... A few weeks later, we were given a small toy tank (the type that fired those red missile thingies) and asked to show what difference barrel elevation had to do with range.
While the first problem isn't necessarily a science-based thing, but rather a combination of local knowledge and logical ... Read review
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How...
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Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classicA Brief History of Timeto help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How a...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classicA Brief History of Timeto help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How a...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How...
Postage & Packaging: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to deal with these questions (and where we might look for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; the concepts are so vast (or so tiny) that they cause mental vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking for as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God". --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Check Site.
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to deal with these questions (and where we might look for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; the concepts are so vast (or so tiny) that they cause mental vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking for as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God". --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Free!
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to deal with these questions (and where we might look for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; the concepts are so vast (or so tiny) that they cause mental vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking for as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God". --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Check Site.
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the ... more
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to deal with these questions (and where we might look for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; the concepts are so vast (or so tiny) that they cause mental vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking for as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God". --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Check Site.
Advantages: Hard stuff made easy. Hawking's clear writing Disadvantages: Still not totally clear for the layman.
...final year in primary school, a friend and myself were handed an aerial photograph of Belfast, and asked to "suggest" what time of day the photograph was taken. A few weeks later, we were given a small toy tank (the type that fired those red missile thingies) and asked to show what difference barrel elevation had to do with range.
While the first problem isn't necessarily a science-based thing, but rather a combination of ... ...I now attend university on a Computer Science degree - all the problem solving of "science" without the tedious maths of physics or equations of chemistry).
I'd heard about A Brief History of Time ages ago from the friend of an ex-girlfriend of mine, and I really thought it was something that I should have a look at, given my interest in the subject. One day, a few years ago, when I was feeling flush, I bought it on a semi-impulse ... more
Science is great. I love science, me. I don't know why this is, but I've always been fascinated with puzzles and things that are science based. I remember one day, in my final year in primary school, a friend and myself were handed an aerial photograph of Belfast, and asked to "suggest" what time of day the photograph was taken. A few weeks later, we were given a small toy tank (the type that fired those red missile thingies) and asked to show what difference barrel elevation had to do with range.
While the first problem isn't necessarily a science-based thing, but rather a combination of local knowledge and logical thinking, these are the types of things that really fuel my imagination (part of the reason I now attend university on a Computer Science degree - all the problem solving of "science" without the tedious maths of physics or equations of chemistry).
I'd heard about A Brief History of Time ages ago from the friend of an ex-girlfriend of mine, and I really thought it was something that I should have a look at, given my interest in the subject. One day, a few years ago, when I was feeling flush, I bought it on a semi-impulse buy and thoroughly enjoyed it.
By now there can't be too many people who are unaware of Professor Stephen Hawking. He's appeared on notable television programmes such as "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "The Simpsons" (a fantastic episode with some of the funniest Simpsons lines ever - especially the bit where Homer adopts a "robot" voice to try to get Prof. Hawking to pick up the bar tab). You know the guy - he?s widely regarding as one of the foremost minds of our time, and many people rank him alongside Einstein, Newton and other notable scientists. Despite suffering from ALS (or motor neuron disease), his mind is still as bright as ever, and with this book, he attempts to bring many of the important scientific theories regarding the universe to the masses.
As part of his introduction and acknowledgements, Hawking states that he tries to keep equations out of his writing because someone had told him that each equation would reduce sales by half, and in the end he only includes Einstein's "E=mc squared".
The book is split up into eleven chapters including an introduction and a conclusion, and also has a few pages at the end with notes on Newtown, Galileo and Einstein. Each of the main chapters is around twenty pages in length, and with most chapters have a few diagrams, you can expect it not to go into too much detail.
The first proper chapter is basically a helpful introduction to Hawkings' world and what he and his colleagues hope to find out with their studies. This chapter also contains some history of science, from the ancient Greeks through to the contemporary thinkers, and I found this to be quite interesting.
There are nine further chapters within this book, each dedicated to one area of science and the associated theories.
* Space and time. Starting off easily, this chapter describes the concept of space, the concept of time and the concept of space-time. Can gravity have an effect on light? What does this mean if it does? These are the sorts of questions asked and answered in this chapter.
* The Expanding Universe. The universe is expanding (one of the reasons the "big bang" theory was put forward) and this chapter explains how this theory has come about and explains the concepts of the Doppler effect, red shift and blue-shift.
