Waves in an Impossible Sea
How Everyday Life Emerges from the Cosmic Ocean
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Grove
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By:
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Matt Strassler
About this listen
A theoretical physicist takes listeners on an awe-inspiring journey-found in "no other book" (Science)—to discover how the universe generates everything from nothing at all: "If you want to know what's really going on in the realms of relativity and particle physics, read this book" (Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe).
In Waves in an Impossible Sea, physicist Matt Strassler tells a startling tale of elementary particles, human experience, and empty space. He begins with a simple mystery of motion. When we drive at highway speeds with the windows down, the wind beats against our faces. Yet our planet hurtles through the cosmos at 150 miles per second, and we feel nothing of it. How can our voyage be so tranquil when, as Einstein discovered, matter warps space, and space deflects matter?
The answer, Strassler reveals, is that empty space is a sea, albeit a paradoxically strange one. Much like water and air, it ripples in various ways, and we ourselves, made from its ripples, can move through space as effortlessly as waves crossing an ocean. Deftly weaving together daily experience and fundamental physics—the musical universe, the enigmatic quantum, cosmic fields, and the Higgs boson—Strassler shows us how all things, familiar and unfamiliar, emerge from what seems like nothing at all.
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An End to the Upside Down Cosmos
- Rethinking the Big Bang, Heliocentrism, the Lights in the Sky…and Where We Live
- By: Mark Gober
- Narrated by: Mark Gober
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Scientists tell us that ninety-six percent of the universe is unexplained dark matter and dark energy. Also, they admit that no unifying “theory of everything” exists in physics. This shaky foundation is the basis of modern thinking about the cosmos and Earth’s place in it. Something big seems to be missing. Thus, we’re left with no choice but to question the “consensus” cosmological model. Are we really flying through space on a spinning ball within an expanding universe, while free-falling around the Sun—all as a consequence of a “Big Bang” that supposedly occurred 13.8 billion years ago?
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An Invitation for the Materialist
- By Frankie Brazelton on 10-09-24
By: Mark Gober
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A Mysterious Universe
- Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and Cosmology for Everyone
- By: M. Suhail Zubairy
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A Mysterious Universe introduces the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, theory of relativity, and cosmology to a novice in simple language. This concise book deals with deep issues related to the mysteries of modern physics.
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Into the Unknown
- The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
- By: Kelsey Johnson
- Narrated by: Kelsey Johnson
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Into the Unknown, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson takes us to the edge of scientific understanding about the universe: What caused the Big Bang? What happens inside black holes? Are there other dimensions? She doesn’t just celebrate what we know but rather what we don’t, and asks what it means if we never find that knowledge. Exploring the convergence of science, philosophy, and theology, Johnson argues we must reckon with possibilities—including those that may be beyond human comprehension.
By: Kelsey Johnson
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Quanta and Fields
- The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sean Carroll is creating a profoundly new approach to sharing physics with a broad audience, one that goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think. He cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in a uniquely accessible way. Quantum field theory is how modern physics describes nature at its most profound level. Starting with the basics of quantum mechanics itself, Sean Carroll explains measurement and entanglement before explaining how the world is really made of fields.
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Failed to tell a story
- By Armand Jarri on 09-11-24
By: Sean Carroll
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Then I Am Myself the World
- What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It
- By: Christof Koch
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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In Then I Am Myself the World, Christof Koch explores the only thing we directly experience: consciousness. At the book's heart is integrated-information theory, the idea that the essence of consciousness is the ability to exert causal power over itself, to be an agent of change. Koch investigates the physical origins of consciousness in the brain and how this knowledge can be used to measure consciousness in natural and artificial systems.
By: Christof Koch
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Infinite Life
- The Revolutionary Story of Eggs, Evolution, and Life on Earth
- By: Jules Howard
- Narrated by: Jules Howard
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Eggs are the origins of ninety percent of the Earth's organisms. They can be found as far apart as deep-sea volcanoes and in space. Yet despite their fundamental importance, eggs often find themselves an afterthought in the discussion of evolution of life on Earth as the interests of scientists congregate around the things that emerge from eggs rather than the eggs themselves.
