John Gribbin

The acclaimed author of In Search of Schr dinger's Cat searches for life on other planetsAre we alone in the universe? Surely amidst the immensity of the cosmos there must be other intelligent life out there. Don't be so sure, says John Gribbin, one of today's best popular science writers. In this fascinating and intriguing new book, Gribbin argues that the very existence of intelligent life anywhere in the cosmos is, from an astrophysicist's point of view, a miracle. So why is there life on Earth and (seemingly) nowhere else? What happened to make this planet special? Taking us back some 600 million years, Gribbin lets you experience the series of unique cosmic events that were responsible for our unique form of life within the Milky Way Galaxy.Written by one of our foremost popular science writers, author of the bestselling In Search of Schr dinger's Cat Offers a bold answer to the eternal question, ""Are we alone in the universe?""Explores how the impact of a ""supercomet"" with Venus 600 million years ago created our moon, and along with it, the perfect conditions for life on EarthFrom one of our most talented science writers, this book is a daring, fascinating exploration into the dawning of the universe, cosmic collisions and their consequences, and the uniqueness of life on Earth.

Is our universe just one of many? The most fascinating mysteries in modern physics seem to point us in that direction. As impossible as it seems--that other universes came before ours, float alongside ours, or even mirror ours--the evidence is surprisingly convincing. In his most mind-blowing, sweeping work since Schr dinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality, acclaimed science writer and astrophysicist John Gribbin takes readers In Search of the Multiverse, launching an extraordinary journey to the frontiers of reality. Touching on the newest research on quantum physics, thermodynamics, string theory, and even the nature of God, this brilliant tour of the current state of cosmology also goes beyond the realm of settled science to the astonishing questions theoretical physicists have only now begun to ask. Gribbin has long been known for his ability to explain even the most bewildering and complex ideas in the simplest of terms, and that skill is fully on display here. In this new book, he reveals why even the greatest thinkers can't explain the realities of quantum physics without bumping up against the unimaginable. He explores certain anomalies in our Universe that only make sense when you incorporate ideas that were once found only in science fiction. But which fantastical notion of alternate universes is the right one? Gribbin guides you expertly through the competing Multiverse theories, who thought them up, and what problems they were hoping to solve with such outlandish ideas. You'll visit a realm of infinite space containing an infinite number of regions separated by infinite distances and ruled by different sets of physical laws. You'll drift along an infinite time line, on which different universes are strung out, one after the other, like beads on a wire. And you'll leaf through an infinitely thick book stuffed with an infinite number of pages: each page a different universe, existing in a different dimension--tantalizingly close together, but eternally unable to communicate with each other. If our universe is three-dimensional and infinite, how could it be inside something else? Is it possible to travel to one of these alternate universes? Are particles traveling there every moment? How can scientists prove the existence of the Multiverse if they can't travel to it? Read In Search of the Multiverse and enter a world that is more mind-bending, thought-provoking, and imagination-sparking than the fantasy worlds you'd discover in a bookstore full of science fiction novels.

Jim Lovelock (1919-2022) was an iconic figure in British science, a prophet whose prophecies are coming true. This is his definitive authorised biography. Lovelock is best known as the 'father' of Gaia theory, which is now established as the most useful way of understanding the dramatic changes happening to the environment of the Earth.But few people know about his early work as a chemist and inventor - work which included inventing the detectors used to search for life on Mars, and blowing the whistle on the depletion of ozone layer. In his personal life, he was a Quaker and conscientious objector in World War Two (later changing his mind in view of the evils of Nazism), supported his family for a time by selling his own blood, and gave up a salary and security to become an independent scientist based in an English village - from which all his best known work emerged.In the wake of his death on 26th July 2022, his 103rd birthday, this book truly reveals an independent, original and inspiring life.

