Overview

Imagine if The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy were a real, practical book about the mysteries of the universe... The Universe In Your Hand takes us on a wonder-filled journey to the surface of our dying Sun, shrinks us to the size of an atom and puts us in the deathly grip of distant Black Holes. Along the way you might come to understand, really understand, the mind-bending science that underpins modern life, from Quantum Mechanics to Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Through brilliant storytelling and humour rather than headache-inducing graphs and equations, internationally renowned astrophysicist Christophe Galfard has written an instant classic that brings the astonishing beauty of the universe to life - and takes us deep into questions about the existence of God, the beginning of time and the future of humanity.

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9781447284109

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Reviews

Will thrill readers but rarely perplex them . . . Galfard leaves exhilarated readers eager to share in the forthcoming discoveries. * Booklist, Starred Review * Entertaining and comprehensive . . . Readers looking to expand their knowledge of physics and cosmology will find everything they need here. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * Part personal conversation, part travelogue, and part science primer for the non-scientist, The Universe in Your Hand is a delightful and highly educational read. -- Jim Bell, author of <i>The Interstellar Age</i> and <i>Postcards from Mars</i> If Ms. Frizzle were a physics student of Stephen Hawking, she might have written The Universe in Your Hand, a wild tour through the reaches of time and space, from the interior of a proton to the Big Bang to the rough suburbs of a black hole. It's friendly, excitable, erudite, and cosmic. -- Jordan Ellenberg, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>How Not To Be Wrong</i> A useful book for readers to visualize the complex ideas of modern physics. * Kirkus Reviews *

A useful book for readers to visualize the complex ideas of modern physics. * Kirkus Reviews * If Ms. Frizzle were a physics student of Stephen Hawking, she might have written The Universe in Your Hand, a wild tour through the reaches of time and space, from the interior of a proton to the Big Bang to the rough suburbs of a black hole. It's friendly, excitable, erudite, and cosmic. -- Jordan Ellenberg, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>How Not To Be Wrong</i> Part personal conversation, part travelogue, and part science primer for the non-scientist, The Universe in Your Hand is a delightful and highly educational read. -- Jim Bell, author of <i>The Interstellar Age</i> and <i>Postcards from Mars</i> Entertaining and comprehensive . . . Readers looking to expand their knowledge of physics and cosmology will find everything they need here. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * Will thrill readers but rarely perplex them . . . Galfard leaves exhilarated readers eager to share in the forthcoming discoveries. * Booklist, Starred Review *

A useful book for readers to visualize the complex ideas of modern physics. * Kirkus Reviews * If Ms. Frizzle were a physics student of Stephen Hawking, she might have written The Universe in Your Hand, a wild tour through the reaches of time and space, from the interior of a proton to the Big Bang to the rough suburbs of a black hole. It's friendly, excitable, erudite, and cosmic. -- Jordan Ellenberg, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>How Not To Be Wrong</i> How can we ever hope to fully grasp the infinite complexities of space and time, or even the very nature of reality itself? Thankfully, Christophe Galfard shows us the way, through a well-written and thoroughly approachable journey through what we know of modern astronomy and physics. Part personal conversation, part travelogue, and part science primer for the non-scientist, The Universe in Your Hand is a delightful and highly educational read. -- Jim Bell, author of <i>The Interstellar Age</i> and <i>Postcards from Mars</i> Entertaining and comprehensive . . . The deft and dazzling imagery makes difficult concepts accessible, streamlining the progression through topics and fulfilling Galfard's promise to 'not leave any readers behind.' . . . Readers looking to expand their knowledge of physics and cosmology will find everything they need here. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * Galfard dispenses with mathematical formulas in this foray into modern physics, making a lively imagination the only portal necessary for general readers hungry for the intellectual excitement of astral and atomic exploration. In a series of mind-stretching thought experiments readers plunge into the hydrogen atom in a water molecule, there to contemplate the quantum fields that sustain all matter, then shoot out beyond supernovas to ponder the strangely opaque boundary of space-time... these probes into the universe will thrill readers but rarely perplex them... Galfard leaves exhilarated readers eager to share in the forthcoming discoveries. * Booklist, Starred Review *

Author Information

Christophe Galfard holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cambridge University, where he was Professor Stephen Hawking's graduate student from 2000 to 2006, researching the so-called black hole information paradox.

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