Best Physics of Time
Could the universe exist without space and time? “Send[s] the reader’s imagination hurtling through space on an astonishing ride. “I recommend Greene’s book to any nonexpert reader who wants an up-to-date account of theoretical physics, written in colloquial language that anyone can understand.” —Freeman Dyson, The New York Review of Books “As pure intellectual adventure, this is about as good as it gets. Even compared with A Brief History of Time , Greene’s book stands out for its sweeping ambition . There is simply no better introduction to the strange wonders of general relativity and quantum mechanics, the fields of knowledge essential for any real understanding of space and time.” — Discover “The author’s informed curiosity is inspiring and his enthusiasm infectious.” — Kansas City Star “Mind-bending. [Greene] is both a gifted theoretical physicist and a graceful popularizer [with] virtuoso explanatory skills.” — The Oregonian. “Greene’s gravitational pull rivals a black hole’s.” — Newsweek. a must-read for the huge constituency of lay readers enticed by the mysteries of cosmology.” — Sunday Times. “Relish this exhilarating foray into the alien terrain that is our own universe.” — Booklist , starred review. “Holds out the promise that we may one day explain how space and time have come to exist.” —Paul Davies, Nature. “Greene takes us to the limits of space and time.” — The Guardian “Exciting stuff. Introduces the reader to the mind-boggling landscape of cutting-edge theoretical physics, where mathematics rules supreme.” — The News & Observer “One of the most entertaining and thought-provoking popular science books to have emerged in the last few years. “In the space of 500 readable pages, Greene has brought us to the brink of twenty-first-century physics with the minimum of fuss.” — The Herald “If anyone can popularize tough science, it’s Greene.” — Entertainment Weekly.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You'll have to do a little thinking though as you read through the chapters as it contains multiople mind-bending subjects (quantum probabilities, natures of waves and particles, general relativity, etc...)."
"I would recommend watching the video and read the book if you have no knowledge of the Space and time."
"Topics include (but are limited to) relativity, quantum, cosmology, etc.. More generally it deals with what the universe is, where it comes from and how it works. The only cons I find to this book are the numerous end-notes that take you all the way to end of the book (at almost every single page!)."
"Still reading the book, but so far I am really enjoying it."
"I didn't exactly find this book to be an easy read, even with its abundant analogies, but it has been well worth the effort I put into it."
"What you do want to buy this book for is the amazing way in which even the most difficult concepts are explained in a concise and clear manner. Brian Greene is a true master at explaining the intricacies of modern scientific theories to common folk such as me."
"My introduction to physics before reading this book was a few high school physics classes, two introductory classical physics classes in college, and many readings of "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking."
"He had a logic error in his discussion of entanglement when he attempted to explain the wave function collapse could not be a random programmed event."
Teleportation, time machines, force fields, and interstellar space ships—the stuff of science fiction or potentially attainable future technologies? In this latest effort to popularize the sciences, City University of New York professor and media star Kaku ( Hyperspace ) ponders topics that many people regard as impossible, ranging from psychokinesis and telepathy to time travel and teleportation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I got the books relatively fast. I am only a fifth of the way through this book."
"It is very easy to digest."
"This carefully constructed book outlined numerous science fiction technologies that could become real given scientific advancements in time."
"Kaku covers the following subjects: Force Fields, invisibility, Phasers and Death Stars, Teleportation, Telepathy, Psychokinesis, Robots, Extraterrestrials and UFOs, Antimatter and Anti-Universes, Faster than light travel, Time Travel, Parallel Universes, Perpetual Motion Machines, and Precognition. I highly recommend anybody who enjoys science, science fiction, cosmology, mathematics, or simply someone who has a great imagination, this book is for you!"
"While it is definitely not a simple "no-brainer / no gray matter necessary" read, the author nevertheless does an excellent job of taking complex topics in physics and bringing them to us in layman's terms."
"As a complete physics layman, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and somewhat regret not studying harder in college."
"Absolutely a fun and interesting book."
"I have just started reading it and am thrilled to confirm that it is understandable to someone who does not have a quantum physics degree!"
