Puzzles to Unravel the Universe

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 333 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Puzzles to Unravel the Universe by : Cumrun Vafa

Download or read book Puzzles to Unravel the Universe written by Cumrun Vafa and published by . This book was released on 2020-06-08 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beneath all of the complex and formidable mathematical structures that formulate physical laws rest simple but deep nuggets of truth. It is these simple truths, and not the complicated technical details, that scientists strive for when uncovering the laws of nature. Fortunately, these core ideas can often be illustrated with simple mathematical puzzles. These puzzles are so simplified that one can tackle them and appreciate their meaning without using any complicated math. This book aims to take the reader on a journey to unravel the laws of the universe through fun puzzles. This book includes over a hundred puzzles and their solutions, along with discussion about how they relate to deep ideas in physics and math. Examples are drawn from classical physics, such as Newton's laws and Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as from modern physics, including black holes and string theory. This book is designed for the general public, and it does not require extensive background in mathematics or physics--just a sense of curiosity! About the Author: Cumrun Vafa is the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy in the Physics Department at Harvard University, where he has been teaching and researching theoretical physics since 1985. Professor Vafa is world-renowned for his groundbreaking work in string theory. He is one of the founders of the duality revolution in string theory, which has reshaped our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe. Professor Vafa has received numerous prizes and recognitions for his work on theoretical physics, including the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the 2008 Dirac Medal from the ICTP. For more information about the author see his website: https://www.cumrunvafa.org/ .

The Universe in the Rearview Mirror

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0142181048
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (421 download)

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Book Synopsis The Universe in the Rearview Mirror by : Dave Goldberg

Download or read book The Universe in the Rearview Mirror written by Dave Goldberg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-06-24 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A great read… Goldberg is an excellent guide.”—Mario Livio, bestselling author of The Golden Ratio Physicist Dave Goldberg speeds across space, time and everything in between showing that our elegant universe—from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies—is shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven all our recent discoveries about the universe and all the ones to come. Why is the sky dark at night? If there is anti-matter, can there be anti-people? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Saluting the brilliant but unsung female mathematician Emmy Noether as well as other giants of physics, Goldberg answers these questions and more, exuberantly demonstrating that symmetry is the big idea—and the key to what lies ahead.

Warped Passages

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Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061981230
Total Pages : 782 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (619 download)

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Book Synopsis Warped Passages by : Lisa Randall

Download or read book Warped Passages written by Lisa Randall and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-21 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The universe has many secrets. It may hide additional dimensions of space other than the familier three we recognize. There might even be another universe adjacent to ours, invisible and unattainable . . . for now. Warped Passages is a brilliantly readable and altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature—taking us into the warped, hidden dimensions underpinning the universe we live in, demystifying the science of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond our own.

Mirror Symmetry

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Publisher : American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN 13 : 0821829556
Total Pages : 954 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (218 download)

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Book Synopsis Mirror Symmetry by : Kentaro Hori

Download or read book Mirror Symmetry written by Kentaro Hori and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2003 with total page 954 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thorough and detailed exposition is the result of an intensive month-long course on mirror symmetry sponsored by the Clay Mathematics Institute. It develops mirror symmetry from both mathematical and physical perspectives with the aim of furthering interaction between the two fields. The material will be particularly useful for mathematicians and physicists who wish to advance their understanding across both disciplines. Mirror symmetry is a phenomenon arising in string theory in which two very different manifolds give rise to equivalent physics. Such a correspondence has significant mathematical consequences, the most familiar of which involves the enumeration of holomorphic curves inside complex manifolds by solving differential equations obtained from a ``mirror'' geometry. The inclusion of D-brane states in the equivalence has led to further conjectures involving calibrated submanifolds of the mirror pairs and new (conjectural) invariants of complex manifolds: the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants. This book gives a single, cohesive treatment of mirror symmetry. Parts 1 and 2 develop the necessary mathematical and physical background from ``scratch''. The treatment is focused, developing only the material most necessary for the task. In Parts 3 and 4 the physical and mathematical proofs of mirror symmetry are given. From the physics side, this means demonstrating that two different physical theories give isomorphic physics. Each physical theory can be described geometrically, and thus mirror symmetry gives rise to a ``pairing'' of geometries. The proof involves applying $R\leftrightarrow 1/R$ circle duality to the phases of the fields in the gauged linear sigma model. The mathematics proof develops Gromov-Witten theory in the algebraic setting, beginning with the moduli spaces of curves and maps, and uses localization techniques to show that certain hypergeometric functions encode the Gromov-Witten invariants in genus zero, as is predicted by mirror symmetry. Part 5 is devoted to advanced topi This one-of-a-kind book is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in mathematics and mathematical and theoretical physics.

