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The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion

by Sean Carroll

Physics concepts through equations

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Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    Instant New York Times bestseller

    The source identifies this book as an instant New York Times bestseller.

  • Critical praise

    Praise from The Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal is quoted praising the book's appeal, technical accuracy, and tone.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Physics concepts through equations

Sean Carroll’s guide connects the mathematics of modern physics with questions about how the universe works. It treats equations not as isolated symbols but as tools for describing ideas such as warped space-time, gravity, black holes, and the forces of nature. Calculus receives particular attention: the book explains its role in the mathematics behind contemporary accounts of black holes and in the equation associated with Einstein’s general relativity. The emphasis is on the concepts and mathematical relationships that underpin these subjects, making the book an introduction to physics that keeps both its equations and its big-picture questions in view.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Adults curious about modern physics and the mathematics behind it
  • Readers interested in gravity, black holes, space-time, or general relativity
  • Those seeking an introduction that discusses equations and calculus alongside physics concepts

Themes

Modern physicsGravity and warped space-timeBlack holesCalculus and physicsGeneral relativity

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable."--Wall Street Journal
"A porthole into another world."--Scientific American
"Brings science dissemination to a new level."--Science

The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality.

Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables.

No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.
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