The whole of Western, natural philosophy is undergoing a sea change again, increasingly being forced upon us by the experimental findings of quantum theory, and at the same time, towards doubt and uncertainty in the physical explanations of the universe’s genesis and structure. Biocentrism completes this shift in worldview, turning the planet upside down again with the revolutionary view that life creates the universe instead of the other way around. At the same time it will release us from the dull worldview of life being merely the activity of an admixture of carbon and a few other elements; it suggests the exhilarating possibility that life is fundamentally immortal. I found the attack on physics to be pretty compelling ... Lanza's theories [are] certainly worth debate.”. Houston Chronicle 's Eric Berger, SciGuy blog What makes this book both interesting and worth the effort of reading it; is the unique perspective Lanza brings to the subject matter as a physician. Scientists work to acquire objective answers from the infinity of space or the inner machinery of the atom. The work is a scholarly consideration of science and philosophy that brings biology into the central role in unifying the whole. A New Theory of the Universe’ takes into account all the knowledge we have gained over the last few centuries, and correlates them to our own beings, placing in perspective our biologic limitations that have impeded our understanding of greater truths surrounding our existence and the universe around us. Reading Robert Lanza’s work is a wake-up call to all of us that even on the grandest scale we still depend on our minds to experience reality. We can go about our daily lives and continue to study the physical Universe as if it exists as an objective reality (because the probabilities allow that degree of confidence), but we do so with a better awareness of an underlying biological component, thanks to Dr. Lanza. I cannot speak for NASA or other NASA scientists, but personally I look forward to hearing a more detailed explanation of this biocentric view of the Universe from Dr. Lanza.”. David Thompson Thompson is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Robert Lanza has come up with an innovative approach to investigate reality from the viewpoint of biology. A book that expands upon this unique approach is warranted, not only to alert society, but to call on it to test this novel new hypothesis.”. Gunther Kletetschka Kletetschka is a geophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He is also a Research Professor of Physics at Catholic University of America and leading scientist working on the James Web Space Telescope. Bravo.”. Michael Lysaght Lysaght is Professor of Medical Science and Engineering at Brown University and Director of Brown’s Center for Biomedical Engineering.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"And Lanza periodically attributes the source of consciousness to the brain."
"This book makes for an extremely interesting read, one which appeals to both secular scientists looking for an alternate explanation for our reality, as well as to religious people who long for a glimpse of unity between heaven and earth."
"The authors, however, present a set of innovative propositions and ideas worth reading."
"I have the feeling that somewhere in these pages is a (most brief) glimpse of the face of God...Berman considers the imperative question my materialist friends have never been able to answer to my satisfaction..."explain consciousness"."
"A hard read and some of the info is accurate but old news unless this is a subject that you haven't noticed in the news."
"An worthwhile read if you have are new to the concepts of quantum physics and have never read about nonduality."
"Excellent idea but I kind of missed how life and consciousness are more relevant than the theories of other scientific disciplines on how the universe began and why life is here."
"If you are not able to think for yourself, don't even bother."
Best Physics of Time
Could the universe exist without space and time? Assuming an audience of non-specialists, Greene has set himself a daunting task: to explain non-intuitive, mathematical concepts like String Theory, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Inflationary Cosmology with analogies drawn from common experience. When explaining, for example, the inability to see the higher dimensions inherent in string theory, Greene writes: "We don't see them because of the way we see like an ant walking along a lily pad we could be floating within a grand, expansive, higher-dimensional space." In 1999, Greene, one of the world's leading physicists, published The Elegant Universe (Norton), a popular presentation of string theory that became a major bestseller and, last fall, a highly rated PBS/Nova series. To do this, Greene takes a roughly chronological approach, beginning with Newton, moving through Einstein and quantum physics, and on to string theory and its hypotheses (that there are 11 dimensions, ten of space and one of time; that there may be an abundance of parallel universes; that time travel may be possible, and so on) and imminent experiments that may test some of its tenets. Eighty-five line drawings ease the task, however, as does Greene's felicitous narration; most importantly, though, Greene not only makes concepts clear but explains why they matter.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I would recommend watching the video and read the book if you have no knowledge of the Space and time."
"Topics include (but are limited to) relativity, quantum, cosmology, etc.. More generally it deals with what the universe is, where it comes from and how it works. The only cons I find to this book are the numerous end-notes that take you all the way to end of the book (at almost every single page!)."
"Still reading the book, but so far I am really enjoying it."
"I didn't exactly find this book to be an easy read, even with its abundant analogies, but it has been well worth the effort I put into it."
