“The man who makes physics sexy . . . the scientist they’re calling the next Stephen Hawking.” —The Times Magazine From the New York Times–bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Helgoland, a closer look at the mind-bending nature of the universe. What are the elementary ingredients of the world? Do time and space exist? And what exactly is reality? Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli has spent his life exploring these questions. He tells us how our understanding of reality has changed over the centuries and how physicists think about the structure of the universe today. In elegant and accessible prose, Rovelli takes us on a wondrous journey from Democritus to Albert Einstein, from Michael Faraday to gravitational waves, and from classical physics to his own work in quantum gravity. As he shows us how the idea of reality has evolved over time, Rovelli offers deeper explanations of the theories he introduced so concisely in Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. This book culminates in a lucid overview of quantum gravity, the field of research that explores the quantum nature of space and time, seeking to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. Rovelli invites us to imagine a marvelous world where space breaks up into tiny grains, time disappears at the smallest scales, and black holes are waiting to explode—a vast universe still largely undiscovered.
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“Here’s a flawless, up-to-date history of physics, from antiquity to yesterday (almost). One can’t tell that it’s translated from Italian, so smoothly does the narration flow. Narrator Roy McMillan’s voice gives the impression of a learned speaker embarking on a friendly explanation of abstruse concepts and discoveries. Having listened to many science audiobooks and other presentations, this reviewer says that this is one of the best. For example, quantum theory, well known to be opaque to even highly trained scientists, is described so lucidly that the listener almost understands it. That’s saying something.”
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