Amamani Puzzle Balls

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Publisher : Annie's
ISBN 13 : 1573675695
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (736 download)

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Book Synopsis Amamani Puzzle Balls by : Dedri Uys

Download or read book Amamani Puzzle Balls written by Dedri Uys and published by Annie's. This book was released on 2014-10-01 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amamani is short for Amigurumi Amish Animals. They are based on the traditional Amish puzzle ball, and, as such, come apart into three segments, or rings, which have to be assembled to form your animal. Gauge isn't important in these projects; however, it is important that you work as tightly as you comfortably can. Helpful tips and step-by-step photos are included in this pattern book. Each of the six designs is stitched in segments using Deborah Norville Everyday Premier yarn, is stuffed with polyfiberfill, and includes a pair of safety eyes. Animals included are Dinosaur, Elephant, Giraffe, Turtle, and two versions of Lion.

Maze

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Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780805010886
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Maze by : Christopher Manson

Download or read book Maze written by Christopher Manson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1985-11-15 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is not really a book. This is a building in the shape of a book...a maze. Each numbered page depicts a room in the maze. Tempted? Test your wits against mine. I guarantee that my maze will challenge you to think in ways you've never thought before. But beware. One wrong turn and you may never escape!

At the Edge of Time

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691197008
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis At the Edge of Time by : Dan Hooper

Download or read book At the Edge of Time written by Dan Hooper and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new look at the first few seconds after the Big Bang—and how research into these moments continues to revolutionize our understanding of our universe Scientists in the past few decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: we still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history. Delving into the remarkable science of cosmology, Dan Hooper describes many of the extraordinary and perplexing questions that scientists are asking about the origin and nature of our world. Hooper examines how we are using the Large Hadron Collider and other experiments to re-create the conditions of the Big Bang and test promising theories for how and why our universe came to contain so much matter and so little antimatter. We may be poised to finally discover how dark matter was formed during our universe’s first moments, and, with new telescopes, we are also lifting the veil on the era of cosmic inflation, which led to the creation of our world as we know it. Wrestling with the mysteries surrounding the initial moments that followed the Big Bang, At the Edge of Time presents an accessible investigation of our universe and its origin.

Unsolved Mysteries of Science

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Publisher : Turner Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0470355859
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis Unsolved Mysteries of Science by : John Malone

Download or read book Unsolved Mysteries of Science written by John Malone and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2008-05-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A LIVELY EXPLORATION OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN SCIENCE How Did the Universe Begin? The Big Bang has been the accepted theory for decades, but does it explain everything? How Did Life on Earth Get Started? What triggered the cell division that started the evolutionary chain? Did life come from outer space, buried in a chunk of rock? What is Gravity? Newton's apple just got the arguments started, Einstein made things more complicated. Just how does gravity fit in with quantum theory? What Is the Inside of the Earth Like? What exactly is happening beneath our feet, and can we learn enough to help predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? How Do We Learn Language? Is language acquisition an inborn biological ability, or does every child have to start from scratch? Is There a Missing Link? The story of human evolution is not complete. In addition to hoaxes such as "Piltdown Man" and extraordinary finds such as "Lucy," many puzzles remain. What, in the end, do we mean by a "missing link"?

What Are You Going Through

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0593191439
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (931 download)

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Book Synopsis What Are You Going Through by : Sigrid Nunez

Download or read book What Are You Going Through written by Sigrid Nunez and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY NPR, PEOPLE, AND O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS’ TOP BOOK OF 2020 NATIONAL BESTSELLER “As good as The Friend, if not better.” —The New York Times “Impossible to put down . . . leavened with wit and tenderness.” —People “I was dazed by the novel’s grace.” —The New Yorker The New York Times–bestselling, National Book Award–winning author of The Friend brings her singular voice to a story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship A woman describes a series of encounters she has with various people in the ordinary course of her life: an ex she runs into by chance at a public forum, an Airbnb owner unsure how to interact with her guests, a stranger who seeks help comforting his elderly mother, a friend of her youth now hospitalized with terminal cancer. In each of these people the woman finds a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience to their experiences. The narrator orchestrates this chorus of voices for the most part as a passive listener, until one of them makes an extraordinary request, drawing her into an intense and transformative experience of her own. In What Are You Going Through, Nunez brings wisdom, humor, and insight to a novel about human connection and the changing nature of relationships in our times. A surprising story about empathy and the unusual ways one person can help another through hardship, her book offers a moving and provocative portrait of the way we live now.