"What you do want to buy this book for is the amazing way in which even the most difficult concepts are explained in a concise and clear manner. Brian Greene is a true master at explaining the intricacies of modern scientific theories to common folk such as me."
"My introduction to physics before reading this book was a few high school physics classes, two introductory classical physics classes in college, and many readings of "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking."
"He had a logic error in his discussion of entanglement when he attempted to explain the wave function collapse could not be a random programmed event."
"Love the corresponding show with the same title."
Best Molecular Physics
Chemistry is presented visually through multi-level images–macroscopic, molecular, and symbolic representations–helping students see the connections between the world they see around them (macroscopic), the atoms and molecules that compose the world (molecular), and the formulas they write down on paper (symbolic). Nivaldo Tro is Professor of Chemistry at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he has been a faculty member since 1990.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An unfamiliar student may not be able to read this text and teach themselves - and perhaps Prof. Tro has overthought the material and made assumptions on a newbie's analytical understanding of the text - but from the first two chapters any new student could teach themselves chemistry without a professor guiding them."
"This is a used rental book, but the quality is okay isn’t the greatest."
"This is a comprehensive intro to chemistry."
"Brand new, great book."
"Fast Shipping."
"Fantastic deal!"
"I love saving money by renting books."
"I have just bought this brand new 3rd edition and compared it with my 1st edition."
Best Atomic & Nuclear Physics
In Magnitude, Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke take us on an expansive journey to the limits of size, mass, distance, time, temperature in our universe, from the tiniest particle within the structure of an atom to the most massive galaxy in the universe; from the speed at which grass grows (about 2 to 6 inches a month) to the speed of light. Kimberly Arcand is the visualization lead for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, specializing in image and meaning research, and in data representation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is fun and factual, however, I had problems getting to the websites shown at the end of the book."
"Magnitude is a fun read, whether you are looking for just the right information to impress your friends with, or to liven an academic conversation."
"Let's see - can you take what usually is a dry science topic (unit conversions and scientific notation) and make it beautiful, even poetic?"
"On page 53, under the heading "Temperature", the formula listed for conversion is: Fahrenheit = (Celsius - 32) * 9/5. Probably a typo."
Best Textbooks
A lean, fleet-footed translation that recaptures Homer’s “nimble gallop” and brings an ancient epic to new life. “A staggeringly superior translation―true, poetic, lively and readable, and always closely engaged with the original Greek―that brings to life the fascinating variety of voices in Homer’s great epic.”. - Richard F. Thomas, Harvard University. “Emily Wilson has produced a clear, vigorous, sensitive Odyssey that conveys both the grand scale and the individual pathos of this foundational story. Emily Wilson has convincingly answered this call: hers is a vital Odyssey for the twenty-first century that brings into rhythmic English the power, dignity, variety, and immediacy of this great poem.”. - Laura Slatkin, New York University.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"More than in other translations, the Odyssey comes across here strongly as a historical document, the product of a culture from a particular time and place. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost. when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, and where he went, and who he met, the pain. he suffered in the storms at sea, and how. he worked to save his life and bring his men. back home. Compare Wilson's language with that of the opening of Robert Fitzgerald's translation: "Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story. of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold. on the proud height of Troy. He saw the townlands. and learned the minds of many distant men, and weathered many bitter nights and days. in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only. to save his life, to bring his shipmates home. Fitzgerald translates it as "skilled in all ways of contending," and Fagles as "the man of twists and turns.""
"I have read and taught the Odyssey at least five times over the past twenty years. And Emily Wilson's version is a godsend."
"The first stanzas will make you perk up and realize that this is the most interesting translation of the Odyssey for our time."
"but at age 81 I consider The Odyssey the greatest book I have ever read, for itself and for its influence on my ways of thinking and of living. The main reason is that, in comparison to the others, it is best at creating the mood of an ancient, epic, poem. I love it when he repeats, for the nth time, "Son of Laertes and the Gods of old, Odysseus, master of land ways and sea ways..." and other such formulaic hints that we are not reading a James Bond or even a Scott Fitzgerald, nor Salinger, nor McEwan, nor certainly a Hemingway novel -- the content should perhaps be enough to distinguish Odyssey as the great epic it is, but I like the complementing embellishments of Fitzgerald's version. For a more important difference, compare the climax, as Odysseus is about to slaughter the suitors: Fitzgerald has him say: "You yellow dogs, you thought I'd never make it. home from the land of Troy. But Fitzgerald focuses on breaking the rules, on disrespecting the mores of their time: the suitors were contemptuous of both the gods, and the opinions of their fellow men."
