|
|
A Brief History of Time (Paperback)
by Stephen Hawking
| Category:
Science, Physics, Technology |
| Market price: ¥ 208.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
In Stock |
|
|
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
MSL Pointer Review:
A modern classic by Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, this book answers such questions as what physicists now think the world is made of and how it got that way.
|
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
Detail |
Author |
Description |
Excerpt |
Reviews |
|
|
|
Author: Stephen Hawking
Publisher: Bantam; 10th Anniv edition
Pub. in: September, 1998
ISBN: 0553380168
Pages: 224
Measurements: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00232
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0553380163
|
|
Rate this product:
|
|
- Awards & Credential -
A science classic by Stephen Hawking, and a sweeping international bestseller with more than 9 million copies in print world-wide. |
|
- MSL Picks -
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.
****
An understanding of space has eluded man since the beginning of time. Although mankind has made small steps and giant leaps, especially in the last 50 years, much about space continues to elude us. It is the mystery of black holes and an expanding universe that fascinate me. From increasing global warming to the continued inhabitability of our planet, an understanding of space is more relevant than ever. However, for me, the most fascinating aspect of space study is its relationship to the concept of time.
Time has been commonly defined as a non-spatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future. However, near a black hole the rules of geometry and time are no longer applicable because inescapable forces pull at the speed of light and are thought to result in the stoppage of time.
Stephen Hawking, who currently resides in Cambridge, England, is currently the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and author of the bestseller, A Brief History of Time. Stephen Hawking is considered the foremost expert on black holes. In this novel he claims to have solved the black hole information paradox with his "Hawking Radiation" postulate which states that matter which falls into black holes is not lost in a breach of quantum physics, but rather emitted in the form of quantum fluctuations in the event horizon. Stephen Hawking discusses his theories on black holes and the concept of time.
While reading the novel, it is captivating to ponder the unknown future of space exploration regarding black holes. He examines questions such as if it is possible to reach a black hole. Would it be possible to stand upon the event horizon of a black hole and live forever because time stops? Could a black hole be useful to us? Does a black hole eventually shrink and disappear? It is a richly rewarding and thought-provoking novel indeed.
(From quoting Publisher and R. Malhotra, USA)
Target readers:
All non-scientist readers who are curious about the origin of the universe, teachers, parents, and college students.
|
|
Stephen Hawking, who was born on the anniversary of Galileo's death in 1942, holds Isaac Newton's chair as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein, he is also the author of Black Holes and Baby Universes, a collection of essays published in 1993, as well as numerous scientific papers and books.
|
|
From Publisher
A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was a landmark volume in science writing and in world-wide acclaim and popularity, with more than 9 million copies in print globally. The original edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the ensuing years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic world - observations that have confirmed many of Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book.
Now a decade later, this edition updates the chapters throughout to document those advances, and also includes an entirely new chapter on Wormholes and Time Travel and a new introduction. It make vividly clear why A Brief History of Time has transformed our view of the universe.
|
I didn't write a foreword to the original edition of A Brief History of Time. That was done by Carl Sagan. Instead, I wrote a short piece titled "Acknowledgments" in which I was advised to thank everyone. Some of the foundations that had given me support weren't too pleased to have been mentioned however, because it led to a great increase in applications.
I don't think anyone, my publishers, my agent, or myself, expected the book to do anything like as well as it did. It was on the London Sunday Times best seller list for 237 weeks, longer than any other book (apparently, the Bible and Shakespeare aren't counted). It has been translated into something like forty languages and has sold about one copy for every 750 men, women, and children in the world. As Nathan Myhrvold of Microsoft (a former postdoc of mine) remarked: I have sold more books on physics than Madonna has on sex.
The success of A Brief History indicates that there is widespread interest in the big questions like: where did we come from? And why is the universe the way it is? However, I know that many people have found parts of the book difficult to follow. The aim in this new edition is to make it easier by including large numbers of illustrations. Even if you only look at the pictures and their captions, you should get some idea of what is going on.
I have taken the opportunity to update the book and include new theoretical and observational results obtained since the book was first published (on April Fools' Day, 1988). I have included a new chapter on wormholes and time travel. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity seems to offer the possibility that we could create and maintain wormholes, little tubes that connect different regions of space-time. If so, we might be able to use them for rapid travel around the galaxy or travel back in time. Of course, we have not seen anyone from the future (or have we?) but I discuss a possible explanation for this.
I also describe the progress that has been made recently in finding "dualities" or correspondences between apparently different theories of physics. These correspondences are a strong indication that there is a complete unified theory of physics, but they also suggest that it may not be possible to express this theory in a single fundamental formulation. Instead, we may have to use different reflections of the underlying theory in different situations. It might be like our being unable to represent the surface of the earth on a single map and having to use different maps in different regions. This would be a revolution in our view of the unification of the laws of science but it would not change the most important point: that the universe is governed by a set of rational laws that we can discover and understand.
On the observational side, by far the most important development has been the measurement of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation by COBE (the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite) and other collaborations. These fluctuations are the fingerprints of creation, tiny initial irregularities in the otherwise smooth and uniform early universe that later grew into galaxies, stars, and all the structures we see around us. Their form agrees with the predictions of the proposal that the universe has no boundaries or edges in the imaginary time direction; but further observations will be necessary to distinguish this proposal from other possible explanations for the fluctuations in the background. However, within a few years we should know whether we can believe that we live in a universe that is completely self-contained and without beginning or end.
Stephen Hawking
Cambridge, May 1996
|
|
| View all 14 comments |
New York Review of Books (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-09 00:00>
He can explain the complexities of cosmological physics with an engaging combination of clarity and wit - His is a brain of extraordinary power.
|
Physics Today (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-09 00:00>
Hawking has succeeded in writing two intertwined books, one a highly readable and popular account of the role of time in physics, the other an in-depth review -What makes all this so interesting is Hawking's ability to convoy the essential physics in words alone. |
Chicago Tribune (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-09 00:00>
In his first work of popular science, Stephen Hawking proves himself to be a master of vivid clarity - It's difficult to think of anyone else living who could have put these mathematically formidable subjects more clearly.
|
The New York Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-09 00:00>
Lively and provocative - Hawking clearly possesses a natural teacher's gift - easy, good-natured humor and an ability to illustrate highly complex propositions with analogies plucked from daily life.
|
View all 14 comments |
|
|
|
|
