominated paradigms of complexity to date. For all the descriptive and predictive power that the complexity sciences offer (the ability to compute feedback systems, recursive networks, emergent dynamics, etc.), they also presume that the living world in all of its modalities (biological, semiotic, economic, affective, social) can be reduced to finite schema of description that delimits in advance all possible outcomes. What is proposed in this volume are conceptual architectures for the living that are not only irreducible to physico-mathematical frames of reference, but that are also as vital as the phenomena they wish to express. In short: life is more complex than complexity. What emerges from this engagement is not the ascendance of a new transcendental principle (or, what amounts to the same thing, a foundational bedrock) derived from the physico-mathematical sciences, but just the opposite: a domain in which the ontological and the epistemological domains enter a zone of strange (and unavoidable) entanglement. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Angelaki. |
| a world beyond physics: Philosophy, Mathematics and Modern Physics Enno Rudolph, Ion-Olimpiu Stamatescu, 2012-12-06 In recent times a new dialogue has begun between the natural sciences and the humanities. This is particularly true of physics and philosophy, whose sphere of mutual interest expanded significantly with the advent of quantum mechanics. Among other topics, the discussion covers the evolution of theories, the role of mathematics in the physical sciences, the perception and cognition of nature and definitions of space and time. In contrast to the custom of the last two centuries, mathematics - the language of physics - is once again finding a respected place in the discourse of philosophers. The interdisciplinary communication between philosophers, mathematicians and physicists will be given new impetus by the thoughtful and wide-ranging contributions to this book. |
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