"I've never read the Odyssey before in it's entirety, so can't compare this to other translations."
Best Science Essays & Commentary
“[Tyson] tackles a great range of subjects . According to astrophysicist Tyson, director of New York City's Hayden Planetarium, size does matter when it comes to black holes, although the chances of your surviving the encounter aren't good in any case. Tyson takes readers on an exciting journey from Earth's hot springs, where extremophiles flourish in hellish conditions, to the frozen, desolate stretches of the Oort Cloud and the universe's farthest reaches, in both space and time. Readers of Natural History magazine will be familiar with many of the 42 essays collected here, while newcomers will profit from Tyson's witty and entertaining description of being pulled apart atom by atom into a black hole, and other, closer-to-earth, and cheerier, topics.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is was gift and the person loved it."
"Super cool and a good variety of concepts."
"Amazing :) thank you so much."
"Came clean and just as expected!"
"Very happy, quick delivery."
Best Science Experiments & Measurement
In Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, things are explained in the style of Up Goer Five, using only drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or "ten hundred") most common words.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In doing so, it makes you consider when and why it's actually important to use a special name for some things, and think harder about what your words are really telling people. But I sometimes ask my students to try explaining complicated stuff using only simple words, because when you do that, you find out whether you really understand it. So, this book shows us a way to pay special attention to how our own thinking bag works."
"...because the details of the diagrams do not translate well to the smaller Kindle."
"The thing about this book is that it only uses the ten hundred most used words by people to tell you about things that are hard to understand."
"Thing Explainer writes without expectation of understanding, prior knowledge of language, or any prior knowledge; it is one of the closest things to a window into someones thoughts. I hope to clarify for many potential buyers that saw the early "Up Goes Five": this book is more focused on explaining things in paragraphs rather than the pure labelling style of that early prototype. This book is great for me and my family to make connections between what we already know and the book, but I believe it will also be great for kids to easily learn new things, and get a grasp of complex ideas. A Thought: I'd love to see this style of writing carried across to genres beyond science, because I think it has the potential to make generally interesting yet charm-less writing far more fun; history books, biopics, even short stories."
"Pretty funny, pretty cool, but also written in such simple language that at times it's actually harder to read than you'd think!"
"Do think you can explain an atomic bomb using the same 1.000 words you would use to explain an elevator or a train."
"Complicated concepts explained only using the 1,000 most commonly used words in the American English language."
"This book is just fantastic."
Best Scientific Instruments
With more than 150 photographs including Hubble All-Stars—the most famous of all the noteworthy images— The Hubble Cosmos shows how this telescope is revolutionizing our understanding of the universe. ROBERT P. KIRSHNER, Clowes Professor of Science in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, accomplished groundbreaking work on supernovas and the expansion of the universe using the Hubble Space Telescope.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unbelievable pictures."
"A spectacular compilation of the glory that arts supreme in the universe, makes you realize that all the universe is full of light and feel the eternal movement of the spheres, which we are all a part of."
"And a awsum team worked their butt off to make it and put it in Space."
"Beautiful."
"So beautiful."
"Great product for a great price."
Best Scientific Research
A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace. “ A glorious book . Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms. Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing." How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Despite being a tad dated now, Sagan's thesis that it's the dual modes of thinking - wonder of the real world and skepticism of authority and baseless assertions - that most benefit societies. His clarion call for a people with mature critical thinking skills needs to be heard more than ever. He is clear that belief without evidence is anathema to a free, 21st century society world."
"More than anything, Sagan felt that reason and logic could make the world a better place, and this book is really an extended essay on that idea. It's not a scientific treatise: it's just Carl Sagan, speaking conversationally, spelling out what he believes and why, and why you should apply your mind as well."
"Everyone should be taught the lessons in this book on how to approach life's questions."
"This is a wonderful book."
"In brilliant witty well thought out arguments, he shows how susceptible humans are to illusion and hoax, and that our best defence is rigorous use of the scientific method (experiment and verify, keep or try again) plus a healthy dose of scepticism."
"This book should be required in all high schools."
"The Demon-Haunted World is written beautifully."
"This book taught me how important is to keep healthy balance (skepticism yes, but don't go too far with it it is almost equally unproductive as closing your mind before some truth just because you were told differently)."
