The Little Book of Time (Little Book Series) - Softcover

Mainzer, Klaus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1441929398 ISBN 13: 9781441929396

Publisher: Copernicus, 2010

Synopsis

From the distinguished philosopher and historian of science Klaus Mainzer, a very brief history of the way we have come to understand, and not understand, time.

About this title

Review

From the reviews:

"In this philosophical rumination on time, Mainzer delves rigorously into time's logical constructs as they have been devised over the history of occidental science." Booklist

"Klaus Mainzer ... provides a brief overview of the concept of time from antiquity to the present. ... The Little Book of Time succinctly and clearly covers human concepts of time, from the ancients to Newton to Einstein’s theory of relativity and the conceptions of time in quantum mechanics, with its profound consequences for modern cosmology." (Science in Africa, October, 2002)

"Time is a big subject ... . The book will probably be interesting to enthusiasts ... . The flavor is philosophical, which is not surprising since Mainzer is a philosopher. ... the book is a nice summary." (Thomas R. Berger, MathDL, January, 2004)

From the Back Cover

WHAT IS TIME, REALLY?

Time. It's a tool we use to measure virtually every aspect of our lives. And yet as important as time is, rarely do we ponder the myriad of questions about it. What is time, and how did humans first measure it? How was it that disparate ancient cultures around the world came up with similar means of telling time? Is time a constant, or can it speed up and slow down? What happens to time when things travel at the speed of light? How long does the present last? Does time go by continuously or in steps? Why is it that time flows in only one direction- from the past to the future? And will this direction be reversed at some point? And will time, eventually, come to an end?

In this book, Klaus Mainzer considers these and many other questions and provides a brief overview of the concept of time from antiquity to the present. As a philosophical concept, time started out in the realm of philosophers like Heraclitus, who likened it to the irreversible flow of a river. After the Renaissance and the Copernican revolution, time became the subject of scientists and especially physicists. The Little Book of Time succinctly and clearly covers human concepts of time, from the ancients to Newton to Einstein's theory of relativity and the conceptions of time in quantum mechanics, with its profound consequences for modern cosmology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Copernicus
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1441929398
• ISBN 13: 9781441929396
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192