The situation is much like that in 1890, right before Planck, Einstein and Bohr blew the roof off Newtonian physics. As Vlatko Vedral argues in Portals to a New Reality, this suggests we are on the brink of a new revolution.

Vedral first explains the state of the art of our current understanding when it comes to quantum mechanics and general relativity. Then he shows how quantum information theory has opened up radical new avenues, giving us a series of extraordinary experiments that could upend physics. They can sound very strange-one essentially involves entangling a human with Schrödinger’s cat-but they lay bare the elements of our theories that are particularly problematic, such as the widespread belief that nothing truly exists unless it is observed.

At present these take the form of fascinating thought experiments, but nothing, save inertia and a lack of ambition, stands in our way. This revolution has been a century in the making-the time has finally arrived to rewrite our understanding of the universe.

From Carlo Rovelli, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, this is a story of wonder, new worlds and why the end is just the beginning

Let us journey into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble – on and on – down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we’ll see geometry fold, we’ll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we’ll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then – the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born . . .

With lightness and magic, here Carlo Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we’ve not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole.

A BOOK OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO THE FINANCIAL TIMES * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * NEW STATESMAN * NEW SCIENTIST

DROPOUT, PACIFIST, PHYSICIST, CASANOVA, REFUGEE, GENIUS . . . WHO WAS ALBERT EINSTEIN?

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered relativity, black holes and E = mc2, Einstein was also a high-school failure with an FBI file 1,400 pages long.

From his lost daughter to escaping the Nazis, from dining with Charlie Chaplin to refusing the Presidency of Israel, Einstein in Time and Space tells 99 unexpected stories of the man who redefined how we view our universe and our place within it.

‘Unforgettable’ the i, Book of the Month
‘Compelling’ Wall Street Journal

‘A miniature masterpiece by one of the most entertaining scientists on the planet ? I would give this book to anyone, young and old, interested in thinking, science and literature’ Robert Fox, Evening Standard

‘Everyone’s talking about White Holes’ Daily Mail

A mesmerizing trip to the strange new world of white holes, from Carlo Rovelli, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Let us journey into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble – on and on – down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we’ll see geometry fold, we’ll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we’ll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then – the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born . . .

With lightness and magic, here Carlo Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we’ve not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole.

At the heart of our galaxy lies a monster so deadly, not even light can escape its grasp. Its secrets lie waiting to be discovered. It’s time to explore our universe’s most mysterious inhabitants

Black Holes

At the heart of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole 4 million times more massive than our Sun. A place where space and time are so warped that light is trapped if it ventures within 12 million km. According to Einstein, inside lies the end of time. According to 21st-century physics, the reality may be far more bizarre.

Black holes lie where the most massive stars used to shine and at the edge of our current understanding. They are naturally occurring objects, the inevitable creations of gravity when too much matter collapses into not enough space. And yet, although the laws of nature predict them, they fail fully to describe them.

Black holes are places in space and time where the laws of gravity, quantum physics and thermodynamics collide. Originally thought to be so intellectually troubling that they simply could not exist, it is only in the past few years that we have begun to glimpse a new synthesis; a deep connection between gravity and quantum information theory that describes a holographic universe in which space and time emerge from a network of quantum bits, and wormholes span the void.

In this groundbreaking book, Professor Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw take you to the edge of our understanding of black holes; a scientific journey to the research frontier spanning a century of physics, from Einstein to Hawking and beyond, that ends with the startling conclusion that our world may operate like a giant quantum computer.

His face is instantly recognisable. His name is shorthand for genius. Today, he’s a figurehead as much as a man, symbolic of things larger than himself: of scientific progress, of the human mind, even of the age. But who was Einstein really?

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered relativity, black holes and E = mc2, dined with Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood and was the inspiration for (highly radioactive) element 99, Albert Einstein was also a high school dropout with an FBI file 1,400 pages long.

In this book, Samuel Graydon brings history’s most famous scientist back to life. From his lost daughter to escaping the Nazis, from his love letters to unlikely inventions, from telling jokes to cheer up his sad parrot Bibo to refusing the Presidency of Israel, through the discoveries and thought experiments that changed science, Einstein in Time and Space tells 99 unforgettable stories of the man who redefined how we view our universe and our place within it.

When leading theoretical physicist Professor Michael Dine was asked where you could find an accessible and authoritative book that would teach you about the Big Bang, Dark Matter, the Higgs boson and the cutting edge of physics now, he had nothing he could recommend.

So he wrote it himself.

In This Way to the Universe, Dine takes us on a fascinating tour through the history of modern physics – from Newtonian mechanics to quantum, from particle to nuclear physics – delving into the wonders of our universe at its largest, smallest, and within our daily lives. If you are looking for the one book to help you understand physics, written in language anyone can follow, this is it.
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‘A tour de force of literally all of fundamental physics’ BBC Sky at Night magazine
‘Everything you wanted to know about physics but were afraid to ask’ Priyamvada Natarajan, author of Mapping the Heavens

He taught us classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and special relativity. Now, physicist Leonard Susskind, assisted by a new collaborator, André Cabannes, returns to tackle Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Starting from the equivalence principle and covering the necessary mathematics of Riemannian spaces and tensor calculus, Susskind and Cabannes explain the link between gravity and geometry. They delve into black holes, establish Einstein field equations, and solve them to describe gravity waves. The authors provide vivid explanations that, to borrow a phrase from Einstein himself, are as simple as possible (but no simpler).

An approachable yet rigorous introduction to one of the most important topics in physics, General Relativity is a must-read for anyone who wants a deeper knowledge of the universe’s real structure.

‘An intimate, unique, and inspiring perspective on the life and work of one of the greatest minds of our time. Filled with insight, humour, and never-before-told stories, it’s a view of Stephen Hawking that few have seen and all will appreciate’ James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

An icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius: not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a position in popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and their collaboration, offering an intimate account of this giant of science.

The two met in 2003, when Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him, the follow up to the bestselling A Brief History of Time. As they spent years working on a second book, The Grand Design, they forged a deep connection and Leonard gained a much better understanding of Stephen’s daily life and struggles — as well as his compassion and good humour. Together they obsessed over the perfect sentence, debated the physics, and occasionally punted on Cambridge’s waterways with champagne and strawberries. In time, Leonard was able to finish Stephen’s jokes, chide his sporadic mischief, and learn how the hardships of his illness helped forge that unique perspective on the universe.

By weaving together their shared story with a clear-sighted portrayal of Hawking’s scientific achievements, Mlodinow creates a beautiful portrait of Stephen Hawking as a brilliant, impish and generous man whose life was not only exceptional but also genuinely inspiring.