Marcus Chown Books

Exploring the mysteries of black holes, this book delves into fundamental questions about space, time, and the origins of the universe. It presents complex scientific concepts in an accessible way, aiming to unravel the enigma of black holes and their significance in understanding the cosmos. Through engaging explanations, it invites readers to contemplate profound philosophical and scientific ideas, making it a thought-provoking journey into the heart of modern astrophysics.

In 1965 Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered the heat afterglow of the big bang. - How Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein in 1924 predicted the existence of a weird state of matter close to absolute zero in which trillions of atoms behave as a single entity.

This book is a collaborative publication that showcases a partnership with Touch Press, known for their innovative digital content such as The Elements and Solar System for iPad. It combines the expertise of Faber and Faber with engaging visuals and themes, aiming to enhance the reader's experience through a unique blend of technology and literature.

From gravity to black holes, special relativity to global warming, this authoritative and entertaining book from bestselling author Marcus Chown breaks down complex science into manageable chunks, explaining the one thing you really need to know to get to grips with the subject. In a world in which most people are time poor, telling them the one thing they need to know to understand a topic and showing how everything else follows as a logical consequence is a novel and fun way to communicate a lot of deep stuff in a compact and digestible form. Divided into twenty-one short chapters, this will be a fascinating look at the one thing you need to know to understand some of science's most important ideas, from atoms to quantum computing, electricity to plate tectonics. Bestselling author Marcus Chown is a master at breaking down complex science into understandable bite-sized chunks and, in a similar vein to Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand, this will be perfectly suited to the curious nonscientist.

Can time run backwards? Can we live forever? Could our universe have been created as a DIY experiment by superior beings in another universe? These questions may sound crazy but they explore the limits of our current knowledge and highlight the key issues modern scientists are wrestling to understand. As Cosmology Consultant at the New Scientist, Marcus Chown often comes across ideas that leave his head spinning. In this hugely entertaining, accessible and mind-blowing book, he explores the ramifications of, as he puts it, science with the 'wow!' factor.

Marcus Chown's extraordinary account of how scientists unravelled the mystery of atoms, and helped to explain the dawn of life. It is one of the greatest detective stories in the history of science. In fact, it is two puzzles intertwined, for the stars contain the key to unlocking the secret of atoms, and the atoms the solution to the secret of stars.

Stephen Hawking described it as 'the discovery of the century, if not of all time', yet the scientists who first detected the cosmic radiation that was identified as the afterglow of the big bang had to admit that it was more by accident than intention.

The spellbinding stories of the scientists whose eureka! breakthroughs in modern physics reveal science's astonishing predictive power.

Bestselling author Marcus Chown explores some of the most profound and important science about us, our world and the universe with fifty fascinating and mind-bending facts.

Why do we breathe? What is money? How does the brain work? Why did life invent sex? Does time really exist? How does capitalism work - or not, as the case may be? Where do mountains come from? How do computers work? How did humans get to dominate the Earth? Why is there something rather than nothing? In 'What a Wonderful World', Marcus Chown uses his vast scientific knowledge and deep understanding of extremely complex processes to answer simple questions about the workings of our everyday lives.

The perennial bestseller: Big science explained in a beautifully clear and entertaining way by the popular cosmologist.

In Chown's most ambitious book to date he sets out to answer some of the most provocative questions of today:- Is Elvis alive and kicking in another space domain?- Will we ever find ET?- What's beyond the edge of the Universe?- Did aliens build the stars?- Can we live forever?

An introduction to cosmology instructs readers on how to recognize cosmic qualities in the everyday world, from the paradoxical size of atoms versus light waves to the ways in which television static reflects the origins of the universe.

Der Big Bang in 140 Zeichen Der englische Wissenschaftsjournalist Marcus Chown und der niederländische Wissenschaftsjournalist Govert Schilling haben sich 1998 auf einer Insel in der Karibik kennengelernt und dann wieder aus den Augen verloren. 2010 sind sie sich auf Twitter wieder begegnet. Da hatte Schilling schon angefangen, regelmäßig Kurzinfos zu einem astronomischen Stichwort zu twittern. Chown griff die Idee auf. Sie begannen einen Twitter-Dialog. Das Feedback der »Follower« war enthusiastisch. Auch wenn es für die Herren gelinde gesagt eine Herausforderung war, zum Beispiel so etwas wie den Big Bang in ein paar Tweets mit jeweils 140 Zeichen zu erklären. Entsprechend den 140 Zeichen pro Tweet ist das Ganze nach 140 Fragen geordnet, von: Warum ist der Himmel blau? bis: Was sind Gravitationswellen? Dazu gibt es 10 bis 15 Tweets mit Kurzinfos.

Je možné, že celé ľudstvo by sa mohlo vtesnať do priestoru veľkého ako kocka cukru? Mohla by explózia jediného komára vyhladiť život na Zemi? Čo všetko potrebujeme na zostrojenie stroja času? Aj na tieto otázky odpovedá obľúbený britský spisovateľ a popularizátor vedy Marcus Chown vo svojej knihe. Predstavuje 50 nesmierne zaujímavých, niekedy priam úžas vzbudzujúcich vedeckých faktov z oblasti biológie, antropológie, astronómie či fyziky, ktorými chce poukázať na výnimočnosť sveta, v ktorom žijeme. Aj tie najodbornejšie poznatky pritom podáva veľmi jednoducho, s nadhľadom a vtipom, čím z knihy plnej faktov robí dobrodružný príbeh objavovania zázrakov Zeme a vesmíru.

Dva zkušení autoři vědeckých publikací odpovídají na 140 největších otázek z oblasti fyziky, přičemž podstatu každé z nich shrnují do tweetů o 140 znacích. Marcus Chown a Govert Schilling nás vezmou na jedinečnou exkurzi po vesmíru. Mají odpovědi na všechno, počínaje základními úvahami – Proč je obloha v noci temná? Proč se hvězdy na noční obloze chvějí? – až po ty nejzáludnější – Co jsou kvasary? či Co předcházelo Velkému třesku? Některé otázky v této geniálně informativní publikaci se ukazují být stejně překvapivé jako odpovědi na ně. Je možné, že veškeré galaxie, které jsme pomocí dalekohledů schopni spatřit, nejsou ničím jiným než optickým klamem? Dalo by se na Saturnově měsíci Titanu plavat? Jak je možné, že se Měsíc nezřítí na Zemi? (Což, jak se ukáže, mimochodem není vůbec hloupá otázka.) A plaval by Saturn, kdybychom měli dost velkou nádrž s vodou?