Proving Einstein Right
Proving Einstein Right

Author: S. James Gates Jr.

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 1541762231

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A thrilling adventure story chronicling the perilous journey of the scientists who set out to prove the theory of relativity--the results of which catapulted Albert Einstein to fame and forever changed our understanding of the universe. In 1911, a relatively unknown physicist named Albert Einstein published his preliminary theory of gravity. But it hadn't been tested. To do that, he needed a photograph of starlight as it passed the sun during a total solar eclipse. So began a nearly decade-long quest by seven determined astronomers from observatories in four countries, who traveled the world during five eclipses to capture the elusive sight. Over the years, they faced thunderstorms, the ravages of a world war, lost equipment, and local superstitions. Finally, in May of 1919, British expeditions to northern Brazil and the island of Príncipe managed to photograph the stars, confirming Einstein's theory. At its heart, this is a story of frustration, faith, and ultimate victory--and of the scientists whose efforts helped build the framework for the big bang theory, catapulted Einstein to international fame, and shook the foundation of physics.

Gates of the Universe
Gates of the Universe

Author: Robert Coulson

Publisher: Don Mills, Ont. : Laser Books

Published: 1975

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9780373720040

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Ross Allen is a bulldozer operator and a hopeful science fiction writer who is transported to another world while working at a construction site.

Origin Story
Origin Story

Author: David Christian

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 0316392022

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This New York Times bestseller "elegantly weaves evidence and insights . . . into a single, accessible historical narrative" (Bill Gates) and presents a captivating history of the universe -- from the Big Bang to dinosaurs to mass globalization and beyond. Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond. With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.

Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe
Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe

Author: Evalyn Gates

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2010-02-22

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0393071332

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"In Einstein’s Telescope, Evalyn Gates, an expert on all that’s dark in the universe, brings dark matter, dark energy, and even black holes to light." —Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History, and New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry In 1936, Albert Einstein predicted that gravitational distortions would allow space itself to act as a telescope far more powerful than humans could ever build. Now, cosmologists at the forefront of their field are using this radical technique ("Einstein’s Telescope") to detect the invisible. In fresh, engaging prose, astrophysicist Evalyn Gates explains how this tool is enabling scientists to uncover planets as big as the Earth, discover black holes as they whirl through space, and trace the evolution of cosmic architecture over billions of years. Powerful and accessible, Einstein’s Telescope takes us to the brink of a revolution in our understanding of the deepest mysteries of the Universe.

We're the Center of the Universe!
We're the Center of the Universe!

Author: Christine Zuchora-Walske

Publisher: Lerner Digital ™

Published: 2017-08-01

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 1512475459

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Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Does the universe circle around Earth? Do creatures live on the sun? Can you tell the future by looking at the stars? At one time, science supported wild notions like these! But later studies proved these ideas were nonsense. Discover science's biggest mistakes and oddest assumptions about physics and astronomy, and see how scientific thought changed over time.

The Gates of Twilight
The Gates of Twilight

Author: Paula Volsky

Publisher: Spectra

Published: 2011-02-23

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0307784258

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In a fragile alliance, the natives are stirring uneasily under their foreign rulers. Rebellion is brewing, and at the heart of the conflict lies the bloody and powerful cult of the god Aoun, whose followers will stop at nothing to rid their land of alien domination. So civil servant Renille vo Chaumelle, scion of a proud, conquering line mingled with native blood, is conscripted as a spy and ordered to penetrate the fortress-temple known as the Fastness of the Gods. There he is to discover the secrets of the priests of Aoun and - if the chance presents itself - assassinate the lead priest, named in legend as the god's own son. But in the holiest depths of the temple, Renille finds there is more to the cult than his superiors suspect - far more than they will ever believe. What he learns leads him to the beautiful princess Jathondi, daughter of the native ruler, who is fated to be the crux of a violent confrontation between the fanatic followers of a flesh-hungry god and their arrogant overlords. Together, Jathondi and Renille must brave a whirlwind of revolution and apocalyptic magic that could shatter a nation, and open the long-sealed portal between heaven and earth.

The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace
The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace

Author: Margaret Wertheim

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780393320534

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Cyberspace may seem an unlikely gateway for the soul, but as science commentator Wertheim argues in this "wonderfully provocative" ("Kirkus Reviews") book, cyberspace has in recent years become a repository for immense spiritual yearning. 37 illustrations.

Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War
Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War

Author: Paul Scharre

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2018-04-24

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 0393608999

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Winner of the 2019 William E. Colby Award "The book I had been waiting for. I can't recommend it highly enough." —Bill Gates The era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty nations have weapons that can search for and destroy enemy targets all on their own. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in next-generation warfare, describes these and other high tech weapons systems—from Israel’s Harpy drone to the American submarine-hunting robot ship Sea Hunter—and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. “A smart primer to what’s to come in warfare” (Bruce Schneier), Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to explore the implications of giving weapons the freedom to make life and death decisions. A former soldier himself, Scharre argues that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but when the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.

Seveneves
Seveneves

Author: Neal Stephenson

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2015-05-19

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 0062190415

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.