On the Inside of a Marble

From Quantum Mechanics to the Big Bang

Gavin Bascom (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

XI, 107 Seiten

2017 | 1st ed. 2017
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-319-60689-7 (ISBN)

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Keeping in mind that we can only see the universe from the comfort of our home galaxy, Bascom begins his text by meticulously laying the necessary groundwork to understand the Big Bang's mathematics without using any equations. He then paints a freeze-frame picture of our universe as if we had taken a three-dimensional picture with a giant camera. Within this picture, he traces forces beginning with the smallest (a single atom) to the biggest (the cosmos), keeping in mind that in this frozen moment everything further away from the observer spatially is also further away from the observer in time; that is, older. Soon a very real and very vivid image of the Big Bang appears (especially in things that are loud or hot), echoing down through time and into our everyday lives, reflected in every atom during every measurement. Then, slowly but deliberately, Bascom unfreezes this picture, ratcheting each moment from one to the next, showing us how and why quantum particles are constantly in contact with the Big Bang and why that allows the particles to pop in and out of existence from moment to moment, what a photon is, and what exactly we mean when we say that free space has energy.

Whether you're interested in the Big Bang, the weirdness of quantum mechanics, or simply enjoy thinking about the biggest, loudest, and oldest things in our universe, this book will help you question your deepest notions about time and space, while staying firmly rooted in empirical observation. Throughout the text, Bascom sidesteps traditional non-fiction modes, using colorful explanations and vivid imagery to place the reader in simultaneous contact with both the Big Bang and fundamental particles. As a result, Bascom provides the tools and language necessary to contemplate the strangeness of our universe.

Dr. Gavin Bascom received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, where he used quantum and Newtonian mechanics to model nucleic acids by computer simulation. He has since gone on to continue refining his skills in the arena of DNA simulation and statistical mechanics as a researcher at New York University. He has been an avid fan of the Big Bang and quantum mechanics since his teenage years, and many of the ideas presented in this book have been in development since then, honed and refined by his time working with simulation and quantum mechanics.

1. Introduction.- 2. Narrative Time.- 3. Narrative Space.- 4. Narrative Energy.- 5. A Universe Far From Equilibrium.- 6. A Statistical Mechanical View of the Universe.- 7. Putting the Future at the Beginning.

Erscheinungsdatum	26.07.2017
Reihe/Serie	Astronomers' Universe
Zusatzinfo	XI, 107 p. 10 illus., 2 illus. in color.
Verlagsort	Cham
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	195 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Weltraum / Astronomie
	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Quantenphysik
Schlagworte	arrow of time • Big Bang and Orders of Magnitude • Big Bang and Quantum Mechanics • Big Bang Effects • Cosmological Observer Effects • Cosmology • Physics and Astronomy • Popular astronomy & space • Popular astronomy & space • Popular science • Popular Science in Astronomy • Popular Science in Physics • Quantum Mechanics Explained • Quantum Physics • Quantum physics (quantum mechanics & quantum field • Quantum physics (quantum mechanics & quantum field • Relativity physics • Simulation Theory and Quantum Mechanics
ISBN-10	3-319-60689-1 / 3319606891
ISBN-13	978-3-319-60689-7 / 9783319606897
Zustand	Neuware