Galaxies are the building blocks of the Universe: standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which the chemical elements are made, around which planets form, and where on at least one of those planets intelligent life has emerged. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of several hundred million other galaxies that we can now observe through our telescopes. Yet it was only in the 1920s that we realised that there is more to the Universe than the Milky Way, and that there were in fact other 'islands' out there. In many ways, modern astronomy began with this discovery, and the story of galaxies is therefore the story of modern astronomy. Since then, many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy and about those beyond: how a supermassive black hole lurks at the centre of every galaxy, for example, how enormous forces are released when galaxies collide, how distant galaxies provide a window on the early Universe, and what the formation of young galaxies can tell us about the mysteries of Cold Dark Matter. In this Very Short Introduction, renowned science writer John Gribbin describes the extraordinary things that astronomers are learning about galaxies, and explains how this can shed light on the origins and structure of the Universe. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

John Gribbin's The Universe: A Biography explores the story of our cosmos, from the mystery of its origins to how scientists think it might end.How did the universe grow from a tiny fireball to its present size?Where did life on earth come from?How do planets form?How will the universe end?And how do we even know all this anyway?John Gribbin, one of Britain's most popular writers about science and the people who made it happen, has decided to create a biography of the greatest subject of all: the universe itself, from beginning to end (and beyond).From the Big Bang 14 billion years ago, the formation of stars and galaxies and the first stirrings of life, to the latest thinking on dark matter and a theory of everything - and beyond to the future possibility of a Big Crunch or a Big Rip - this is the life history of the entire world around us.'If you really want to know about the greatest story there is, then this is the book to read' - Independent on Sunday'As clear an account of current thinking on the subject as we are likely to get' - Daily Telegraph'One of Britain's best and most prolific science writers' - Sunday Telegraph'The master of popular science writing' - Sunday Times

In this sweeping survey, acclaimed science writers Paul Davies and John Gribbin provide a complete overview of advances in the study of physics that have revolutionized modern science. From the weird world of quarks and the theory of relativity to the latest ideas about the birth of the cosmos, the authors find evidence for a massive paradigm shift. Developments in the studies of black holes, cosmic strings, solitons, and chaos theory challenge commonsense concepts of space, time, and matter, and demand a radically altered and more fully unified view of the universe.

From the bestselling author of Science: A History comes the enthralling story of a revolution that shook the world. Seventeenth-century England was racked by civil war, plague and fire; a world ruled by superstition and ignorance. A series of meetings of 'natural philosophers' in Oxford and London saw the beginning of a new method of thinking based on proof and experiment. John Gribbin's gripping, colourful account of this unparalleled time of discovery explores the impact of the Royal Society, culminating with Isaac Newton's revolutionary description of the universe and Edmund Halley's prediction of the return of a comet in 1759. This compelling book shows the triumph not as the work of one isolated genius, but of a Fellowship.

A lively and humor-infused treasury of scientific lore takes readers on an illustrated tour of top ideas in the scientific world, from the range of infinity and the interior of black holes to the earth's eventual destruction by the sun to the speed of nerve impulses. Original.

An astrophysicist presents a lucid, accessible explanation of the fundamental principles of chaos and complexity theory, incorporating the latest research with frequent analogies and examples to explore simple applications of the theory in everyday life. By the author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat and The Scientists. 22,000 first printing.

As much as we all know that 'E = mc2' was Einstein's most important and groundbreaking equation, do we really know what it means or why Einstein is regarded as one of history's foremost thinkers? In this absorbing biography Michael White and John Gribbin reveal the man behind the physics and introduce us to his theories in an accessible and fascinating way. With an updated preface for this new edition on the fiftieth anniversary of his death and the hundredth anniversary of the theory of relativity, EINSTEIN explains how the scientific icon changed our view of the world and why no one can ever hope to understand that world without first understanding his work.

Simplifying chaos and complexity theory for the perplexed, John Gribbin's Deep Simplicity: Chaos, Complexity and the Emergence of Life brilliantly illuminates the harmony underlying our existence. The world around us can be a complex, confusing place. Earthquakes happen without warning, stock markets fluctuate, weather forecasters seldom seem to get it right - even other people continue to baffle us. How do we make sense of it all? In fact, John Gribbin reveals, our seemingly random universe is actually built on simple laws of cause and effect that can explain why, for example, just one vehicle braking can cause a traffic jam; why wild storms result from a slight atmospheric change; even how we evolved from the most basic materials. Like a zen painting, a fractal image or the pattern on a butterfly's wings, simple elements form the bedrock of a sophisticated whole. 'The master of popular science writing' Sunday Times 'What makes Deep Simplicity different from other books on complexity theory is that Gribbin ... goes back to the fundamentals' Daily Telegraph 'One is left feeling even more - if this is possible - filled with admiration for science and delight at the world it investigates' Financial Times John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and In Search of the Multiverse. Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

Creates a history of human scientific achievement as revealed by the lives and individual accomplishments of such scientists as Andreas Vesalius, Nicholaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Charles Darwin, Galileo, and Gregor Mendel.