* Uncertainty Principle Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle states that you cannot observe something without affecting it in some way, thus altering the results of the experiment, or event. Hawking explains how this principle was formed.
* Elementary Particles and Elementary Forces of Nature Quite obviously, explains about what makes up matter and deals with atoms and smaller particles. Also deals with Pauli?s Exclusion Principle (which is not an Italian Americans method for letting patrons into his nightclub).
* Black Holes / Black Holes Ain't So Black Ah! A scientific term that most people are due to at least have heard, even if only from the dodgy Disney film from ages ago. Both these chapters are dedicated to the phenomenon of black holes and what is currently known or theorized about them. It's these two chapters I had most problems with. In my opinion the science contained within them were the most difficult to get my head round.
* Origin and Fate of the Universe Big Bang? Big Crunch? What happened, and what is likely to happen? These are the topics discussed in this chapter, and after the two Black Hole chapters, get back to relatively plain language. Even explaining how the Pope and the Catholic Church had invited scientists to advise them on Cosmology after their mistake with Galileo had ?given permission? for the scientific to study the effects of the Big Bang (but not the Big Bang itself because that was the moment of Creation), despite the fact that Hawking himself had just delivered a speech explaining how time was irrelevant!
* The Arrow of Time Time is complicated. You and I both know this, however this chapter doesn?t help matters much! In fact, the total opposite - it possible makes Time more complicated by explaining the way scientists view time, but still thoroughly intriguing, if confusing in places.
* Grand Unification of Physics There is a general consensus that there is one theory that will describe all aspects of the universe, but at this time, that theory is beyond us. What scientists hope to achieve is discover pieces of this theory, and gradually build up a complete picture to a so-called Grand Unified Theory.
*Conclusion Prof. Hawking concludes this excellent study by asking some brief question for us to mull over regarding what he has already discussed in the previous chapters, as well as look forward to what may happen.
All in all, an excellent book for those of you with a passing interest in physics, especially physics on a universal scale dealing with topics such as light, time and gravity. One thing that did surprise me was the amount of references to God. For example, one of the questions asked in the book is "Did God have control over what happened in the universe after the Big Bang?".
Overall, I recommend this book, but to be honest I can see it being too scientific for anyone who hasn?t got a science, particularly physics to at least A level standard. Hawking does an amazing job of simplifying the stuff that he talks about, but I think there?s a long way to go before this type of work is available for the layman.
Author: Prof. Stephen Hawking Price: £7.99 Publisher: Bantam Books ISBN: 0553175211
Advantages: Educational (to say the least!), really interesting, written for the layman, includes examples (see op.), persuaded me that i'd like to become a physisist! Disadvantages: You have to read it at least 3 times to understand it *fully*!
...assume you have not read A Brief History of Time by Prof. Steven W. Hawking then?! If you had have done [and actually understood it!] then you'd know what 0.000000003335640952 seconds stands for! Well let me enlighten you a little [no pun intended!] 0.000000003335640952 seconds is actually the time it takes for light to travel a distance of only 1 metre. As i'm sure everyone will know, Prof. Steven Hawking is bound to a wheelchair suffering from ... ...Bang to the possibility of a Big Crunch. And, as if all that isn't enough he still has time to write great books! A Brief History of Time has been his best seller, it is sold world-wide and still captures the imagination of many people! ~ So whats the book about? ~ Well as i'm sure you'll already know, A Brief History of Time is about physics! Although, unlike many books covering physics, Hawking wrote this for the layman. (This doesn't mean its ...
Sarah_Louise 13.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Advantages: Relatively uncomplicated and readable for a science book. Extremely informative - essential. Disadvantages: It's still very complicated.
...thrives, despite the confines of a wheelchair, and famously communicates through his robotic-sounding speech synthesis program. The book
First off, there is no maths in this book. In principle, this means that anyone can delve into the book without fear of being swamped by equations. In practice, however, despite Hawking's best efforts, this book is not readily accessible. The fact remains that, to pick two examples of subjects discussed, quantum ... ...The style - Hawking has a strange style. Fortunately, the simple sentences he constructs are ideal for simplifying the physics. He has a wonderfully dry wit: "[The sun] would either fall apart or collapse to form a black hole. In either case, it would not be of much use as a source or light for life on earth."
The topics - A few of the things discussed are: relativity, quantum theory, grand unified theories, black holes, string theory, the beginning ...
