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Gravity's Engines
- How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos
- Narrated by: Caleb Scharf
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
We’ve long understood black holes to be the points at which the universe as we know it comes to an end. Often billions of times more massive than the Sun, they lurk in the inner sanctum of almost every galaxy of stars in the universe. They’re mysterious chasms so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath.
Recent research, however, has led to a cascade of new discoveries that have revealed an entirely different side to black holes. As the astrophysicist Caleb Scharf reveals in Gravity’s Engines, these chasms in space-time don’t just vacuum up everything that comes near them; they also spit out huge beams and clouds of matter. Black holes blow bubbles.
With clarity and keen intellect, Scharf masterfully explains how these bubbles profoundly rearrange the cosmos around them. Engaging with our deepest questions about the universe, he takes us on an intimate journey through the endlessly colorful place we call our galaxy and reminds us that the Milky Way sits in a special place in the cosmic zoo - a "sweet spot" of properties. Is it coincidental that we find ourselves here at this place and time? Could there be a deeper connection between the nature of black holes and their role in the universe and the phenomenon of life? We are, after all, made of the stuff of stars.
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Origins
- The Scientific Story of Creation
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Neil Scott-Barbour
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know? There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later.
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Interesting book, but WOW, the narrator ...
- By UH on 01-10-17
By: Jim Baggott
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The Universe in Your Hand
- A Journey Through Space, Time, and Beyond
- By: Christophe Galfard
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Christophe Galfard's mission in life is to spread modern scientific ideas to the general public in entertaining ways. Using his considerable skills as a brilliant theoretical physicist and successful young-adult author, The Universe in Your Hand employs the immediacy of simple, direct language to show us, not explain to us, the theories that underpin everything we know about our universe.
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Awesome
- By AJ on 02-28-17
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When the Earth Had Two Moons
- Cannibal Planets, Icy Giants, Dirty Comets, Dreadful Orbits, and the Origins of the Night Sky
- By: Erik Asphaug
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the Moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: The far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail. How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot. When the Earth Had Two Moons is an astonishing exploration of planet formation and the origins of life by one of the world’s most innovative planetary geologists.
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Poorly written, poorly narrated
- By RickyF on 05-11-23
By: Erik Asphaug
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Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
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FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
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The Island of Knowledge
- The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning
- By: Marcelo Gleiser
- Narrated by: William Neenan
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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How much can we know about the world? In this audiobook physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing he reaches a provocative conclusion: Science, like religion, is fundamentally limited as a tool for understanding the world. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we face the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know.
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Island of knowledge
- By Joshua Kring on 07-26-15
By: Marcelo Gleiser
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The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics
- A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
- By: James Kakalios
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics, James Kakalios uses examples from comics and magazines to explain how breakthroughs in quantum mechanics led to such technologies as the World Wide Web, pocket-sized computers, mobile phones, and MRI machines.....
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The exhibits are missing from Audible
- By David on 12-13-10
By: James Kakalios
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Coming of Age in the Milky Way
- By: Timothy Ferris
- Narrated by: Timothy Ferris
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
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Humans have long sought to comprehend the enormities of cosmic space and time. Here, best selling science writer Timothy Ferris tells the story of that quest. He interweaves the majestic themes of astronomy, physics, religion, and philosophy with fresh and lasting portraits of the men and women who created what has been called our society's most precious treasure - its conception of the universe at large.
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Brief survey of discovery from Columbus to now
- By serine on 01-23-16
By: Timothy Ferris
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Paradox
- The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history, scientists have come up with theories and ideas that just don't seem to make sense. These we call paradoxes. The paradoxes Al-Khalili offers are drawn chiefly from physics and astronomy and represent those that have stumped some of the finest minds. With elegant explanations that bring the listener inside the mind of those who've developed them, Al-Khalili helps us to see that, in fact, paradoxes can be solved if seen from the right angle.
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Almost Useless
- By Michael on 06-19-19
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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About Time
- Cosmology, Time and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang
- By: Adam Frank
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Big Bang is all but dead, and we do not yet know what will replace it. Our universe's "beginning" is at an end. What does this have to do with us here on Earth? Our lives are about to be dramatically shaken again - as altered as they were with the invention of the clock, the steam engine, the railroad, the radio and the Internet.
