Books by John Gribbin
The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is renowned for its mystery and magic. What’s the truth behind it all? Is the golden compass actually based in science? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra’s hair? How do the Gallivespians’ lodestone resonators really work? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials? Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal the real science behind Philip Pullman’s bestselling fantasy trilogy in entertaining and crystal-clear prose.
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The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is renowned for its mystery and magic. What’s the truth behind it all?
Is the golden compass actually based in science? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra’s hair? How do the Gallivespians’ lodestone resonators really work? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials? Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal the real science behind Philip Pullman’s bestselling fantasy trilogy in entertaining and crystal-clear prose.
Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials!
** THE BOOK OF DUST **
La Belle Sauvage
The Secret Commonwealth
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Erwin Schrodinger and the Quantum Revolution
by John Gribbin
A lively, fascinating biography of the father of quantum mechanics by the bestselling author of the science classic, In Search of Schrödinger's Cat
Erwin Schrödinger, best known for his famous “Schrödinger's Cat” paradox, is one of the most famous physicists of the early twentieth century and a member of a new generation of quantum physicists, including Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and Niels Bohr. Yet Schrödinger's scientific discoveries only scratch the surface of what makes him so fascinating. More rumpled than Einstein, a devotee of eastern religion and philosophy, and infamous for his alternative lifestyle, his major contribution to physics—and the work for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933—was to some extent a disappointment to him. Regardless, Schrödinger's masterpiece became an important part of the new physics of his time. This book tells the story of Schrödinger's surprisingly colorful life during one of the most fertile and creative moments in the history of science. The first accessible, in-depth biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger Takes you into the heart of the quantum revolution and explains the captivating world of quantum mechanics, which underpins all of modern science Written by bestselling author John Gribbin, one of today's greatest popular science writers whose other books include In Search of Schrödinger's Cat , In Search of the Multiverse, and Alone in the Universe
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Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity
by John Gribbin
Over the past two decades, no field of scientific inquiry has had a more striking impact across a wide array of disciplines–from biology to physics, computing to meteorology–than that known as chaos and complexity, the study of complex systems. Now astrophysicist John Gribbin draws on his expertise to explore, in prose that communicates not only the wonder but the substance of cutting-edge science, the principles behind chaos and complexity. He reveals the remarkable ways these two revolutionary theories have been applied over the last twenty years to explain all sorts of phenomena–from weather patterns to mass extinctions.
Grounding these paradigm-shifting ideas in their historical context, Gribbin also traces their development from Newton to Darwin to Lorenz, Prigogine, and Lovelock, demonstrating how–far from overturning all that has gone before–chaos and complexity are the triumphant extensions of simple scientific laws. Ultimately, Gribbin illustrates how chaos and complexity permeate the universe on every scale, governing the evolution of life and galaxies alike.
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Annus Mirabilis: 1905, Albert Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity
Describes Einstein's scientific achievements and personal life during the year 1905 when he discovered the Theory of Relativity.
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FitzRoy: The Remarkable Story of Darwins Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast
The name of Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle, is forever linked with that of his most famous passenger, Charles Darwin. This exceptionally interesting biography brings FitzRoy out of Darwin’s shadow for the first time, revealing a man who experienced high adventure, suffered tragic disappointments, andas the inventor of weather forecastingsaved the lives of countless fellow mariners.
John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin draw a detailed portrait of FitzRoy, recounting the wide range of his accomplishments and exploring the motivations that drove him. As a very young and successful commander in the British navy, FitzRoy’s life was in the mold of a Patrick O’Brian novel. Later disappointments, including an unpopular tenure as governor of New Zealand and a sense of dismay over his own contributions to Darwin’s ideas of evolution, troubled FitzRoy. Even his groundbreaking accomplishments in meteorological science failed to satisfy his high personal expectations, and in 1865 FitzRoy committed suicide at the age of sixty. This biography focuses well-deserved attention on FitzRoy’s status as a scientist and seaman, affirming that his was a life which, despite its sorrowful end, encompassed many more successes than failures.