By: Jules Howard
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An End to the Upside Down Cosmos
- Rethinking the Big Bang, Heliocentrism, the Lights in the Sky…and Where We Live
- By: Mark Gober
- Narrated by: Mark Gober
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scientists tell us that ninety-six percent of the universe is unexplained dark matter and dark energy. Also, they admit that no unifying “theory of everything” exists in physics. This shaky foundation is the basis of modern thinking about the cosmos and Earth’s place in it. Something big seems to be missing. Thus, we’re left with no choice but to question the “consensus” cosmological model. Are we really flying through space on a spinning ball within an expanding universe, while free-falling around the Sun—all as a consequence of a “Big Bang” that supposedly occurred 13.8 billion years ago?
-
-
An Invitation for the Materialist
- By Frankie Brazelton on 10-09-24
By: Mark Gober
-
A Mysterious Universe
- Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and Cosmology for Everyone
- By: M. Suhail Zubairy
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Mysterious Universe introduces the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, theory of relativity, and cosmology to a novice in simple language. This concise book deals with deep issues related to the mysteries of modern physics.
-
Into the Unknown
- The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
- By: Kelsey Johnson
- Narrated by: Kelsey Johnson
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Into the Unknown, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson takes us to the edge of scientific understanding about the universe: What caused the Big Bang? What happens inside black holes? Are there other dimensions? She doesn’t just celebrate what we know but rather what we don’t, and asks what it means if we never find that knowledge. Exploring the convergence of science, philosophy, and theology, Johnson argues we must reckon with possibilities—including those that may be beyond human comprehension.
By: Kelsey Johnson
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Quanta and Fields
- The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean Carroll is creating a profoundly new approach to sharing physics with a broad audience, one that goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think. He cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in a uniquely accessible way. Quantum field theory is how modern physics describes nature at its most profound level. Starting with the basics of quantum mechanics itself, Sean Carroll explains measurement and entanglement before explaining how the world is really made of fields.
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Failed to tell a story
- By Armand Jarri on 09-11-24
By: Sean Carroll
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Quantum Physics for Beginners 101
- An Easy Guide to Understanding Quantum Physics, the Theories and Applications in Daily Life Without the Math
- By: M. M. Gavillet
- Narrated by: Matthew McNeil
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Have you always been fascinated by quantum physics' spellbinding twirls but been held back by its daunting equations? Are you eager to explore the Quantum universe and unravel its mysteries but dread diving into a sea of complex numbers? Master the mystical world of Quantum Physics in just a few hours. Empower yourself with the knowledge of the microscopic universe, minus the mind-boggling math!
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Unlocking the Mysteries
- By Terri Sterk on 09-24-24
By: M. M. Gavillet
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Quantum Physics and the Power of the Mind
- Easily Understanding Mechanics Principles, Applying Quantum Computing in Everyday Life, and Manifesting Anything You Desire with the Law of Attraction
- By: Samantha Fellows
- Narrated by: Tiffany White
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Quantum physics is an integral part of our lives and it is extremely important for us to have at least the basic knowledge on the subject. Most people struggle with it as there are scarcely any books on the topic that is compatible with the needs and demands of people who are just starting out as physicists and need a simple guide to understand the concepts.
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I finally understand quantum physics
- By Velma Dixon on 10-09-24
By: Samantha Fellows
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The Evidence for Modern Physics
- How We Know What We Know
- By: Professor Don Lincoln, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Don Lincoln
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
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In this 24-lesson course aimed at non-scientists, noted particle physicist Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory covers more than a century of progress in physics, describing exactly how scientists reach the conclusions they do. He starts with the atom, which was long hypothesized but wasn’t definitively proven until a paper by Albert Einstein in 1905. That was just the beginning, as researchers probed ever deeper into the atom’s complex structure, leading to the weird findings of quantum mechanics.
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Strongly Recommend for Everyone
- By Liam A on 05-23-21
By: Professor Don Lincoln, and others
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The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
- Space, Time, and Motion
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.
