The Hunt for Vulcan
…And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Pariseau
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By:
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Thomas Levenson
About this listen
The captivating, all-but-forgotten story of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and the search for a planet that never existed
For more than 50 years, the world's top scientists searched for the "missing" planet Vulcan, whose existence was mandated by Isaac Newton's theories of gravity. Countless hours were spent on the hunt for the elusive orb, and some of the era's most skilled astronomers even claimed to have found it.
There was just one problem: It was never there.
In The Hunt for Vulcan, Thomas Levenson follows the visionary scientists who inhabit the story of the phantom planet, starting with Isaac Newton, who, in 1687, provided an explanation for all matter in motion throughout the universe, leading to Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier, who, almost two centuries later, built on Newton's theories and discovered Neptune, becoming the most famous scientist in the world. Le Verrier attempted to surpass that triumph by predicting the existence of yet another planet in our solar system: Vulcan.
It took Albert Einstein to discern that the mystery of the missing planet was a problem not of measurements or math but of Newton's theory of gravity itself. Einstein's general theory of relativity proved that Vulcan did not and could not exist and that the search for it had merely been a quirk of operating under the wrong set of assumptions about the universe. Levenson tells the previously untold tale of how the "discovery" of Vulcan in the 19th century set the stage for Einstein's monumental breakthrough, the greatest individual intellectual achievement of the 20th century.
A dramatic human story of an epic quest, The Hunt for Vulcan offers insight into how science really advances (as opposed to the way we're taught about it in school) and how the best work of the greatest scientists reveals an artist's sensibility. Opening a new window onto our world, Levenson illuminates some of our most iconic ideas as he recounts one of the strangest episodes in the history of science.
©2015 Thomas Levenson (P)2015 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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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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Einstein's Cosmos
- How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time: Great Discoveries
- By: Michio Kaku
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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A dazzling tour of the universe as Einstein saw it. How did Albert Einstein come up with the theories that changed the way we look at the world? By thinking in pictures. Michio Kaku, leading theoretical physicist (a cofounder of string theory) and best-selling science storyteller, shows how Einstein used seemingly simple images to lead a revolution in science. With originality and expertise, Kaku uncovers the surprising beauty that lies at the heart of Einstein's cosmos
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Mix of science and the man
- By B. Ruple on 11-03-13
By: Michio Kaku
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What Is Real?
- The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
- By: Adam Becker
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless. A mishmash of solipsism and poor reasoning, Copenhagen endured, as Bohr's students vigorously protected his legacy, and the physics community favored practical experiments over philosophical arguments.
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Good, "light" "read"... potential caveat below...
- By James S. on 03-31-18
By: Adam Becker
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To Explain the World
- The Discovery of Modern Science
- By: Steven Weinberg
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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In this rich, irreverent, and compelling history, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg takes us across centuries, from ancient Miletus to medieval Baghdad and Oxford, from Plato's Academy and the Museum of Alexandria to the cathedral school of Chartres and the Royal Society of London. He shows that the scientists of ancient and medieval times not only did not understand what we understand about the world--they did not understand what there is to understand or how to understand it.
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How the world created a Newton
- By Gary on 03-02-15
By: Steven Weinberg
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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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Isaac Newton
- By: James Gleick
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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James Gleick has long been fascinated by the making of science: how ideas order visible appearances, how equations can give meaning to molecular and stellar phenomena, how theories can transform what we see. In Chaos, he chronicled the emergence of a new way of looking at dynamic systems; in Genius, he portrayed the wondrous dimensions of Richard Feymnan's mind.
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BRUTAL
- By Andrew on 05-25-05
By: James Gleick
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Einstein and the Quantum
- The Quest of the Valiant Swabian
- By: A. Douglas Stone
- Narrated by: Gabriel Vaughan
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Einstein and the Quantum reveals for the first time the full significance of Albert Einstein's contributions to quantum theory. Einstein famously rejected quantum mechanics, observing that God does not play dice. But, in fact, he thought more about the nature of atoms, molecules, and the emission and absorption of light - the core of what we now know as quantum theory - than he did about relativity.
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educational and fun
- By Amjad on 12-04-13
By: A. Douglas Stone
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Spooky Action at a Distance
- The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time-and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything
- By: George Musser
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon - the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space - appears to be almost magical.
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Rambling but Asks Good Questions
- By Michael on 12-19-15
By: George Musser
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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The Quantum Story
- A History in 40 Moments
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Mike Pollock
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Utterly beautiful. Profoundly disconcerting. Quantum theory is quite simply the most successful account of the physical universe ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the 21st-century technology that we now take for granted. But at the same time it has completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at its most fundamental level.
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who's the target reader?
- By Hannah on 09-17-11
By: Jim Baggott
What listeners say about The Hunt for Vulcan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- KellysHero718
- 04-17-22
A Great Listen
I like history and I like to read about old science, so this book is the perfect combination. It’s a wonderfully long and well-told story with a surprising mix of characters. Space science has changed so much and, like all science, continues to do so.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 09-05-16
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
Thomas Levenson offers a vignette of history on the methodology and adventure of scientific discovery. Scientific discoveries are rarely hit upon in a linear fashion. Discovery comes from study of natural phenomena that frequently reveal the unexpected. None can deny the brilliant and insightful discovery of the laws of motion and gravity by Isaac Newton. Among great science discoverers, none seem to achieve the utilitarian application of science more than Newton. At least for those who view earth as the primary laboratory of science.
Then comes Albert Einstein. Newton’s laws of gravity and motion work beautifully for practical application on earth. However, Newton’s laws of motion and gravity are error prone when applied to the universe. Einstein revolutionizes Newton’s laws of gravity and motion by discovering the relativity of time, mass, and energy. With theories of special and general relativity, the universe becomes the laboratory of science.
The methodology of science becomes refined by the mathematics of Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation and further defined by Einstein’s laws of relativity. It is Newton’s laws that lead to Le Verrier’s mathematical recognition of Neptune. But, it is also Newton’s laws that lead to Le Verrier’s mistake about the planet Vulcan. The misstep of finding a false planet is confirmed by Einstein’s discovery of a fault in Newton’s laws. Le Verrier’s statistical analysis leads to one observed and confirmed planet, and one falsely sighted planet. The point being–Newton’s limited theories of motion and gravity lead to science’s revision and a new avenue of discovery for natural phenomena.
One presumes there is a new Newton or a new Einstein in the world’s future because it is the nature of science to continually renew itself with a more comprehensive understanding of the universes we live in. There is no foreseeable end to science except in the extinction of humanity. One hopes human science and evolution keep pace with earth’s environmental change.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Brent K
- 09-12-21
Platform 9 and 3/4ths not 9.5... b'derrr...
I guess this small detail slipped the editor's critique.. I wonder what else was missed.. otherwise, I enjoyed the historical detail of the different actors through time.
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- Jerry Paul Whitt
- 11-23-15
Wonderful, Story of the Planet that never was.
Great story about the false Planet Vulcan (Unless you count Star Trek) .. This story shows the tendency of people to wish something so much, they make it true even of it not.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Cheryl
- 07-15-16
Great listen even if you are not into science
All scientific history should be this interesting, but this book is a good listen even if you are not into science or history. I really enjoyed it and learned some things along the way - love the bit about Thomas Edison.
Bonus I got this as a Daily Deal
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- An Engineer
- 08-08-17
Better than Expected
Yes a nerdy book. Physics and history rolled together in a forgotten search for a planet. I am happy that I picked this book up and listened. Normally I enjoy a good scifi but this kept me listening as the uncovering of new physics is told from a sometimes overlooked perspective: solving a known problem. Hearing about the problem with the orbit of Mercury makes me wonder what other problems are there still to be solves!
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- M. Townsend
- 12-28-16
Not Star Trek
If I’m being 100% honest, I bought this thinking it would be a book about Star Trek and Einstein. I thought, two of my favorite things!! How can I go wrong?!… Ha! I am laughing at myself right now, because I didn’t really read the back cover, and I didn’t realize I would be so wrong. But, at least I can say I wasn’t disappointed.
THE HUNT FOR VULCAN was stimulating, well written, and filled with more information about the discovery of our solar system than I’d anticipated. It wasn’t dry, instead told with a knowing voice that sustained through the whole book. Not what I was expecting in the least, but it wasn’t half bad. A quick read, only a couple hundred pages. What I knew about our solar system has grown two fold.
Now… the next book I’ve started, is back to a good bit of fiction. Oh, how I’m hardly able to stop reading long enough to write this! Bring on THE UNITED STATES OF JAPAN!
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- Chad
- 04-26-20
Interesting and approachable
For a book about science history, this is pretty approachable and easy to follow. I can never truly wrap my head around quantum theory, but at the appropriate point the book makes an effort to make it comprehensible. Mostly, this book tells the story of the planet that never was in terms of the scientific method and the colorful characters along the way. The ultimate lesson: be willing to change your beliefs to suit the facts.
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- Frederick C. Caruso
- 06-29-16
Bringing together giant of thought
I loved the I depth descriptions of the Giants in science they did. I learned the basics many years ago and now see how truly basic my learning was. I liked the shortness of the volume. It was very heavy material and I had so little time. Can't wait to chat with someone.
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- mathew
- 01-09-17
A quick dip into how we map the unknown.
I enjoyed the topic of the hunt for vulcan immensely, but I felt that it was really only a basic treatment of a much larger history. I was pleasantly surprised to learn how many astronomers were looking to the night sky searching for patterns in the stars, and in the collected data. I found the bits about the French observatories to be especially well done in setting the stage. I found the explanation of Einstein's relativity to be easy to follow and connect back to the missing planet.
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