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Flower Hunters
The flower hunters were intrepid explorers - remarkable, eccentric men and women who scoured the world in search of extraordinary plants from the middle of the seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century, and helped establish the new science of botany. For these adventurers, the search for new, undiscovered plant specimens was something worth risking - and losing - their lives for.
From the Douglas-fir and the monkey puzzle tree, to exotic orchids and azaleas, many of the plants that are now so familiar to us were found in distant regions of the globe, often in wild and unexplored country, in impenetrable jungle, and in the face of hunger, disease, and hostile locals. It was specimens like these, smuggled home by the flower hunters, that helped build the great botanical collections, and lay the foundations for the revolution in our understanding of the natural world that was to follow. Here, the adventures of eleven such explorers are brought to life, describing not only their extraordinary daring and dedication, but alos the lasting impact of their discoveries both on science, and on the landscapes and gardens that we see today.
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The Fellowship: Gilbert, Bacon, Harvey, Wren, Newton, and the Story of a Scentific Revolution
by John Gribbin
Charts the efforts of a group of "natural philosophers" in seventeenth-century England who were to become the founding fathers of the Royal Society, placing their collaborations against a backdrop of period civil war, superstition, and ignorance while discussing the specific contributions of such figures as Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton.
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The Fellowship: Gilbert, Bacon, Wren, Newton, and the Story of a Scientific Revolution
by John Gribbin
Charts the efforts of a group of "natural philosophers" in seventeenth-century England who were to become the founding fathers of the Royal Society, placing their collaborations against a backdrop of period civil war, superstition, and ignorance while discussing the specific contributions of such figures as Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton. Reprint.
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Einstein's Masterwork: 1915 and the General Theory of Relativity
by John Gribbin
One of the world's most celebrated science writers reveals the origins of Einstein's General Theory―and provides a greater understanding of who Einstein was at the time of this pivotal achievement.
In 1915, Albert Einstein presented his masterwork to the Prussian Academy of Sciences―a theory of gravity, matter, space and time: the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein himself said it was “the most valuable theory of my life,” and “of incomparable beauty.” It describes the evolution of the universe, black holes, the behavior of orbiting neutron stars, and why clocks run slower on the surface of the earth than in space. It even suggests the possibility of time travel.
And yet when we think of Einstein's breakthrough year, we think instead of 1905, the year of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and his equation E=mc2, as his annus mirabilis, even though the Special Theory has a narrower focus.
Today the General Theory is overshadowed by these achievements, regarded as 'too difficult' for ordinary mortals to comprehend. In Einstein's Masterwork, John Gribbin puts Einstein's astonishing breakthrough in the context of his life and work, and makes it clear why his greatest year was indeed 1915 and his General Theory his true masterpiece.
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Einstein's Masterwork: 1915 and the General Theory of Relativity
by John Gribbin
In 1915, Albert Einstein presented his masterwork to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, a theory of gravity, matter, space and time: the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein himself said it was “the most valuable theory of my life,” and “of incomparable beauty.” It describes the evolution of the universe, black holes, the behavior of orbiting neutron stars, and why clocks run slower on the surface of the earth than in space. It even suggests the possibility of time travel.And yet when we think of Einstein's breakthrough year, we think instead of 1905, the year of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and his equation E=mc2, as his annus mirabilis, even though the Special Theory has a narrower focus.Today the General Theory is overshadowed by these achievements, regarded as "too difficult" for ordinary mortals to comprehend. In Einstein's Masterwork, John Gribbin puts Einstein's astonishing breakthrough in the context of his life and work, and makes it clear why his greatest year was indeed 1915 and his General Theory his true masterpiece.
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Out of the Shadow of a Giant: Hooke, Halley, and the Birth of Science
What if Newton had never lived? A compelling dual biography argues that Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley easily could have filled the giant’s shoes—and deserve credit for the birth of modern science.
Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose place in history has been overshadowed by the giant figure of Newton, were pioneering scientists within their own right, and instrumental in establishing the Royal Society.