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Accompanying PDF is Included
- By Barton on 11-21-22
By: Sean Carroll
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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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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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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Sekret Machines: War
- Gods, Man & War, Volume 3
- By: Tom DeLonge, Peter Levenda
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
The United States, Russia, China, and other countries around the world have experienced contact with the phenomenon, as we will discover in War. Americans demand that their leaders reveal what they know. They demand disclosure. But what do our allies, and our enemies, know about the phenomenon and why have they not already disclosed? Why is this an international issue, and not just an American one? And what does that tell us about the phenomenon?
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Disappointment
- By Atman on 11-21-24
By: Tom DeLonge, and others
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What the Bears Know
- How I Found Truth and Magic in America's Most Misunderstood Creatures
- By: Steve Searles, Chris Erskine
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In a tradition that runs from John Muir to Bear Grylls, Searles finds a fellowship with nature and a deeper meaning in the world of bears. Do bears understand things we don't? Are they dialed in to some greater natural force? Unlike us, bears waste little time on unreasonable fears. Bears are fully in the moment. They have an inner peace that seems to offset their power and strength. That may explain why no other animal on the planet is as revered as the bear.
By: Steve Searles, and others
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Space Oddities
- The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe
- By: Harry Cliff
- Narrated by: Harry Cliff
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Something strange is going on in the cosmos. Scientists are uncovering a catalogue of weird phenomena that simply can’t be explained by our long-established theories of the universe. After decades of fruitless searching, could we finally be catching glimpses of a profound new view of our physical world? Or are we being fooled by cruel tricks of the data? In Space Oddities, Harry Cliff, a physicist who does cutting-edge work on the Large Hadron Collider, provides a riveting look at the universe’s most confounding puzzles.
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Disappointed by the political liberal comments from the author
- By FJA on 07-19-24
By: Harry Cliff
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Anaximander
- And the Birth of Science
- By: Carlo Rovelli
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Over two millennia ago, the prescient insights of Anaximander paved the way for cosmology, physics, geography, meteorology, and biology, setting in motion a new way of seeing the world. His legacy includes the revolutionary ideas that the Earth floats in a void, that animals evolved, that the world can be understood in natural rather than supernatural terms, and that universal laws govern all phenomena. In this elegant work, the renowned theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli brings to light the importance of Anaximander’s overlooked influence on modern science
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Wide ranging case for a Critical Figure in the Evolution of Science
- By Tom on 03-20-23
By: Carlo Rovelli
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The Inner Clock
- Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms
- By: Lynne Peeples
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Your body contains a symphony of tiny timepieces, synchronized to the sun and subtle signals in your environment and behavior. But modern insults like artificial light, contrived time zones, and late-night meals can wreak havoc on your internal clocks. Armed with advances in biology and technology, a circadian renaissance is reclaiming those lost rhythms. The Inner Clock explores the emerging science and its transformative applications: How could taking a walk in the morning and going to bed at the same time each night keep your body in sync?
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a must read!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-07-24
By: Lynne Peeples
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Code Work
- Hacking across the US/México Techno-Borderlands
- By: Héctor Beltrán
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Code Work, Hector Beltrán examines Mexican and Latinx coders' personal strategies of self-making as they navigate a transnational economy of tech work. Beltrán shows how these hackers apply concepts from the code worlds to their lived experiences, deploying batches, loose coupling, iterative processing (looping), hacking, prototyping, and full-stack development in their daily social interactions-at home, in the workplace, on the dating scene, and in their understanding of the economy, culture, and geopolitics.
By: Héctor Beltrán
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The Sixth Extinction (Tenth Anniversary Edition)
- By: Elizabeth Kolbert
- Narrated by: Anne Twomey, Elizabeth Kolbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. The Sixth Extinction draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines to provide a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept
What listeners say about Waves in an Impossible Sea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-12-24
A Wonderful & Simple Explanation of Mass & Energy
I've been looking for this book for quite some time, a great book for a simple & easily understood explanation of mass & energy. My education is as an engineer, but my passion is in QFT. I have several books by Sean Carrol, Frank Wilczek & Carlo Rovelli, all great books by great authors, but this book has, what to me, is a very comfortably explanation of the interaction of the Higgs field to other quantum fields & the resulting mass & energy. The narration is excellent. Mr. Grove's pronunciation is clear as a bell. Can't recommend this book enough. Will certainly purchase any future books by Prof. Strassler.
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