The Labyrinth of Time: Introducing the Universe - Softcover

Lockwood, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199217262 ISBN 13: 9780199217267

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2007

Synopsis

Modern physics has revealed a universe that is a much stranger place than we could have imagined, filled with black holes and dark matter and parallel lines meeting in space. And the puzzle at the center of our present understanding of the universe is time. Now, in The Labyrinth of Time, Michael Lockwood takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the nature of things. A brilliant writer, Lockwood illuminates the philosophical questions about past, present, and future, our experience of time, and the possibility of time travel, in a book that is both challenging and great fun. Indeed, he provides the most careful, lively, and up-to-date introduction to the physics of time and the structure of the universe to be found anywhere in print. He guides us step by step through relativity theory and quantum physics, introducing and explaining the ground-breaking ideas of Newton and Boltzmann, Einstein and Schroedinger, Penrose and Hawking. We zoom in on the behavior of molecules and atoms, and pull back to survey the expansion of the universe. We learn about entropy and gravity, black holes and wormholes, about how it all began and where we are all headed. Lockwood's aim is not just to boggle the mind but to lead us towards an understanding of the science and philosophy. Things will never seem the same again after a voyage through The Labyrinth of Time. A model of balance and clarity.--Paul Davies, Times Higher Education Supplement

About this title

Review

Review from previous edition Michael Lockwood's book The Labyrinth of Time: Introducing the Universe has just appeared. I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful overview of the physics and philosophy of time, crafted extremely carefully and engagingly (yet without compromising any content) for the lay reader, superbly produced and illustrated. Oh, and it's true. (Professor David Deutsch, author of The Fabric of Reality)

Michael Lockwood's book...is a model of balance and clarity....Lockwood's style is clear and straightforward (Paul Davies, Times Higher Education Supplement)

Synopsis

Modern physics has revealed the universe as a much stranger place than we could have imagined. The puzzle at the centre of our knowledge of the universe is time. Michael Lockwood takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the nature of things. He investigates philosophical questions about past, present, and future, our experience of time, and the possibility of time travel. And he provides the most careful, lively, and up-to-date introduction to the physics of time and the structure of the universe. He guides us step by step through relativity theory and quantum physics, introducing and explaining the ground-breaking ideas of Newton and Boltzmann, Einstein and Schroedinger, Penrose and Hawking. We zoom in on the behaviour of molecules and atoms, and pull back to survey the expansion of the universe. We learn about entropy and gravity, black holes and wormholes, about how it all began and where we are all headed. Lockwood's aim is not just to boggle the mind but to lead us towards an understanding of the science and philosophy. Things will never seem the same again after a voyage through The Labyrinth of Time.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0199217262
• ISBN 13: 9780199217267
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 416