The Book of Nothing by John D Barrow

The Book of Nothing by John D Barrow

What conceptual blind spot kept the ancient Greeks (unlike the Indians and Maya) from developing a concept of zero? Why did St. Augustine equate nothingness with the Devil? What tortuous means did 17th-century scientists employ in their attempts to create a vacuum? And why do contemporary quantum physicists believe that the void is actually seething with subatomic activity? You'll find the answers in this dizzyingly erudite and elegantly explained book by the English cosmologist John D. Barrow.

Ranging through mathematics, theology, philosophy, literature, particle physics, and cosmology, The Book of Nothing explores the enduring hold that vacuity has exercised on the human imagination. Combining high-wire speculation with a wealth of reference that takes in Freddy Mercury and Shakespeare alongside Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking, the result is a fascinating excursion to the vanishing point of our knowledge.

Ruth M. Lynden-Bell is emeritus professor of chemistry at Queen's University, Belfast and an emerita fellow of Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge.

Simon Conway Morris is a professor of earth sciences at the University of Cambridge.

John D. Barrow is a professor of mathematical sciences and director of the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of Cambridge, and Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College.

John L. Finney is emeritus professor of physics in the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London.

Charles L. Harper, Jr. is chancellor for international distance learning and senior vice president of the American University System as well as president of Vision-Five.com Consulting.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780375420993
ISBN 10	0375420991
Title	The Book of Nothing
Author	John D Barrow
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Pantheon Books
Year published	2001-04-17
Number of pages	384
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.