Although Newton is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and the father of the English scientific revolution, John and Mary Gribbin uncover the fascinating story of Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose scientific achievements neatly embrace the hundred years or so during which science as we know it became established. They argue persuasively that, even without Newton, science would have made a great leap forward in the second half of the seventeenth century, headed by two extraordinary figures, Hooke and Halley.
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Six Impossible Things: The Mystery of the Quantum World (The MIT Press)
by John Gribbin
“An elegant and accessible” investigation of quantum mechanics—“highly recommended” for students of the sciences, sci-fi fans, and anyone interested in the strange world of quantum physics (Forbes)
Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a commonsense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics.
Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others. Gribbin presents:
• The Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg
• The Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie
• The Many Worlds Interpretation
• The Decoherence Interpretation
• The Ensemble “Non-Interpretation”
• The Timeless Transactional Interpretation, which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time
All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.
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Stephen Hawking
by John Gribbin
Stephen Hawking is no ordinary scientist. Perhaps more than any other scientist, he has broadened our basic understanding of the universe. His theoretical work on black holes and the origins and nature of the cosmos have been groundbreaking—if not downright revolutionary. He has also spent much of his adult life confined to a wheelchair, a victim of ALS. But his physical limitations have done nothing to confine him intellectually or hinder his scientific development. Hawking would already be remarkable for his cutting-edge work in theoretical physics alone. However, he has also managed to popularize science unlike any one else. Today, he is a household name and achieved almost cult-like fame with the release of A Brief History of Time. Although this book is steeped in the complexities of cosmology, millions of people were eager to learn just some of what he had to offer. Science writers White and Gribbin have painted a compelling portrait of a scientific mind that seemingly knows no bounds. Weaving together clear explanations of Hawking’s science with a detailed, balanced, and sensitive personal history, we come to know and appreciate both sides of this incredible man. Includes new updates in Hawking's biography and the recent discovery of the Higgs-Boson (or "God") particle.
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13.8: The Quest to Find the True Age of the Universe and the Theory of Everything
by John Gribbin
A celebrated astronomer makes a powerful case for the harmony between two of physics’ most important and seemingly contradictory theories
The twentieth century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behavior of very large things, and quantum theory the behavior of very small things. In this landmark book, John Gribbin—one of the best-known science writers of the past thirty years—presents his own version of the Holy Grail of physics, the search that has been going on for decades to find a unified “Theory of Everything” that combines these ideas into one mathematical package, a single equation that could be printed on a T-shirt, containing the answer to life, the Universe, and everything. With his inimitable mixture of science, history, and biography, Gribbin shows how—despite skepticism among many physicists—these two great theories are very compatible, and point to a deep truth about the nature of our existence. The answer lies, intriguingly, with the age of the universe: 13.8 billion years.
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13.8: The Quest to Find the True Age of the Universe and the Theory of Everything
by John Gribbin
A celebrated astronomer makes a powerful case for the harmony between two of physics’ most important and seemingly contradictory theories
The twentieth century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behavior of very large things, and quantum theory the behavior of very small things. In this landmark book, John Gribbin—one of the best-known science writers of the past thirty years—presents his own version of the Holy Grail of physics, the search that has been going on for decades to find a unified “Theory of Everything” that combines these ideas into one mathematical package, a single equation that could be printed on a T-shirt, containing the answer to life, the Universe, and everything. With his inimitable mixture of science, history, and biography, Gribbin shows how—despite skepticism among many physicists—these two great theories are very compatible, and point to a deep truth about the nature of our existence. The answer lies, intriguingly, with the age of the universe: 13.8 billion years.
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The Origins of the Future: Ten Questions for the Next Ten Years
by John Gribbin
How did the universe begin? Where do galaxies come from? How do stars and planets form? Where do the material particles we are made of come from? How did life begin? Today we have only provisional answers to such questions. But scientific progress will improve these answers dramatically over the next ten years, predicts John Gribbin in this riveting book. He focuses on what we knowor think we knowabout ten controversial, unanswered issues in the physical sciences and explains how current cutting-edge research may yield solutions in the very near future.
