The Universe in a Nutshell
Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A Brief History of Time , introduced the ideas of this brilliant theoretical physicist to readers all over the world.
Now, in a major publishing event, Hawking returns with a lavishly illustrated sequel that unravels the mysteries of the major breakthroughs that have occurred in the years since the release of his ac...
Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A Brief History of Time , introduced the ideas of this brilliant theoretical physicist to readers all over the world.
Now, in a major publishing event, Hawking returns with a lavishly illustrated sequel that unravels the mysteries of the major breakthroughs that have occurred in the years since the release of his acclaimed first book.
The Universe in a Nutshell
• Quantum mechanics
• M-theory
• General relativity
• 11-dimensional supergravity
• 10-dimensional membranes
• Superstrings
• P-branes
• Black holes
One of the most influential thinkers of our time, Stephen Hawking is an intellectual icon, known not only for the adventurousness of his ideas but for the clarity and wit with which he expresses them. In this new book Hawking takes us to the cutting edge of theoretical physics, where truth is often stranger than fiction, to explain in laymen’s terms the principles that control our universe.
Like many in the community of theoretical physicists, Professor Hawking is seeking to uncover the grail of science — the elusive Theory of Everything that lies at the heart of the cosmos. In his accessible and often playful style, he guides us on his search to uncover the secrets of the universe — from supergravity to supersymmetry, from quantum theory to M-theory, from holography to duality.
He takes us to the wild frontiers of science, where superstring theory and p-branes may hold the final clue to the puzzle. And he lets us behind the scenes of one of his most exciting intellectual adventures as he seeks “to combine Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and Richard Feynman’s idea of multiple histories into one complete unified theory that will describe everything that happens in the universe.”
With characteristic exuberance, Professor Hawking invites us to be fellow travelers on this extraordinary voyage through space-time. Copious four-color illustrations help clarify this journey into a surreal wonderland where particles, sheets, and strings move in eleven dimensions; where black holes evaporate and disappear, taking their secret with them; and where the original cosmic seed from which our own universe sprang was a tiny nut.
The Universe in a Nutshell is essential reading for all of us who want to understand the universe in which we live. Like its companion volume, A Brief History of Time , it conveys the excitement felt within the scientific community as the secrets of the cosmos reveal themselves.
史蒂芬·霍金 (Stephen Hawking) 于1942年1月8日生于牛津,那一天刚好是伽利略逝世三百年。可能因为他出生在第二次世界大战的时代,所以小时候对模型特别着迷。他十几岁时不但喜欢做模型飞机和轮船,还和学友制作了很多不同种类的战争游戏,反映出他研究和操控事物的渴望。这种渴望驱使他攻读博士学位,并在黑洞和宇宙论的研究上获得重大成就。
霍金十三、四岁时已下定决心要从事物理学和天文学的研究。十七岁那年,他考到了自然科学的奖学金,顺利入读牛津大学。学士毕业后他转到剑桥大学攻读博士,研究宇宙学。不久他发现自己患上了会导致肌肉萎缩的卢伽雷病。由于医生对此病束手无策,起初他打算放弃从事研究的理想,但后来病情恶化的速度减慢了,他便重拾心情,排除万难,从挫折中站起来,勇敢地面对这次的不幸,继续醉心研究。
七十年代,他和彭罗斯证明了著名的奇性定理,并在198...
史蒂芬·霍金 (Stephen Hawking) 于1942年1月8日生于牛津,那一天刚好是伽利略逝世三百年。可能因为他出生在第二次世界大战的时代,所以小时候对模型特别着迷。他十几岁时不但喜欢做模型飞机和轮船,还和学友制作了很多不同种类的战争游戏,反映出他研究和操控事物的渴望。这种渴望驱使他攻读博士学位,并在黑洞和宇宙论的研究上获得重大成就。
霍金十三、四岁时已下定决心要从事物理学和天文学的研究。十七岁那年,他考到了自然科学的奖学金,顺利入读牛津大学。学士毕业后他转到剑桥大学攻读博士,研究宇宙学。不久他发现自己患上了会导致肌肉萎缩的卢伽雷病。由于医生对此病束手无策,起初他打算放弃从事研究的理想,但后来病情恶化的速度减慢了,他便重拾心情,排除万难,从挫折中站起来,勇敢地面对这次的不幸,继续醉心研究。
七十年代,他和彭罗斯证明了著名的奇性定理,并在1988年共同获得沃尔夫物理奖。他还证明了黑洞的面积不会随时间减少。1973年,他发现黑洞辐射的温度和其质量成反比,即黑洞会因为辐射而变小,但温度却会升高,最终会发生爆炸而消失。
八十年代,他开始研究量子宇宙论。这时他的行动已经出现问题,后来由于得了肺炎而接受穿气管手术,使他从此再不能说话。现在他全身瘫痪,要靠电动轮椅代替双脚,不但说话和写字要靠计算机和语言合成器帮忙,连阅读也要别人替他把每页纸摊平在桌上,让他驱动着轮椅逐页去看。
霍金一生贡献于理论物理学的研究,被誉为当今最杰出的科学家之一。他的著作包括《时间简史》及《黑洞与婴儿宇宙以及相关文章》。虽然大家都觉得他非常不幸,但他在科学上的成就却是在他在病发后获得的。他凭着坚毅不屈的意志,战胜了疾病,创造了一个奇迹,也证明了残疾并非成功的障碍。他对生命的热爱和对科学研究的热诚,是值得年轻一代学习的。