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries

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Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062884220
Total Pages : 371 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (628 download)

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Book Synopsis Super Puzzletastic Mysteries by : Chris Grabenstein

Download or read book Super Puzzletastic Mysteries written by Chris Grabenstein and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America bring together twenty peerless puzzles—from bestselling authors such as Peter Lerangis, Stuart Gibbs, Lauren Magaziner, Kate Milford, and, of course, Grabenstein himself—in an anthology of mystery short stories that invite readers to try to unravel the riddles themselves. From tales of hapless superheroes and stolen squirrel monkeys to murderous triplets and haunted basements, these thrilling, puzzling, and hilarious cases have one thing in common—YOU get a chance to be the detective before the author reveals the solution. With twenty never-before-published mystery stories, this collection will leave young detectives sleuthing for more!

Numbers

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Publisher : Hippo Bks
ISBN 13 : 9780439981163
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (811 download)

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Book Synopsis Numbers by : Kjartan Poskitt

Download or read book Numbers written by Kjartan Poskitt and published by Hippo Bks. This book was released on 2002 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is maths making you miserable? Are you scared of squares and perplexed by primes? Do numbers leave you...non-plussed? Then it's time to be utterly amazed, as you're whisked off to infinity and back with Numbers: The Key to the Universe. Find out how you could win a million dollars and become famous for ever (twice), discover the key to the evil Professor's Fiendish Number Chain, and travel to a distant planet for the biggest gig in all eternity. Meanwhile, things get ugly when the gangsters meet the unlucky number 13. Guarantee: This book contains no nasty exercises and no boring sums!

The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory

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Publisher : Mega Foundation Press
ISBN 13 : 0971916225
Total Pages : 94 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (719 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory by : Christopher Michael Langan

Download or read book The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory written by Christopher Michael Langan and published by Mega Foundation Press. This book was released on 2002-06-01 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paperback version of the 2002 paper published in the journal Progress in Information, Complexity, and Design (PCID). ABSTRACT Inasmuch as science is observational or perceptual in nature, the goal of providing a scientific model and mechanism for the evolution of complex systems ultimately requires a supporting theory of reality of which perception itself is the model (or theory-to-universe mapping). Where information is the abstract currency of perception, such a theory must incorporate the theory of information while extending the information concept to incorporate reflexive self-processing in order to achieve an intrinsic (self-contained) description of reality. This extension is associated with a limiting formulation of model theory identifying mental and physical reality, resulting in a reflexively self-generating, self-modeling theory of reality identical to its universe on the syntactic level. By the nature of its derivation, this theory, the Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe or CTMU, can be regarded as a supertautological reality-theoretic extension of logic. Uniting the theory of reality with an advanced form of computational language theory, the CTMU describes reality as a Self Configuring Self-Processing Language or SCSPL, a reflexive intrinsic language characterized not only by self-reference and recursive self-definition, but full self-configuration and self-execution (reflexive read-write functionality). SCSPL reality embodies a dual-aspect monism consisting of infocognition, self-transducing information residing in self-recognizing SCSPL elements called syntactic operators. The CTMU identifies itself with the structure of these operators and thus with the distributive syntax of its self-modeling SCSPL universe, including the reflexive grammar by which the universe refines itself from unbound telesis or UBT, a primordial realm of infocognitive potential free of informational constraint. Under the guidance of a limiting (intrinsic) form of anthropic principle called the Telic Principle, SCSPL evolves by telic recursion, jointly configuring syntax and state while maximizing a generalized self-selection parameter and adjusting on the fly to freely-changing internal conditions. SCSPL relates space, time and object by means of conspansive duality and conspansion, an SCSPL-grammatical process featuring an alternation between dual phases of existence associated with design and actualization and related to the familiar wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics. By distributing the design phase of reality over the actualization phase, conspansive spacetime also provides a distributed mechanism for Intelligent Design, adjoining to the restrictive principle of natural selection a basic means of generating information and complexity. Addressing physical evolution on not only the biological but cosmic level, the CTMU addresses the most evident deficiencies and paradoxes associated with conventional discrete and continuum models of reality, including temporal directionality and accelerating cosmic expansion, while preserving virtually all of the major benefits of current scientific and mathematical paradigms.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

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Publisher : Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN 13 : 0307974960
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (79 download)

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Book Synopsis Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by : Chris Grabenstein

Download or read book Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library written by Chris Grabenstein and published by Random House Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a Nickelodeon Original Movie! Over 100 Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List! 44 State Award Lists! Discover what James Patterson calls “the coolest library in all the world” in this fun-filled, action-packed bestseller from the much-loved co-author of I Funny and Treasure Hunters! “A worthy successor to.…Willy Wonka.” —Booklist, Starred Review When Kyle learns that the world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town's new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he's determined to be there! But the tricky part isn't getting into the library—it's getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route! Don't miss bonus content in the back of the book—extra puzzles, an author Q&A, and more! And look for the puzzle-packed sequels—Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics and Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race! “Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at …this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Understanding the Universe

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Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814374466
Total Pages : 594 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (143 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding the Universe by : Don Lincoln

Download or read book Understanding the Universe written by Don Lincoln and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2012 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the fascinating world of quarks and leptons and the forces that govern their behavior. Told from an experimental physicist's perspective, it forgoes mathematical complexity, using instead particularly accessible figures and apt analogies. In addition to the story of quarks and leptons, which are regarded as well-accepted fact, the author (who is a leading researcher at one of the world's highest energy particle physics laboratories) also discusses mysteries at both the experimental and theoretical frontiers, before tying it all together with the exciting field of cosmology and indeed the birth of the universe itself.