JaySee 24.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Advantages: Well written, interesting, accessible Disadvantages: None
The mark of a true educator, which Stephen Hawking certainly is, is that he would take time (very valuable time, in his case) away from research and contemplation of the great mysteries of the universe to write a piece that would serve to help explain to the greater number of less-scientifically-adept persons the fruits and implications of modern scientific research from the cutting edge of physics. Hawking is ranked in popular and scientific thinking ... ...of space and time as a relatively new concept in thinking of the universe, and the way the universe ‘acts’ (cosmological dynamics). From there, he explores the universe at a very basic level, as elementary particles and forces of nature, introducing quarks.
'There are a number of different varieties of quarks: there are thought to be at least six ‘flavours’, which we call up, down, strange, charmed, bottom and top. Each flavour comes in three ‘colours’, ...
frkurt 19.01.2003 (08.02.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Advantages: Inspirational Disadvantages: Not enough references to other books
...I picked it up at a time when I was losing interest in my hobbies, the doldrums had set it and I found entertainment in little.
Then along came this book I found whilst browsing Amazon to pass the time of day, and it has urged me to keep learning more - about *anything*.
I was amazed how how intriguing space really is - the number of unanswered questions there still are and the number of people dedicating their lives to finding them, regardless ... ...the universe was created in a way we could live in it.
Once I finished the book, I emailed Stephen Hawking to congratulate him on his genius. Something I have never done before. I would urge anybody with even the slightest intelligence to read this book as it could change your views on many aspects of life. Like where we really come from.
Since then, I have read books on mathematics, DNA and navigation - subjects I could look back on my school ...
simonsta 10.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Advantages: A fascinating window into everything around us Disadvantages: May be too complex for some
...Stephen Hawking. He has made a guest appearance in the Simpsons I believe, but that is beside the point, because in this book the reader can uncover the amazing powers of his mind, and the way in which he like no other scientist perceives the world in which we live. While many have heard of the book, I wonder how many have actually read it? It has the reputation of being a very difficult book to follow and to understand, but then how can a book that ... ...everything around us) not be a little complex in places? It’s a shame that it has the reputation, because you need to knowledge or qualification to understand what Hawking is talking about. All you need is an interest. So while this book may not be the light reading that many enjoy, I hereby encourage you to go out and try in…who knows, you may even enjoy it. Right, onto the review.
Hawking starts by introducing us to previous ideas about the universe ...
Jaxle 02.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
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Advantages: A very accessible and understandable way of introducing big scientific theories. Disadvantages: Weakened by the interweaving plot, to a certain extent.
takes turns with Cohen?s and Stewart?s; them having one chapter, and him the next. And everything that Cohen and Stewart discuss is subtly reflected in Pratchett?s story ? where the very creation and history of the world is the basis for his plot?
As mentioned before, Cohen and Stewart?s work takes on a fairly familiar pattern of explaining scientific theory (think StephenHawking?s ?A BriefHistory of Time?, or Brian Cox?s more recent ?Why Does E=mc²?) ? they go through the big stuff; the creation of the world, the laws of the universe, evolution, global warming, the potential future of mankind, as well as taking the general philosophy of science into consideration ? which is no small order for a book ? but a bigger one for a text that?s also trying to interweave a narrative through it too.
And they manage it very, very well. Which is ...
Advantages: Interesting Factual and Funny Disadvantages: Looks like a scary number of pages
travels through time and space, Bryson sought advice from various experts and scientists and discovered that they really are a separate breed? equal parts brilliant, eccentric, competitive and obsessive. During the writing of this book he asked questions and made notes, and when he could not understand something he returned to them for guidance time and time again until he could see clearly the ideas that needed to be got across. For those seeking answers Bryson has done all the hard work of learning for us - which now enables him to reveal the world in a way most of us have never seen before.
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Advantages: Easy to follow text, good ideas, great photographs Disadvantages: A bit elementary in places
StephenHawking is widely acknowledged as one of the most intelligent persons on the planet, often seen as the intellectual successor to Einstein in reputation if not in actual adherence to theories. This book by David Filkin is a companion to book to a BBC/PBS series by the same name, highlighting different aspects and ideas that came from the television production.
StephenHawking?s own book, ?A BriefHistory of Time?, is a very popular and accessible account of modern theoretical physics ? it is somewhat astonishing that a book on this topic should have sold well over 10 million copies worldwide, being translated into many languages. Filkin?s book looks not only at the theories (many of which can be found in Hawking?s book), but also at the personality of the man behind the ideas. Hawking describes himself as a boy who liked ...
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