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More fluff than science
- By Ivan the Reviewer on 04-15-13
By: Adam Frank
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How to Speak Science
- Gravity, Relativity, and Other Ideas That Were Crazy Until Proven Brilliant
- By: Bruce Benamran, Stephanie Delozier Strobel
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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As smartphones, supercomputers, supercolliders, and AI propel us into an ever more unfamiliar future, How to Speak Science takes us on a rollicking historical tour of the greatest discoveries and ideas that make today's cutting-edge technologies possible. Wanting everyone to be able to "speak" science, YouTube science guru Bruce Benamran explains - as accessibly and wittily as in his acclaimed videos - the fundamental ideas of the physical world: matter, life, the solar system, light, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, and much more.
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Wowzers!
- By Ralph Temblador on 02-15-21
By: Bruce Benamran, and others
What listeners say about Gravity's Engines
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stephen B. Spencer
- 09-25-12
Concise and working definitions of cosmic forces.
This book was excellent! I found the best working definition of the "Event Horizon" and the functions of the theoretical workings of the Black Hole. Scharf proposes several outstanding and beautiful hypotheses explaining the relationships between planets in various systems and the potential black holes that power them.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Craig
- 11-27-22
Wow, Black Holes are more amazing than I ever knew
Very well written and read, this book expanded my knowledge and understanding of Black Holes and their fundamental role in the Universe.
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- alr
- 02-15-19
Fantastic!
This book is written very clearly for lay enthusiasts, yet it goes deeply enough that you feel you understand something about the field. It doesn't just skim the surface with general statements. It's a real bonus that much of the exciting work was done by the author, but he isn't at all self-centered. This is one of my favorites.
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- Ron
- 03-22-21
Makes physics sound simple
Only a few experts can explain complicated things to other who are not experts. Caleb Scharf is able to do that while keeping the material interesting. Highly recommended .
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- JM
- 01-18-15
Complexity Clarified
Caleb Scharf has an amazing skill at taking what could be a very dry and confusing subject and making it understandable, engaging and entertaining. I have listened to this book three times and I get something new from it with every review. I particularly like that he stays on subject and does not stray into religious pontification, as some others do. If you have even a passing interest in Black Holes, gravity or the cosmos in general, I highly recommend this book.
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- xian
- 02-05-19
Excellent overview of black hole history & physics
One of the better popular physics books of late. It provides a hidtory-driven overview of theory & observation, with extended discussion of cosmology. Advanced but not too technical. Good use of visual descriptions & descriptive metaphors helps with audiobook.
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- Moose in NZ
- 05-14-18
excellent value
lucid, well-paced, and interesting. The author has made a particularly good job of what I suspect are among their tougher tasks - working out what to leave out, and what level to pitch this to. The coverage is very good but without sacrificing the sense in which it all flows along to the conclusion. It's got some depth and I believe walks a solid line along which the average non-specialist reader can both enjoy and follow. I think science for general consumption is a tough gig; Scharf's done a creditable job with this
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- Jan D. Leslie
- 02-24-18
wonderful book
Author shares his enthusiasm for this subject in a very contagious way. Written at a level for the science enthusiast. Reading this book will give anyine much more insight into such a fascinating su ject.
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- A reader of fact and fiction
- 01-07-18
Black holes a quite heavy
A book about black holes by a scientist working with black holes, narrated by the said scientist. I was expecting interesting and inspired book. Instead .. everything felt lukewarm.
Narration sounded bit like the narrator was somewhat fed of the subject. Also, I don't know if the problem was in the recording or somewhere else, but I had hard times keeping focused on the book.
Subject itself was interesting, and I think I learned something new. But it all felt a bit drag. Might work better as paper book, but if you find the subject interesting then this may be worth of the try.
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- Nancy K. Merbitz
- 09-19-19
Mr Scharf conveys excitement about scientific pioneers WHEN they are MALEs
I am enjoying this author’s books but have been very put off by his glaring omissions or downplaying of discoveries by women astronomers. This is a field where women historically have been better represented than most other fields of science, especially compared to physics more generally. Mr Scharf: why have you not even mentioned Leavitt regarding the discovery of Cepheid variable stars, while waxing eloquent on Shapley who was criticized even back in his own time for claiming all credit and failing to credit her? Why such short shrift for Bell, who you mention but then move on to praise more guys. why does Margulis not get even a mention in your other book The Copernicus Complex when you are specifically covering the discovery of endosymbiosis? Bah - this is annoying? Are you only able to be inspired by fellow scientists who share the same little piece of flesh?
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8 people found this helpful