Product Description
Do you know: what might happen if you fall into a black hole? that the Universe does not have an edge? that the reason it gets dark at night is proof of the Big Bang? that cosmic particles time-travel through the atmosphere defying death? that our past, present and future might all coexist "out there"? With two remarkable ideas Albert Einstein revolutionized our view of the Universe. His first was that nothing can travel faster than light - the ultimate speed limit. This simple fact leads to the unavoidable conclusion that space and time must be linked together, forever as Spacetime. With his second monumental insight Einstein showed how Spacetime is warped and stretched by the gravity of all objects in the Universe and even punctured by black holes. But such possible twisting of Spacetime allowed a magic not even Einstein could have imagined: time-travel. Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili finally lays science fiction to rest as he opens up Einstein's Universe. Leading us gently and light-heartedly through the dizzying world of our space and time, he ultimately gives us the recipe for a possible time machine, capable of taking us Back to the Future, to Alice's Wonderland or on a trip with the Terminator.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 20 reviews)

What they didn't teach us at high school by Marcus Crowley (Sydney, Australia)

4 Stars
January 10, 2010
I've just finished reading this and realize how little modern physics they taught me at high school in the 1980s. Who can fail to dream of the possibilities of time and space travel? Jim explains the topics clearly and while I can't claim to have got my head around 100% of it, I got the gist and realize how far away we are from seeing time travel. He delves into thought-provoking discussion on the nature and speed of light and a helpful lower dimensional analogy of our universe to try and explain higher dimensions. There are two topics I would have liked Jim to have spent a few pages on. The first would have been to just show us some of the equations that Einstein and others devised. Yes, I wouldn't have understood them but a picture is worth a thousand words and having referred to the mathematics so frequently as "elegant", it would have been interesting to see what he's on about. Secondly, quantum mechanics is referred to several times without really explaining it at a basic level. Jim's book came out in 1999. I've now picked up the "Idiot's Guide to String Theory" from the library (2008) and hoping that it will take me the next step.

Fascinating look at quantum physics by Alisa Kester (Washington State)

5 Stars
June 19, 2009
This was quite an amazing book, even though he actually doesn't believe in the possibility of time travel (he thinks the only way it would work was if the past, present, and future existed all together as one moment, and he believes that would negate free will. Which it doesn't, of course, so he and I disagree there). But overall, I enjoyed it and learned enough to make my brain buzz with all my newly acquired knowledge and ideas. I particularly loved this section, on quantum particles: "If we measure a certain property of an electron...then quantum mechanics will tell us what we are likely to find. However, it tells us nothing about what the electron is doing when it is not observed. This would not be a problem if we could trust electrons (and all other particles) to behave sensibly, but they don't. They will disappear from the place they were last seen and spontaneously reappear somewhere else that should, by rights, be inaccessible to them. They exist in two places at once, they tunnel through impenetrable barriers, travel in two different directions simultaneously, and even have several conflicting properties simultaneously. But the moment you look to see what is going on, the electron will suddenly start behaving itself again and nothing will look out of sorts. However, the unavoidable conclusions we have to draw from the results of our observations is that the electron was most definitely doing something very strange indeed when we weren't looking."

Very Educated Man by K. Ryan

5 Stars
April 02, 2009
Jim Al-Khalili is extremely educated in this field and does a great job of explaining it to the average person. You do not need a strong background in science to understand. This is a great book for anyone interested in physics and astronomy.

Brilliant, educational, engaging, sophisticated, and yet so much fun by Prashant Parikh (Atlanta)

5 Stars
December 16, 2008
Words would never do this book justice, he has surmounted the barrier that many writers face, when they try to get through a difficult idea to the reader. In most cases there is usually a trade off between engaging the reader in an entertaining manner, or providing them with a technical manual. The author here has beautifully managed to draw the reader in from the word "go". Every page in this book brims with knowledge and excitement. It's one of the best I've read on the subject, and I recommend this to everyone who would like to have an intuitive and conceptual understanding of our universe, and the way it works. 5 stars almost don't do it justice.

Truth Really is stranger than fiction! by Falkor The White Luck Dragon (Niwot, Colorado)

5 Stars
August 22, 2008
If your idea of a physics book is a dryly written text filled with incomprehensible equations, you have clearly never read BLACK HOLES, WORMHOLES AND TIME MACHINES by Jim Al-Khalili. Its a highly entertaining book written with humor and enthusiasm. The author also provides a bit of history about the physicists who develop the theories he so clearly explains. Highly recommended.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy (Commonwealth Fund Book Program) by Kip S. Thorne (Author), Stephen Hawking (Foreword) In this masterfully written and brilliantly informed work, Dr. Thorne, the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, leads readers through an elegant, always human, tapestry of interlocking themes, answering the great question: what principles control our universe and why do physicists think they know what they know? Features an introduction by Stephen Hawking.
	Time Travel in Einstein's Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time by J. Richard Gott (Author) In this fascinating book, the renowned astrophysicist J. Richard Gott leads time travel out of the world of H. G. Wells and into the realm of scientific possibility. Building on theories posited by Einstein and advanced by scientists such as Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne, Gott explains how time travel can actually occur. He describes, with boundless enthusiasm and humor, how travel to the future is not only possible but has already happened, and he contemplates whether travel to the past is...
	How to Build a Time Machine by Paul Davies (Author) With his unique knack for making cutting-edge theoretical science effortlessly accessible, world-renowned physicist Paul Davies now tackles an issue that has boggled minds for centuries: Is time travel possible? The answer, insists Davies, is definitely yes-once you iron out a few kinks in the space-time continuum. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, Davies explains the theoretical physics that make visiting the future and revisiting the past possible, then proceeds to lay out a four-stage...
	Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimens ion by Michio Kaku (Author) A vivid portrait of the theory of hyperspace by a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York discusses the superstring theory and the concept of a jigsaw-puzzle universe. Reprint. Tour. NYT.
	The Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone by Kenneth W. Ford (Author), Diane Goldstein (Contributor) As Kenneth W. Ford shows us in The Quantum World, the laws governing the very small and the very swift defy common sense and stretch our minds to the limit. Drawing on a deep familiarity with the discoveries of the twentieth century, Ford gives an appealing account of quantum physics that will help the serious reader make sense of a science that, for all its successes, remains mysterious. In order to make the book even more suitable for classroom use, the author, assisted by Diane...