From award-winning science writer John Gribbin, Science: A History is the enthralling story of the men and women who changed the way we see the world, and the turbulent times they lived in. From Galileo, tried by the Inquisition for his ideas, to Newton, who wrote his rivals out of the history books; from Marie Curie, forced to work apart from male students for fear she might excite them, to Louis Agassiz, who marched his colleagues up a mountain to prove that the ice ages had occurred. Filled with pioneers, visionaries, eccentrics and madmen, this is the history of science as it has never been told before. 'Gripping and entertaining ... Wonderfully and pleasurably accessible' Independent on Sunday 'Tremendous ... moves me to bestow a reviewer's cliché I long ago vowed never to use: a tour de force' Spectator 'A magnificent history ... enormously entertaining' Daily Telegraph 'A splendid book ... demolishes innumerable myths and exposes the factual roots of some of science's well known tales (for example, Galileo never dropped weights of different sizes from Pisa's leaning tower)' Economist 'We experience his subjects' triumphs and failures as if we knew them personally ... I found myself whizzing through the pages' Sunday Telegraph John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and In Search of the Multiverse. Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

Accessible exploration of one of the most exciting areas of scientific inquiry - the nature of light.

In seinem jüngsten Buch geht es dem Astrophysiker John Gribbin darum, neueste Erkenntnisse aus der Elementarteilchenphysik zu vermitteln und zu zeigen, welchen Einfluß diese Erkenntnisse für unseren Begriff der Wirklichkeit haben. Im Zentrum steht das Rätsel des Lichts. Schrödingers Kätzchen wurde von der Zeitschrift ?Bild der Wissenschaft? zum ?Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres 1997? gewählt.

THE QUANTUM WORLD FROM A TO Z Here in one volume, the award-winning science writer and physicist John Gribbin has provided everything you need to know about the quantum world -- the place where most of the greatest scientific advances of the twentieth century have been made. This exceptional A to Z reference begins with a thorough introduction setting out the current state of knowledge in particle physics. Throughout, Gribbin includes articles on the structure of particles and their interactions, accounts of the theoretical breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and their practical applications, and entertaining biographies of the scientists who have blazed the trail of discovery. In a special section, "Timelines," key dates in our quest to understand the quantum world are mapped out alongside landmarks in world history and the history of science. An encyclopedia of the fundamental science of the future, "Q is for Quantum" is an essential companion for anyone interested in particle physics.

An introduction to the central facts, evidence and issues of modern science - from black holes to DNA, from the big bang to the workings of the brainJohn Gribbin is one of the few science writers who is equally comfortable writing about biology as about physics, and this beginner's guide will take the reader through the basics and the fundamental issues of the crucial areas of modern science, from the birth of the universe through to the evolution of our own species, the nature of human behaviour and the workings of our minds.Crucially, the book will not only provide an overview of the central areas in a single volume, but also explain how the areas link up, what evolutionary theory has to say about how we think, how sub-atomic particles came into being in the big bang, and atoms in stars.

In this eagerly anticipated sequel to the classic bestseller In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, John Gribbin digs even deeper into the mysterious and confounding world of quantum mechanics. Gribbin takes infinitely complex, mind-bending experiments, brings them to life, and makes them accessible to the lay reader. Under his deft guidance, we can begin to grasp the fundamental riddle of today's quantum mechanics: how a single photon can be seen going in two directions at once. Along the way, Gribbin reveals some fascinating discoveries: how quantum particles could one day be used in a Star Trek-type teleportation system, and how quantum cryptographers have developed ways of making unbreakable codes using quantum effects. Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality illuminates the world's most intriguing and enigmatic scientific phenomenon - and shows how the "impossible dreams" of such legendary scientists as Bohr, Feynman, and Einstein may soon become reality.