Faster Than Light

Faster Than Light PDF Author: Nick Herbert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0452263174
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
"Even though most physicists believe that the speed of light is as fast as anyone can go, Einstein's theory of special relativity does not rule out faster-than-light (FTL) travel. On the contrary, it seems to indicate that certain superluminal or FTL effects would permit us to re-experience the past: time travel would become a reality, not science fiction. Through this crack in the cosmic egg steps Herbert, a Stanford physicist and author of Quantum Reality, who summarizes clearly current speculation and theory about faster-than-light travel. Along with space warps, black holes and tachyons (hypothetical FTL particles), he looks at the so-called 'quantum connection'—an alleged force said to instantaneously link any two subatomic particles long after they have bumped into each other. Free of the woolgathering that tints much writing on the 'new physics', this brave, exciting book should send scientists back to their drawing boards; for the nonspecialist reader, it reveals a world much stranger than Star Trek."—Publishers Weekly "Original, challenging, and audacious."—San Diego Magazine

Faster Than Light

Faster Than Light PDF Author: Nick Herbert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0452263174
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Even though most physicists believe that the speed of light is as fast as anyone can go, Einstein's theory of special relativity does not rule out faster-than-light (FTL) travel. On the contrary, it seems to indicate that certain superluminal or FTL effects would permit us to re-experience the past: time travel would become a reality, not science fiction. Through this crack in the cosmic egg steps Herbert, a Stanford physicist and author of Quantum Reality, who summarizes clearly current speculation and theory about faster-than-light travel. Along with space warps, black holes and tachyons (hypothetical FTL particles), he looks at the so-called 'quantum connection'—an alleged force said to instantaneously link any two subatomic particles long after they have bumped into each other. Free of the woolgathering that tints much writing on the 'new physics', this brave, exciting book should send scientists back to their drawing boards; for the nonspecialist reader, it reveals a world much stranger than Star Trek."—Publishers Weekly "Original, challenging, and audacious."—San Diego Magazine

Faster Than The Speed Of Light

Faster Than The Speed Of Light PDF Author: Joao Magueijo
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 144813403X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The idea that the speed of light is a constant - at 186,000 miles per second - is one of the few scientific facts that almost everyone knows. That constant - c- also appears in the most famous of all scientific equations: e=mc2- Yet over the last few years, a small group of highly reputable young physicists have suggested that the central dogma of modern physics may not be an absolute truth - light may have moved faster in the earlier life of the universe, it may still be moving at different speeds elsewhere today. In telling the story of this heresy, and its gradual journey towards acceptance, Joao Magueijo writes as one of the three central figures in the story, introducing the reader to modern cosmology, to the implications of VSL (variable speed of light) and to the world of physicists. The initial rejection of Magueijo's ideas is beginning to give way to a reluctant acceptance that the young men may have a point - only the next few years will tell the final fate of this 'dangerous' idea.

Lightspeed

Lightspeed PDF Author: John C. H. Spence
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198841965
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
This book tells the story of one of man's greatest intellectual adventures - how it came to be understood that light travels at a finite speed, so that when we look up at the stars we are looking back in time. From the ancient Greeks measuring the distance to the sun, to today's satellite navigation, the book offers a gripping historical journey.

Loving Faster Than Light

Loving Faster Than Light PDF Author: Katy Price
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226680738
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
This is an insightful examination of one of the essential problems of the history of science - how does elite, esoteric knowledge get read, used, modified, and owned by those outside the professional scientific community? Price focuses on one of the defining scientific ideas of the 20th century and skillfully demonstrates the many genres and styles through which it was adopted and changed.

Fast Light, Slow Light and Left-Handed Light

Fast Light, Slow Light and Left-Handed Light PDF Author: P.W. Milonni
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781420034332
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The propagation of light in dispersive media is a subject of fundamental as well as practical importance. In recent years attention has focused in particular on how refractive index can vary with frequency in such a way that the group velocities of optical pulses can be much greater or much smaller than the speed of light in vacuum, or in which the refractive index can be negative. Treating these topics at an introductory to intermediate level, Fast Light, Slow Light and Left-Handed Light focuses on the basic theory and describes the significant experimental progress made during the past decade. The book pays considerable attention to the fact that superluminal group velocities are not in conflict with special relativity and to the role of quantum effects in preventing superluminal communication and violations of Einstein causality. It also explores some of the basic physics at the opposite extreme of very slow group velocities as well as stopped and regenerated light, including the concepts of electromagnetically induced transparency and dark-state polaritons. Another very active aspect of the subject discussed concerns the possibility of designing metamaterials in which the refractive index can be negative and propagating light is left-handed in the sense that the phase and group velocities are in opposite directions. The last two chapters are an introduction to some of the basic theory and consequences of negative refractive index, with emphasis on the seminal work carried out since 2000. The possibility that "perfect" lenses can be made from negative-index metamaterials-which has been perhaps the most controversial aspect of the field-is introduced and discussed in some detail.

What's Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah?

What's Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah? PDF Author: Robert E. Wells
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN: 0807593524
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 37

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Book Description
What's faster than a cheetah?—no animal on earth can run faster. But a peregrine falcon can swoop faster than a cheetah can run. And the falcon can't compare to an airplane, a rocket, or the speed of light. Lively text and watercolors will make children laugh while they learn all about speed.

Why Does E=mc2?

Why Does E=mc2? PDF Author: Brian Cox
Publisher: Da Capo Press, Incorporated
ISBN: 0306817586
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
A deeply fascinating, engaging, and highly accessible explanation of Einstein's equation, using everyday life to explore the principles of physics.

Our Mathematical Universe

Our Mathematical Universe PDF Author: Max Tegmark
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307744256
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist. Fascinating from first to last—this is a book that has already prompted the attention and admiration of some of the most prominent scientists and mathematicians.

Life at the Speed of Light

Life at the Speed of Light PDF Author: J. Craig Venter
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143125907
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
“Venter instills awe for biology as it is, and as it might become in our hands.” —Publishers Weekly On May 20, 2010, headlines around the world announced one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in modern science: the creation of the world’s first synthetic lifeform. In Life at the Speed of Light, scientist J. Craig Venter, best known for sequencing the human genome, shares the dramatic account of how he led a team of researchers in this pioneering effort in synthetic genomics—and how that work will have a profound impact on our existence in the years to come. This is a fascinating and authoritative study that provides readers an opportunity to ponder afresh the age-old question “What is life?” at the dawn of a new era of biological engineering.

Hunting the Faster than Light Tachyon, and Finding Three Unicorns and a Herd of Elephants

Hunting the Faster than Light Tachyon, and Finding Three Unicorns and a Herd of Elephants PDF Author: Robert Ehrlich
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000587991
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
In 1905, Albert Einstein declared speeds greater than light to be impossible. This book describes the author’s decades-long search for the hypothetical subatomic particles known as tachyons that violate this principle. This book is a scientific detective story. The crime is speeding—that is, the possible breaking of the cosmic speed limit, namely the speed of light, as stipulated by Einstein. This detective story is also a memoir written by a member of a band of "tachyon hunters." The author’s pursuit of tachyons has been met with skepticism from most physicists, who note correctly that no such superluminal particles have ever been surely observed and that there have been many false sightings. Nevertheless, considerable circumstantial evidence for tachyons has already been published and an ongoing experiment could decide the issue in the next few years. This book is written for the general reader, containing humor and eliminating jargon whenever possible, and will also be of interest to scientists. The hunt for the tachyon will fascinate all readers who approach the study of physics with curious and open minds.