"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
It is a concept shot through with paradoxes: even innocent-looking phrases like "Nothing is real" flip their meanings as we ponder them, like those illusions that look like a vase one moment, and opposing faces the next. Nothing is fertile, too, as Barrow shows via a stunning trick that allows every number one can think of to be built out of nothing at all.
But his book is about far more than mind games. Arguably, the most important discovery of 20th-century physics is that there is no such thing as nothing: even the tightest vacuum is teeming with subatomic particles popping in and out of existence, according to the dictates of quantum theory. Now, many astronomers suspect that such "vacuum effects" may have triggered the Big Bang itself, filling our universe with matter. Indeed, the very latest observations suggest that vacuum effects will dictate the ultimate fate of the universe.
As an internationally respected cosmologist, Barrow does a fine job of explaining these new discoveries. The result is a book that is required reading for anyone who wants to understand why there will be much ado about Nothing among scientists in the years ahead. --Robert Matthews, Amazon.co.uk
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 8.21
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. pp. 400. Seller Inventory # 6427696
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780099288459
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'Barrow explains nothing with great clarity, a lovely lightness of touch and enormous erudition' SpectatorHow do you begin to understand the concept of nothing?Where does it begin and where does it end?From the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, from being and nothingness to creatio ex nihilo, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things.Recent exciting discoveries in astronomy are shown to shed new light on the nature of the vacuum and its dramatic effect upon the explanation of the Universe. This remarkable book ranges over every nook and cranny of nothingness to reveal how the human mind has had to make something of nothing in every field of human enquiry. Where does it begin and where does it end?From the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, from being and nothingness to creatio ex nihilo, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099288459
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0099288451
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 400 pages. 7.80x5.08x0.98 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0099288451
Book Description Condition: New. 2001. New Ed. Paperback. From the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. This book covers various aspects of nothingness to reveal how the human mind has had to make something of nothing in every field of human enquiry. Num Pages: 400 pages, map, portraits. BIC Classification: HP; PDZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 195 x 130 x 26. Weight in Grams: 286. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780099288459
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0099288451
Book Description Condition: New. 2001. New Ed. Paperback. From the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. This book covers various aspects of nothingness to reveal how the human mind has had to make something of nothing in every field of human enquiry. Num Pages: 400 pages, map, portraits. BIC Classification: HP; PDZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 195 x 130 x 26. Weight in Grams: 286. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780099288459
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0099288451
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1375965-n