The Hunt for Vulcan

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Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0812988302
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (129 download)

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Book Synopsis The Hunt for Vulcan by : Thomas Levenson

Download or read book The Hunt for Vulcan written by Thomas Levenson and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2016-08-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The captivating, all-but-forgotten story of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and the search for a planet that never existed For more than fifty years, the world’s top scientists searched for the “missing” planet Vulcan, whose existence was mandated by Isaac Newton’s theories of gravity. Countless hours were spent on the hunt for the elusive orb, and some of the era’s most skilled astronomers even claimed to have found it. There was just one problem: It was never there. In The Hunt for Vulcan, Thomas Levenson follows the visionary scientists who inhabit the story of the phantom planet, starting with Isaac Newton, who in 1687 provided an explanation for all matter in motion throughout the universe, leading to Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier, who almost two centuries later built on Newton’s theories and discovered Neptune, becoming the most famous scientist in the world. Le Verrier attempted to surpass that triumph by predicting the existence of yet another planet in our solar system, Vulcan. It took Albert Einstein to discern that the mystery of the missing planet was a problem not of measurements or math but of Newton’s theory of gravity itself. Einstein’s general theory of relativity proved that Vulcan did not and could not exist, and that the search for it had merely been a quirk of operating under the wrong set of assumptions about the universe. Levenson tells the previously untold tale of how the “discovery” of Vulcan in the nineteenth century set the stage for Einstein’s monumental breakthrough, the greatest individual intellectual achievement of the twentieth century. A dramatic human story of an epic quest, The Hunt for Vulcan offers insight into how science really advances (as opposed to the way we’re taught about it in school) and how the best work of the greatest scientists reveals an artist’s sensibility. Opening a new window onto our world, Levenson illuminates some of our most iconic ideas as he recounts one of the strangest episodes in the history of science. Praise for The Hunt for Vulcan “Delightful . . . a charming tale about an all-but-forgotten episode in science history.”—The Wall Street Journal “Engaging . . . At heart, this is a story about how science advances, one insight at a time. But the immediacy, almost romance, of Levenson’s writing makes it almost novelistic.”—The Washington Post “A well-structured, fast-paced example of exemplary science writing.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 030917113X
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos by : National Research Council

Download or read book Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-03-12 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances made by physicists in understanding matter, space, and time and by astronomers in understanding the universe as a whole have closely intertwined the question being asked about the universe at its two extremesâ€"the very large and the very small. This report identifies 11 key questions that have a good chance to be answered in the next decade. It urges that a new research strategy be created that brings to bear the techniques of both astronomy and sub-atomic physics in a cross-disciplinary way to address these questions. The report presents seven recommendations to facilitate the necessary research and development coordination. These recommendations identify key priorities for future scientific projects critical for realizing these scientific opportunities.

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

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Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1538760517
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (387 download)

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Book Synopsis The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by : Dr. Steven Novella

Download or read book The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe written by Dr. Steven Novella and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking from podcast host and academic neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine Steven Novella and his SGU co-hosts, which Richard Wiseman calls "the perfect primer for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction." It is intimidating to realize that we live in a world overflowing with misinformation, bias, myths, deception, and flawed knowledge. There really are no ultimate authority figures-no one has the secret, and there is no place to look up the definitive answers to our questions (not even Google). Luckily, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe is your map through this maze of modern life. Here Dr. Steven Novella-along with Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein-will explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies, and conspiracy theories-from anti-vaccines to homeopathy, UFO sightings to N- rays. You'll learn the difference between science and pseudoscience, essential critical thinking skills, ways to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy co- worker of yours, and how to combat sloppy reasoning, bad arguments, and superstitious thinking. So are you ready to join them on an epic scientific quest, one that has taken us from huddling in dark caves to setting foot on the moon? (Yes, we really did that.) DON'T PANIC! With The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, we can do this together. "Thorough, informative, and enlightening, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe inoculates you against the frailties and shortcomings of human cognition. If this book does not become required reading for us all, we may well see modern civilization unravel before our eyes." -- Neil deGrasse Tyson "In this age of real and fake information, your ability to reason, to think in scientifically skeptical fashion, is the most important skill you can have. Read The Skeptics' Guide Universe; get better at reasoning. And if this claim about the importance of reason is wrong, The Skeptics' Guide will help you figure that out, too." -- Bill Nye