With his trademark facility for engaging readers with or without a scientific background, the author explores ideas concerning the creation of the universe, the possibility of other forms of life, and the fate of the expanding cosmos. He examines theories of everything,” including grand unified theories and string theory, and he discusses the Big Bang theory, the origin of structure and patterns of matter in the galaxies, and dark mass and dark energy. In the final chapter of the book, Gribbin ponders the future of Earth and the Sun and the possibility that the universe might expand forever.
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Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction
by John Gribbin
In this fascinating Very Short Introduction, popular science writer John Gribben tells the story of our growing understanding of galaxies, from the days before Galileo to our present-day observations of our many hundreds of millions of galactic neighbors. Not only are galaxies fascinating astronomical structures in themselves, but their study has revealed much of what we know today about the cosmos, providing a window on the Big Bang and the origins of the Universe. Gribben looks at our own "Milky Way" Galaxy in detail, from the different kinds of stars that are born within it, to the origins of its magnificent spiral structure. Perhaps most interesting, Gribben describes the many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy and about those beyond: how a supermassive black hole lurks at the center of every galaxy, how enormous forces are released when galaxies collide, how distant galaxies provide a window on the early Universe, and how the formation of young galaxies shed needed light on the mysteries of Cold Dark Matter.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
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Alone in the Universe: Why Our Planet Is Unique
by John Gribbin
The acclaimed author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat searches for life on other planets
Are we alone in the universe? Surely amidst the immensity of the cosmos there must be other intelligent life out there. Don't be so sure, says John Gribbin, one of today's best popular science writers. In this fascinating and intriguing new book, Gribbin argues that the very existence of intelligent life anywhere in the cosmos is, from an astrophysicist's point of view, a miracle. So why is there life on Earth and (seemingly) nowhere else? What happened to make this planet special? Taking us back some 600 million years, Gribbin lets you experience the series of unique cosmic events that were responsible for our unique form of life within the Milky Way Galaxy. Written by one of our foremost popular science writers, author of the bestselling In Search of Schrödinger's Cat Offers a bold answer to the eternal question, "Are we alone in the universe?" Explores how the impact of a "supercomet" with Venus 600 million years ago created our moon, and along with it, the perfect conditions for life on Earth
From one of our most talented science writers, this book is a daring, fascinating exploration into the dawning of the universe, cosmic collisions and their consequences, and the uniqueness of life on Earth.
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The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors
by John Gribbin
A wonderfully readable account of scientific development over the past five hundred years, focusing on the lives and achievements of individual scientists, by the bestselling author of In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat
In this ambitious new book, John Gribbin tells the stories of the people who have made science, and of the times in which they lived and worked. He begins with Copernicus, during the Renaissance, when science replaced mysticism as a means of explaining the workings of the world, and he continues through the centuries, creating an unbroken genealogy of not only the greatest but also the more obscure names of Western science, a dot-to-dot line linking amateur to genius, and accidental discovery to brilliant deduction.
By focusing on the scientists themselves, Gribbin has written an anecdotal narrative enlivened with stories of personal drama, success and failure. A bestselling science writer with an international reputation, Gribbin is among the few authors who could even attempt a work of this magnitude. Praised as “a sequence of witty, information-packed tales” and “a terrific read” by The Times upon its recent British publication, The Scientists breathes new life into such venerable icons as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Linus Pauling, as well as lesser lights whose stories have been undeservedly neglected. Filled with pioneers, visionaries, eccentrics and madmen, this is the history of science as it has never been told before.
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Six Impossible Things The Mystery of the Quantum World
by John Gribbin
A concise and engaging investigation of six interpretations of quantum physics.
Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a common sense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics.
Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others.
Gribbin presents the Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg; the Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie; the Many Worlds Interpretation (termed “excess baggage” by Gribbin); the Decoherence Interpretation (“incoherent”); the Ensemble “Non-Interpretation”; and the Timeless Transactional Interpretation (which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time). All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.
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