Best Microscopes & Microsocopy
With over 100 pictures and detailed explanations, this book is written in a style intended to assist students and teachers in a variety of possible science projects with tardigrades. Covered are the essential techniques of sample collection, specimen and slide preparation, and the basics of microorganism viewing under a microscope. Indeed, even my college students and teachers in professional development classes sometimes have a difficult time grasping these concepts (higher mag is not always "better") Indeed, this book would be very useful for anyone interested in basic microscopy." Mr. Shaw’s internet video went viral with over 11 million views, popularizing the tardigrade as “the first animal to survive in space.”. Recently Mr. Shaw has appeared in a PBS video, and on TV Globo in Brazil on their most watched Sunday night program, Fantastico.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In this book Mike tells us not only what tardigrades are, but where they live, what they eat and what eats them, and how to find, capture and view them under the microscope. Mike also has a tardigrade website [...]), which is as remarkable as the book."
"Great color photographs, very easy to understand, you will definitely learn a lot!"
"When I was in high school I was a science fair nerd, but it's been many decades since I deployed the ol' microscope to watch protozoa."
"This book gives complete directions on locating and observing them with a microscope and taking pictures to share with others."
"I especially like the bit of humor added as well as the safety notes aimed at children."
"I guarantee that you will find a some of these little creatures and will be amazed by them."
"Well-illustrated, written at the appropriate level, comprehensive without seeming padded--this is the best biology enrichment book I know of."
"A good book to get started looking for Tardigrades still have not found any but I keep looking ."
Best Scientific Experiments & Projects
--Hans Camenzind, inventor of the 555 timer (the world's most successful integrated circuit), and author of Much Ado About Almost Nothing: Man's Encounter with the Electron (Booklocker.com). --Tom Igoe, author of Physical Computing and Making Things Talk. A new shopping guide and a simplified range of components, will minimize your investment in parts for the projects. A completely new section on the Arduino shows you how to write properly structured programs instead of just downloading other people's code. Projects have been reworked to provide additional features, and the book has been restructured to offer a step-by-step learning process that is as clear and visually pleasing on handheld devices as it is on paper. Hans Camenzind, inventor of the 555 Timer (the world's most successful integrated circuit chip), said that "This is teaching at its best!" He is the author of the highly successful introductory hands-on book, Make:Electronics, and is writing a sequel to that book in addition to volumes 2 and 3 of the Encyclopedia of Electronic Components.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was an engineering student in college (although not electrical engineering) so I was always kind of upset that after spending countless nights of my life doing all sorts of crazy math problems with respect to circuits, I didn't know something as simple as how a relay works, or how to build anything except maybe a simple circuit with a lightbulb and a resistor. This won't make you an expert in electronics, it is definitely on the simple side of things (like algebraic simplifications of mathematical models that are actually rooted in calculus or differential equations), but that's exactly what I was looking for. Seems steep but if you plan on making use of your new-found knowledge for the foreseeable future, you will be using these tools well after you've worked through this book."
"Challenge his tech skills without been overwhelming."
"great book for learning the basics."
"Fun book, I plan on buying a ket to try out the expereiments."
"Informative yet simple."
"Of course you need to know electronics!"
"This book's layout kept me turning it's pages to learn more."
Best Electron Microscopes & Microscopy
This text provides students as well as practitioners with a comprehensive introduction to the field of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis. “There is no other single volume that covers as much theory and practice of SEM or X-ray microanalysis as Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis, 3rd Edition does. It is an excellent textbook for graduate students, and an outstanding reference for engineers, physical, and biological scientists.” (Microscopy and Microanalysis, Vol.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book has greatly exceeded my expectations and has impressed me with the technical content."
"Before you grab your solid-state physics book or check Wikipedia, just relax and page through it since this book pretty much makes it easy for you. It's compact compared to the monsterous Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) book by Barry Carter which is another great reference."
"I'm reading this book and an older edition of the Reimer text for in independent study course in SEM. There are many instances where there are sets of images to compare the results achieved with varied operating parameters."
"this book is excellent and a basis still after many years."
"A great hardcover book at a very reasonable price!"
"Great reference for Scanning electron microscopy."
"fast delivery, just as advertised."
"Includes all the basic terms and features than one is needed when begins electron microscopy, but also for the experienced ones to look back at various troubles they come up with during the use of SEM or XRD."