The Void by Frank Close

The Void by Frank Close

What is 'the void'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space - 'nothing' - exist? This little book explores the science and the history of the elusive void: from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton and Einstein, to our very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos. Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void, and the rich discoveries that they have made there. He takes the reader on a lively and accessible history through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research. He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields; how Newton, Mach, and Einstein grappled with the nature of space and time; and how the mysterious 'aether' that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the 'Higgs field'. We now know that the vacuum is far from being 'nothing' - it seethes with virtual particles and antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being, and it also may contain hidden dimensions that we were previously unaware of. These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions: what lies outside the universe, and, if there was once nothing, then how did the universe begin?

It covers very complicated concepts in a mostly accessible wayLawrence Rudnick, Nature A fascinating subject covered by a fascinating book. Marcus Chown, Focus

Frank Close ist Professor fur Physik an der Oxford University und Fellow des Exeter College. Der ehemalige Vizeprasident der British Association for the Advancement of Science war zuvor Leiter der Abteilung fur Theoretische Physik am Rutherford Appleton Laboratory und Head of Communications and Public Education am CERN. Er hat etliche popularwissenschaftliche Bucher geschrieben, darunter zuletzt The Void (deutsch bei Spektrum Akademischer Verlag: Das Nichts verstehen) und den ebenfalls ins Deutsche ubersetzten Bestseller Lucifer's Legacy, und ist fur seine auergewohnlichen Beitrage zur Popularisierung der Physik mit der Kelvin-Medaille des Institute of Physics in London ausgezeichnet worden. Zu seinen weiteren Sachbuchern zahlen Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction, The Cosmic Onion, The Particle Explosion (deutsch bei Spektrum Akademischer Verlag: Spurensuche im Teilchenzoo), Too Hot to Handle (deutsch: Das heie Rennen um die kalte Fusion) und The Particle Odyssey. Close ist mit dem Order of the British Empire (OBE) ausgezeichnet worden.

Frank Close uber sein neues Buch: www.meettheauthor.co.uk/bookbites/1804.html

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199225903
ISBN 10	0199225907
Title	The Void
Author	Frank Close
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2008-02-01
Number of pages	176
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable