The Unknown Universe
A New Exploration of Time, Space and Cosmology
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
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By:
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Stuart Clark
About this listen
A groundbreaking guide to the universe and how our latest deep-space discoveries are forcing us to revisit what we know - and what we don't.
On March 21, 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the big bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometers of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: We will never see the early universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology; on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct. The map contains anomalies that challenge our understanding of the universe. It will force us to revisit what is known and what is unknown, to construct a new model of our universe.
This is the first book to address what will be an epoch-defining scientific paradigm shift. Stuart Clark will ask if Newton's famous laws of gravity need to be rewritten, if dark matter and dark energy are just celestial phantoms. Can we ever know what happened before the big bang? What's at the bottom of a black hole? Are there universes beyond our own? Does time exist? Are the once immutable laws of physics changing?
©2016 Stuart Clark, PhD (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
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Wow!
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Einstein's Cosmos
- How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time: Great Discoveries
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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
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By: Michio Kaku
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About Time
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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
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Exoplanets
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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!
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The Universe in the Rearview Mirror
- How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality
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A physicist speeds across space, time, and everything in between showing that our elegant universe from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies is shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven all our recent discoveries about the universe and all the ones to come. Why is the sky dark at night? Is it possible to build a shrink-ray gun? If there is antimatter, can there be antipeople? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Are time and space like a butterfly's wings? No one but Dave Goldberg, the coolest nerd physicist on the planet, could give a hyper-drive tour of the universe like this one.
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Good, but for whom?
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How to Speak Science
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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!
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The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven's Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall.
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Too Political
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To Explain the World
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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
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Spooky Action at a Distance
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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
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The World According to Physics
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Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
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excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-21
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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The Quantum Story
- A History in 40 Moments
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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
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What listeners say about The Unknown Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 03-14-17
Best Book on the Subject for the Casual Reader.
This book avoids the calculus, but is great at explaining questions I have had. For example, how do we know that Dark Matter could not be Jupiter-size bodies floating in a dark area of space? Why do they say the Universe looks the same where-ever you are in it and what-ever direction you look? These answers are within a chatty history of cosmology. I highly recommend it.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Brett Finkleman
- 03-21-17
Different perspective
Written from the perspective of a journalist who has a pretty firm scientific background. Shines light on some of the current holes in physics. Interesting read.
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- Mike Jones
- 02-04-18
Quantifiably Amazing
great read for a novice. Was afraid it would sound like a textbook. Quite entertaining and very informative.
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- J. Johnson
- 03-07-18
Great Story / Meh Narration
Mr Hoye's end-of-word "radio voice" was slightly bothersome at first, though I got used to it. There were, though, a handful of times he used accents to "voice" certain characters, and he nailed those.
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- Mitchell
- 03-29-17
great book
Any additional comments?
This was a great book. Prior to listening I had a very elementary understanding of the universe. Although, about 25% was over my head the history and the theories were incredibly interesting. The performance was enjoyable as well. It took a minute, but once I got used to the voice, it was a perfect fit for this book. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning about the history of how cosmology began.
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- Gary
- 05-23-17
Best science book of the year!!!!
This is the best science book I've ever read. The author is really good at explaining the complex, but that's not the only reason I loved this book. He does something that I haven't yet seen anyone else do so far. He knows how to talk about the holes that are in science but doesn't tear apart the science that allows us to see the holes in the first place, no mean task.
He'll make the statement that black holes mean that there are holes in the universe and that there are holes in our understanding of the universe because the mathematics breakdown there. The currently agreed upon consensus understanding of how really smart people understand the universe may not always be the correct way of seeing the world. Dark Matter, Dark Energy are place holders (as Neil deGrasse Tyson says they can just as easily be called Fred and Barney for all we know), and as the current debate raging in the latest "Scientific American" on Inflation Theory being a real scientific theory or being an amorphous blob there are good arguments for both perspectives. This book is written so that anyone can understand what the issues are and why they matter and what are some of the reasonable alternatives even if they might sound goofy.
The author is good at what he does. Observers of the universe want to know the why (the theory), and they also want to know the how (the model). Eddington (and Kepler) both built models. Newton (and Einstein) build a theory. Time to Newton is absolute to Einstein its an illusion (relative). He gets into all of these fine details, explains better than almost any one and makes me incredibly grateful to be alive now days when our understanding about the world is getting cooler and cooler every day. There is nothing more exciting than the Planck map of the universe, and for fellow geeks who can make that kind of statement this book will teach you something you didn't already know.
I really loved this book and would highly recommend it for anyone.
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6 people found this helpful
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- James French
- 04-04-17
Mind expanding
Super informative and intense. I felt like i was i the middle of the galaxy spinning and swirling freely amongst the stars and planets
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kenneth Brubaker
- 12-04-17
Highly Readable, Engaging Story. Robotic Delivery
I've listened to almost a dozen Audible books on cosmology. Many were excellent. This one, however, exceeds them all. Current and engaging, the author has a knack of taking complex concepts and communicating them in laymens terms.
If only Audible would have given it a better performance then the robotic one delivered. My children couldn't stop laughing at it and imitating it. However the content and writing style was so compelling, I was engaged through the whole book. Highly Recommended!
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- M. R. Leavitt
- 04-15-17
What you think is good science probably isn't
Clark has written a truly eye-opening book about how scientists actually work. Basic methodologies are called into question (such as computer modeling) as legitimate tools for advancing scientific knowledge. He broaches essential questions about specific issues in contemporary cosmology (and by inference about climate science). He illustrates his argument that falsification rather than verification is the basis for real science, with many detailed stories from the history of the physical sciences. This is a masterful tour-de-force.
How's performance strikes the write tone to match the author's skepticism.
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- Vanessa Swenson
- 05-03-20
Fun pop science, funeral dirge narrator
The book is a pop (history of the) science of our universe. It’s not ground breaking, it’s simply fun.
I saw someone call the narrator a parody of a sad Captain Kirk 😔 or something. They’re not wrong. The fix is to set the speed at around 1.5x. Listening...to him at...regular speed...hurts. His sadness inflection gets chopped off a bit, too, when you speed him up to a more normal human speech rate.
Do that and the book is an enjoyable bit of cosmology. Don’t and you’ll feel like the universe is a painful slog of a narrative dirge.
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